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Most American yards feature a large lawn. Many of these lawns are maintained by regular watering and application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. You can still have a lovely lawn while minimizing watering and impact on the environment but you have to look at things a bit differently. |
- First choose a grass that is somewhat drought tolerant. For our lawn that is in partial shade we choose turf type tall fescue.
- Set your lawn mower higher. For many kinds of grass the length of the roots are affected by the height of grass above the ground. Grass with longer roots needs less watering. A side benefit is that taller grass may shade out weeds.
- Water infrequently. Grass that is watered frequently grows dependent on regular watering so watering less frequently encourages deeper roots and more drought resistant grass. When you do water - water in the early morning and water enough to get the ground wet about 8 inches deep.
- Use organic fertilizer - we use either cottonseed meal or alfalfa pellets to fertilize the lawn. We find these at the local feed store and they are cheap. Have you ever seen a lawn where unevenly applied chemical fertilizer left streaks in the grass? organic fertilizer has to slowly degrade so if you apply too much it just takes longer to break down - no streaks! Chemical fertilizer also frequently washes off into local streams and ponds, causing algal blooms that unbalance the ecosystem. Since organic fertilizers take longer to break down, they help prevent this problem.
- Choose a smaller lawn. We made our lawn big enough for a game of catch and then used a natural mulch in a wooded area behind our house. The area with the natural mulch doesn’t need any watering and the only maintenance is applying a new layer of mulch once a year.
Find more organic lawn advice on the Oragnic Lawn Care FAQs at Grdenweb. |
| Another way to reduce maintenance and impact on the environment is to select native and drought tolerant plants for the flowerbeds around your home. Modern varieties of native plants often feature beautiful flowers or foliage and thrive in your backyard because it is their native environment! |
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| We have had great luck with Black Eyed Susans in our yard - they have done so well we have had to divide them several times. We are four inches short on rainfall and our plants are just starting to look like they need to be watered! |
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Another beautiful native plant that has thrived in our yard is Yarrow. This plant produces tons of beautiful yellow flowers for a couple of months in the spring and early summer. |
| Sometimes great plants are not widely available at the store. We got this Saint Johns Lilly by dividing from plants my mother-in-law has. Plants like these are often called “heirloom” plants and can be a great low-maintenance (and free) addition to your yard. |
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| Other “heirloom” or “pass along” favorites in the south include daylilies, daffodils, confederate rose, crinum, coneflowers, and more. While these plants are not all native plants, the fact that they have survived in local gardens for hundreds of years usually means they are extremely hardy and able to survive with little or no maintenance. |
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Don’t overlook plants with great foliage. Plants like this Hosta can be beautiful even when not in bloom. Other great foliage plants include ferns, heuchera, heucherella, and more. Make sure you pick the right spot for these plants - ferns and hostas need shade from the hot afternoon sun. These shade loving plants often thrive where flowering plants don’t do well. |
| No yard is complete without some great shrubs. We chose to use the gumpo azalea at left because it stays low and does not require trimming. Keep the natural height of plants in mind and pick plants that stay compact to prevent the need for trimming hedges. |
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| Great compact plants for our area include Gumpo Azaleas, Indian Hawthorn, Henry’s Garnet Sweetspire, Dwarf Gardenia (radicans or prostrata), and dwarf rhododendrons.When picking plants, make sure you look at the tags and see how big the plant will get. Even better, find a good local nursery and get advice from the staff. |
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One of the most important things to reduce maintenance is to put the right plant in the right spot. The plant at left is thriving in our yard. It is in a spot where azaleas died before it was planted. The azaleas did poorly because this location is where water from the driveway goes during a rainfall. The spot was too wet for azaleas but perfect for this Little Henry’s Garnet Sweetspire. |
| Again, a good local nursery can give you advice on what to plant where. You may pay more for plants at the nursery than at the local big box store but a helpful staff that prevents you from choosing the wrong plants can be priceless. In our area, Big Bloomers is a superb nursery. The staff is helpful and they have thousands of different plants! Big Bloomers has all kinds of flowering plants and perennials but they don’t carry shrubs. Watson’s nursery or Cameron’s nursery are great choices for shrubs in the area.If you need to find a good local nursery, ask your neighbors or look on the forums at gardenweb for advice. |
Credit for this article goes to the green thumb at our house - my husband Garrick. I just enjoy the flowers - he does all the work!
To find out about homes in Sanford and Lee County, visit the Lee County NC Neighborhoods page on my website. Contact me to help you find your dream home in today!
You can also visit my Sanford NC Homes website for more information about homes in Sanford, Lee County, or Harnett County in North Carolina.
To find out more about ECO-friendly news and ideas, check out some great blogs I have found from other real estate professionals across the US:
Rita Taylor
ERA Ammons Realty
Sanford NC Real Estate
“Taylored” For You!
Rita, your garden is wonderful and the flowers even more wonderful. I love your photo of your black eyed susans. What a difference they make in a yard! When we sold our last house we sold it in the summer because the flowers really made it look spectacular. It sold in 10 days!
14 Aug 2007 at 11:31 pm
Joanne,
I love the black eyed susans too - they come back with more flowers every year. Flowers can add a lot to the curb appeal and can really help a home sell faster!
15 Aug 2007 at 8:39 pm
[…] Low Maintenance Eco-Friendly yards by Rita Taylor […]
20 Aug 2007 at 8:21 pm
Rita good tips for having a yard while being eco-friendly. Your plants are beautiful!
20 Aug 2007 at 8:21 pm
Ashley,
Thanks - my husband gets the credit for the flowers though - he likes pulling weeds and working in the yard. I just enjoy looking at the flowers after a stressful day.
20 Aug 2007 at 8:39 pm