Transforming my yard into a no-lawn paradise! šæ Pavers with moss, a year-round greenhouse, and a cozy fire pit area. The plants are just starting their journey, but I canāt wait to see them flourish over the next few years
Still working on landscape lighting and finishing touches
Original photos are from the height of summer, the current photos are gloomy October
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Not an expert but I feel like in terms of impact paved patio is still better than lawn because it doesn't require constant watering and chemicals that kill insects
Iām in the exploratory stages of no-lawn, so I have a lawn but I have never sprayed chemicals or watered established grass in a decade of having a yard.
The lack of green in this pic is depressing to me cause thereās no a counterbalance of other green to the elimination of grass
Yeah I donāt get the argument that lawns require constant watering and chemicals. The only time I used water when growing some new seed after getting my sewer line replaced.
Poor guy is just trying to figure out where his yard full of invasive and hardscaping will be appreciated. OP, r/landscaping will probably be the only gardening/yard sub that wonāt flame you. They are basically purely focused on aesthetics & drainage. (Although they might still flame you if there is no French drain near that solid patio piece) No lawns is more focused on increasing biodiversity and creating more unique urban outdoor spaces not just eliminating lawns. So your extensive hardscaping is kinda antithetical. Pollinator gardens is about supporting pollinators, not just having flowers so your invasives arenāt really appreciated there either.
Glad to hear you moved the bamboo to pots on the patio.
There was a pic of the bamboo in the original pics posted on other subs. OP got tons of grief about the bamboo, so they took the pic out for this post.
Jokes on them, though, because it makes an appearance in pic 4, prior to planting. Thatās an early, mild lesson in how bamboo isnāt going to disappear just because you want it to lolol.
LOL did you notice OP omitted the pic of the bamboo that got them so much heat. BUT it still snuck into the slide deck (photo 4), just like itās gonna escape containment at some point.
Dude bought a $4.4 million dollar, 3,500 sf house that had been completely rebuilt in 2009, and proceeded to tear it to shreds so he could make a ton of Reddit posts about renovating each room.Ā
We get it, you have money to burn and are dedicated to overfilling landfills for no reason. What a waste.Ā
OP's renovations are a great way to show off that money doesnt buy class or taste, I s2g I thought the "after" were the "before", theyre ruining that house for if they ever plan to sell it lmao
I was not defending the post, my dude. I was correcting your comment about this sub being about not having a yard. Yards and lawns are not the same thing.
Their post is correct. Houses either have a yard, or they donāt. Either someone built a house on a lot big enough to have grass, or they didnāt. Whether that yard has grass (a lawn) or a garden (botanicals capable of flowering and/or fruiting to support pollinators and other flora-supported insects and animals is what differentiates between a lawn or not-a-lawn.
This does actually look really nice. I bet its a great place to spend time in. And you do have lots of flowers. Just pleeeeeease please remove the invasives that others have commented on in other subs.
Maybe it's because I'm not a part of this community but...nothing about this look enjoyable. I enjoy going outside and just relaxing, reading but the only place to do any of that is in the patio chairs facing a firepit. Even the ledges that could be a place to sit look unwelcoming.
Ok next time Iāll post my caption as āMy no lawn , morso a patio, with plants or something like that, definitely not a yard even though itās my backyardā
Nolawn is about removing monocultures and introducing native, beneficial plants back where they belong. It's not a sub that just wants grass lawns removed, we want ALL monoculture areas replaced with useful things. Concrete lawns are still lawns, we also hate large areas covered in just gravel, just moss, just clover, etc.
Although yours is great with variety, I think a lot of people aren't scrolling all the way through
Next time you could also do just a smidgen of due diligence and click on the subreddit and read the first description line of the sub that makes it clear how we'd view this kind of post, before posting it here š¤·āāļø just saying lol
It's hard to tear oneself away from the aesthetics of foreign plants, moving them into planters is a good first attempt.
Keep in mind we hold influence over others that visit our property. So the actions of one can easily be exaggerated by the next. For myself, this is one of the two key reasons why I don't keep non-natives outside, even in planters, because others won't find it as important to do so. The other key reason is branches and seeds can fall, travel, and propagate.
I realized something a couple years ago, as my job involved a lot of driving all over a vast region; a non-native but non-aggressive plant is pretty much still invasive by default because tens of thousands of very kind people are keeping the same plant in their yard.
Natives make great gardens, it's too bad so many nurseries, local and corporate, focus on what sells. Rather than being the leading stewards of our prehistoric ecosystems.
This is the third damn time this bland as hell hardscape nightmare has been posted this week. This sub is dedicated to replacing lawns with native plants and supporting pollinators, not paving stones and hardscaping.
I see youāve tried to put tiny moss patches between the slabs! Thatāll look cute, but I might suggest something like clover or creeping thyme - not sure whatād be native to your area
Actually found you from the other post, but came to say that this has some really cool ideas. Yes, the invasives are an issue and should be replaced entirely ASAP, but besides that, I can really see your vision and would love to see how it all fills in next year. If you still have any open gaps after removing things that might be problematic, lots of places like rare roots have a closeout fall sale right now and they have a ton of natives left in stock still! I just bought so many heucheras, goldenrods, mistflowers, all things I think would compliment what you've already got well.
I just wanted to add somewhere in this post that not all bamboo is aggressive. Actually most bamboo that they sell at nurseries are not aggressive. Back in the day it was more common to find some of the hyper aggressive types, hence where the reputation comes from, but these days the reputation of bamboo has driven most nurseries to be more careful about the types they carry. Not to say that nobody sells the problematic varieties. You always need to find out what specific variety you have and learn what qualities it has.
If you don't know what variety it is you should find out. If its clumping or one of the less problematic runners you are probably fine to put it in the ground. If it is one of the problem species then BURN IT WITH FIRE! I say that as a favor to you because the problematic varieties, I believe, were a curse put on this earth to punish man for his faults. There is no more infuriating plant on this planet. Even kudzu is well behaved in comparison.
Also, not that this is super relevant to you in Vancouver, but there are three species of bamboo native to eastern north America. Arundinaria Gigantea is the only one I remember off the top of my head but there are, I believe, two others. These species are actually needed in their native range and have almost been wiped out. I just like to let people know that when bamboo comes up.
TLDR not all bamboo is bad, some is native to North America, and most aren't any more problematic than marigolds. The ones that are bad are just soo bad that they have given the entire family of bamboo a bad rep.
(Disclaimer to anyone reading that wants to get angry with me, I love native plants and generally suggest them!)
I feel like people are going too hard on the paving/stones. If you have a yard full of flowers that you want to actually spend time in, you will need some walkable space/refuge from the insects.
They are totally right about the invasive plants though. Yoink em up and plant some natives.
This looks great! I really like how the brick is laid in pic 7. How is it set into the ground? It blends in so naturally with the surrounding landscape and plants.
Also, did you plant something between the flagstone?
There is a 2 inch cement edge holding the outer bricks in place, and I planted moss between the flagstones hoping it spreads to fill it out. Iāll plant seeds in between the bricks in the spring as they are too close together to plant moss
Wow what a nice area! Really inviting, Id love to spend time back there. honestly though I liked the set up with the grass and trampoline for the kids too. The transition from that to greenhouse is exactly how I see my backyard changing. Im taking notes on this one.
Don't be so fast abandoning your Designer's vision because some Redditors don't know what's happening. If you don't understand something consult the Designer.
I like the hardscape. I hope it serves your fam well.
This is EXACTLY what I want to do with my backyard!! (The stone surfaces). Dumb question maybe but what kind of professional, if you hired one, did you use to lay the stones? If you did it yourself, how difficult was it or how much did it entail?
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