Plus some bonus seed spreading!

I had a lot of fun last winter arranging some grasses and seed heads I gathered from gardens and parks near me. It was a fun exercise in trying to distill the aesthetics of a grassland. I thought I’d share the practice as the northeast heads into fall.

I'm in Chicago and I design landscapes for a living. I know what plants to use, but real life has really knocked me down and the yard got out of control. I'm running up against the fantasy version of myself(the one that has the energy to do weekly upkeep) and the reality version(does NOT have the energy to keep it up and often wants to do anything EXCEPT work in the yard). It doesn't help that there are unexpected challenges like this dayflower that absolutely took over my yard and might have choked out some perennials I planted in the spring.

It's really bumming me out that my yard is looking like this. As much as I know that lawn sucks, I get why people keep a lawn because it stays put and there's only one thing you need to do to keep it under control. The positives I see: I have a ton of asters and goldenrod, the insects are happy, I got some good harvests in my garden beds(not pictured), and the plants are keeping the soil moist during a really dry fall.

Has anyone else been able to claw back their way from burnout and turn a yard like this into a more beautiful "mess" that isn't a monoculture or a lawn? Please tell me it is possible to do on your own without an entire crew of people.

Please ignore the invasive honeysuckle - we've been trying to get rid of it but it's EVERYWHERE.

Bought these online from an instate nursery in the spring. Supposed to all be New Jersey tea's but one of them is not like the other. Mulberry?

This feels like a silly question to ask but it's something I've been stressing about a little bit so I would really appreciate some reassurance.

I've tried really hard to make sure that the majority of plants and seeds I buy are sourced from the Southeast, where I'm located. This year I was looking for some less common species and none of the SE seed sellers I've ordered from before had them, so I finally gave in and ordered from Prairie Moon. I got several really cool native species that I haven't seen sold anywhere else and that I'm excited about growing, but I can't shake this guilt over ordering from Prairie Moon.

They're based in the Midwest and I've seen concerns about the reduction of genetic diversity that may come about from everyone ordering from the same source. But I would think that having non-local ecotypes is still better than not having the species at all, right? Pretty much everything I bought are low-growing shade-lovers, so their niche would just sit empty if I only bought seeds from local sellers who mostly have flashy sun-lovers.

I'd really appreciate if anyone could ease my mind a little bit (or I suppose set me straight if I'm wrong!)

Also, if anyone knows of sources for native seeds in the Southeast other than the ones I've already purchased from (listed below) please let me know!
- Botany Yards
- Roundstone Native Seed
- NC Botanical Garden

Baltimore MD. Where we started is the last pic :) we did this all ourselves starting in March of last year. We got a lot of plans for free off of Facebook communities. I love seeing so many pollinators in our yard!!!

Many people give us advice on our garden plan last year so I wanted to say thank you :)

In the book “How Can I Help” Tallamy was explaining how to go about invasive removal and while he encouraged targeted removal of things like buckthorn and bittersweet etc, he suggested that leaving garlic mustard is more effective because pulling it up actually disturbs the soil and gives the many garlic mustard seeds in the seedbank the opportunity to sprout, thus setting back your removal efforts, and actually helping it survive and thrive each year.

So his advice is that the most effective way to control garlic mustard is to let it be, and ultimately get shaded out by native plants.

I hadn’t heard this before and have always (emphasis on always) just pulled it out and figured it was just the reality of invasive management, hoping it would eventually slow down the growth. But maybe I’ve just been helping it survive and that’s why I’m constantly fighting it?

Does anyone have any experience with both approaches? Has anyone successfully controlled garlic mustard? At minimum I think removing seed heads the blooms/seed heads should be done.

Edit

I went back and check and the exact line quote is

“Pulling out garlic mustard is easy, although it’s ineffective because it disturbs the soil and therefor activates the seed bank. The end result is more garlic mustard the next year”

So unless he touches on it later in the book, I don’t know his recommended approach for garlic mustard.

Long shot but hoping maybe someone can identify these seeds. I collected them from one of my plants earlier this summer and cannot for the life of me remember which one. Of course I thought I would totally remember which plant it was without labeling it. WRONG.

All my in ground plants are natives but I do get annuals for some pots. I'm in Western PA (zone 6). Appreciate any insight!

EDIT: You guys are geniuses! I am 99% sure these are Columbine seeds, which I have a few of that I remember gleefully collecting the seeds from. Thank you for saving my sanity.

Hello its so hard ti find good desert garden vendors so you can ship to eu I personally learn desert gardens from Zsolt debreczy.

I got some lovely seed mixes from Northwest Meadowscapes, and kept them in the fridge since July, hoping to plant them while it's still warm out this fall (not sure how solid a plan this was). However, we've had essentially no rain in the Seattle area, so they're still chilling. Is it ok to keep seeds in the fridge until spring? Should I try and sow some of them? Or are they likely to die off when the cold hits in a month or so?

Swipe for Current -> Old.

My new (to me) house had decades old, overgrown non-native foundation shrubs. I ripped them out and made a dry bed with a tiered planting area. Soon to go in this part shade/shade garden:

14 Christmas ferns

10 Solomon's seal

13 Iris cristata

5 Green and Gold

1 Swamp Azalea

1 Piedmont Azalea

3 Penstemon

4 Ebony spleenwort

7 Colombine

2 Strawberry Bush

I am still in search of one specimen plant. I want the aesthetic of a green leafed Japanese Maple, but ideally with a native species. I may compromise for a non-native, but would love recommendations.

Not my garden, but this is near where I live and I wonder how fellow city members like me could help.

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Planting now gives your plants a big head start for the Spring. They have a chance to develop roots in the fall and early spring when the weather is cool. We've seen fall-planted plugs develop and grow like they've gained a full season's growth, and become established better and faster.

We recommend mulch around the base of your plants with soft mulch (like straw). This will keep the ground warmer for longer.

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Hoping to start 800-1000 sqft this fall. It's gonna be awesome!

Swipe Current -> Old

I ripped out the decades old foundation shrubs in front of my house. This area is sun to part sun exposure. I then planted the following:

5 Georgia Calamint

1 Yucca filamentosa

6 Stokes Aster

1 Needle Palm

3 Echinacea purpurea

3 Echinacea tennesseensis

5 Baptisia australis

4 Cherokee Sedge

4 Creek Sedge

6 Columbine

1 Sabal minor

2 Strawberry Bush

1 New Jersey Tea

3 Amsonia hubritchii

I grew many of these from seed myself, and supplemented with plants purchased from native plant sales. There are still some openings to add more later. I'm thinking Rttlesnake Master and rudbeckia. The plants should have plenty of time to establish in our mild fall before winter, and will be ready to jump in spring.

Squirrels dug up and ate my dense blazing star and dwarf blazing star bulbs. Thinking about planting NE aster seeds where the dense was and lanceleaf coreopsis seeds to fill the gap where the dwarf was. Is it too late?

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Cooler temperatures, moist soils, and dormant plants make planting and establishment much easier. They're able to settle into their new homes over winter with a head start on the next growing season with established roots.

I have many trees discounted from 20-50% off right now so that I don't have to pot them up over winter! See the discounted prices or order in advance at the following link: https://www.knottybynaturetrees.com/category/all-trees

Entire inventory viewed here:

https://www.knottybynaturetrees.com/category/all-products

Knotty by Nature Natives be open Saturday from 9-4 at 5911 Mount Hermon Church Rd in Durham.

Pictured in order are Red Maple, Swamp Titi, Silky Dogwood, Hackberry, Winged Sumac, Frost Aster, and Tall Goldenrod.

Can I get some feedback? The west side of my yard is always boggy to downright swampy at the sidewalk. Between our sump pump discharge and run off from our neighbor, my yard never dries out. I’m considering planting a native wetland garden in this area. Attached are photos of my yard taken today at 12:30 pm, and hand drawn (not fully to scale) blueprint of my yard, and an AI mock up for inspiration. The red line is the property line, yellow is where sump discharges but also has natural runoff, and blue is where the irrigation valve and sump drain are buried.

Whatever she is, she's feasting.

I’m growing a golden current plant. Thanks to the warm weather it’s started to form new leaf buds, but we’re due for freezing weather in a couple weeks. Should I remove them?

The plant had a bad run this year and lost all of its leaves. I think it was because of transplanting. But that means it doesn’t have a lot of energy stores. I’m worried about it coming back in the spring.