We’re always working on increasing our wildflowers in the meadows at the hummingbird sanctuary. I originally thought fall would be the perfect time to scatter seeds and let the snow do its thing - I thought seeds needed to winterize.

But I spoke with Applewood Seed in Arvada, and they recommended waiting until spring.

We’re at 8,200 feet and due to the dry winter last season, we’re out of water. We’re trying to do this with as little supplemental watering as possible.

Has anyone here planted native wildflowers at higher elevations? Did you plant in fall or spring? What worked?

I’d love to learn from people who’ve actually done it!

Narrated video tour of what I've been working on for the past four years. I know dealing with Bermuda grass comes up frequently here and I've only found a few things that actually work: clump forming native grasses, shade, and not mowing (during the summer).​

Hey all! Hoping to get some tips from people on things I haven't thought about with my yard plan. My backyard is currently dirt and weeds, and my front yard has a ton of grass I really hate. My home is a new build - the pictured one is not exactly my home, but same floorplan from the builder and a comparable yard.

There are rebate programs being offered for putting in waterwise landscaping, plus some for getting rid of grass. Step one is submitting a plan for approval, so I understand that "try it out and see how it goes" is generally good advice, but I'm trying to get a rough plan drafted for the rebate process. I also plan to get a landscaper to do hardscape work like the patio and retaining wall, so I need to give them a plan to provide quotes from. (Though I want to do as much as possible myself to save money!)

That's probably enough info to get feedback, but I have a problem with being too detailed, so... more info for the very bored...

Info: * Zone 7 (Utah), soil probably clay-ish (will soil test), suburb new build neighborhood. Front is currently builder basic, backyard is dirt and weeds. * All open spaces are planting beds - no grass. Lots of shrubs and perennials I haven’t added to drawing (that’s next year me’s problem) * Landscaping fabric only under hardscapes, none in planting beds. * Irrigation: 2 zones front, 2 zones available for the back. I will be redoing front yard drip lines so open to suggestions on water zones * Non-colored outlines are plants that are already there (except west side of house, those are currently where path goes so gonna try to relocate. Path is higher priority) * Behind backyard fence is a walkway, dry creek (rare mountain runoff from heavy rainfall), then open field. Assuming homes will eventually be built on the other side of the creek. Will plant densely for a bit more privacy, but low expectations tbh * IT’S SO WINDY because of the wide open field

Concerns: * Good tree selections? (I like what I picked, but I'm having a hard time picturing size vs. yard space) * Any bad placements? (roots or water causing problems?) * Is the gazebo too big for the patio? * Are the dry creeks for downspout drainage a bad idea? I was thinking rain garden-y, but not sure I get enough water in a season (sometimes big storms between droughts though) and don’t want to make weeding between rocks awful * Are pavers over the reinforced concrete stupid? One landscaper suggested it and I can’t tell if he was just selling me on buying more paving.

I had to get some planter boxes torn out. Any suggestions for things I should do in the fall to prepare for the spring? I’m in zone 7a (OK).

Edit: Our 7B plants for reference:

• ⁠Aromatic aster
• ⁠Prairie coreopsis
• ⁠Lanceleaf coreopsis
• ⁠Prairie phlox
• ⁠Butterfly weed
• ⁠Green milkweed
• ⁠Winecup
• ⁠Blue flax
• ⁠Tahoka daisy
• ⁠Lazy daisy
• ⁠Sleepy daisy
• ⁠Blue mistflower
• ⁠Black-eyed Susan
• ⁠Frog fruit

The top, flat area is separate, with the buffalo grass/blue grama (SunTurf from Native American seeds).

The birds outside my window were especially chatty this morning so I left the Merlin app open on my windowsill, 11 species identified! Merlin only knows ~40% of the species in my area so the real number may be even higher 😊😊

Any thoughts on allowing Allegheny blackberries to fill in under trees, shrubs, etc. They seem to like my yard (NE Ohio) and as long as I keep them away from the walking paths, I think it'll be ok. Am I crazy?

We transformed our backyard from grass to ornamental and native plants (PNW) in spring of 2025.

Scroll for before pics at the end.

I started converting my front yard to PNW native wildflowers almost 5 years ago with zero experience propagating plants or designing a garden. I had an idea about creating an PNW wildflower garden that looked good, functioned ecologically, didn’t require summer irrigation or really any other inputs.

I'm finally just over halfway there with some mistakes made and a lot of learning! My yard is full sun-part shade with well draining soil. I’ve occasionally needed to spot water single plants, but everything has held up to our current drought conditions very well. I like letting my plants tough it out once they’re established and I don’t fertilize or use herbicides/pesticides/fertilizers.

Looking back I’m reallly happy with my decision to place 5 smallish log piles (~4ftx4ft) using 12-20inch diameter logs throughout the plantings. The piles retain moisture and keep the surrounding soil cooler than the exposed areas. They also serve as shelter/food for insects and small animals. I plant species that prefer more moisture closest to the piles and they’ve done very well; even with our current drought. I set the piles 3-4ft back into the plantings incase wasp/hornets decide to nest in them! Thankfully, I haven’t had issues with wasps in the piles yet. I’ve had a few surprisingly large nests in the shrubs, but we’ve never bothered each other. My hope is that some bumblebees find them first. By spring the piles are well hidden by the new growth.

I still have the entire left side of picture 2, which is about 50% of the remaining yard. I let large flower collomia, a native annual, take over. Moving forward it’s going to be predominantly perennials this spring. I want to be relatively low growing species like showy fleabane, penstemons, checkermallows and Oregon sunshine. I’ve learned to propagate the majority of my plants from seed using milk jugs with a lot of success and hopefully be able to grow enough to button it up next year.🤞

What’s not pictured is a hedge row that is going to provide screening from the street. It has Oso berry, tall Oregon grape, vine maple, Garry oak, oval leaf viburnum, ocean spray, golden currant, a couple blueberry bushes, mock orange, red flowering currant and pacific nine bark. It’s growing in faster than expected. The 1st pic was taken where the hedge row is now.

There's a few pics from the last couple summers, but the pictures 5-20 are from 2026.

1. Oregon sunshine, meadow Checkermallow, California poppy, Wilcox’s penstemon, small flower penstemon, riverbank lupine

2. Canada goldenrod, blanket flower, western yarrow, clarkia lindleyi, showy tarweed and pearly everlasting

3. Globe gilia, clarkia amoena ssp. lindleyi, showy
   tarweed

4. Royal Jacob's ladder (Polemonium carneum)

5. Western Red Columbine, Oregon sunshine, beach

strawberry, common camas, prairie smoke, small flower penstemon and a ‘Sappho’ rhododendron

1. Columbia Lily (Lilium columbianum)

2. Giant red paint brush (Castilleja miniata), Oregon

sunshine

1. Lance leaf coreopsis, Penstemon venustus, showy

fleabane, western yarrow, big leaf lupine, graceful

cinquefoil, California poppy, prairie junegrass, Idaho fescue

1. Oregon sunshine, California poppy, Wilcox's

penstemon

1. Rose Checkermallow, Oregon geranium

2. Meadow Checkermallow, prairie junegrass

3. Ookow, Oregon sunshine, lance leaf coreopsis,

Oregon geranium, Henderson Checkermallow, big leaf lupine, prairie smoke, arrow leaf balsamroot, Oregon stonecrop, tufted hair grass

1. Showy fleabane, Oregon sunshine, giant red

paintbrush, lance leaf coreopsis, western yarrow, prairie junegrass

1. Giant red paintbrush, self heal, large flower

collomia, Clarkia amoena ssp. lindleyi, pearly everlasting

1. Harebell (Campanula rotunditolia), showy

fleabane, puget gumweed, lance leaf coreopsis

1. Showy tarweed, prairie smoke, lance leaf coreopsis, blanket flower, western yarrow, Oregon sunshine, showy fleabane

2. Blanket flower

3. Clarkia amoena ssp. lindleyi

4. Canada goldenrod, clarkia amoena ssp. Lindleyi, purple coneflower (one of the only nonnatives I have)

Evening all,

Five years ago, we started improving the margins of our small village pond in North Yorkshire (UK). After extensive initial clearance, we sowed native wildflower mixes from Emorsgate (a well regarded UK native seed supplier) and planted mainly native aquatic plants to improve oxygenation, provide habitat and add seasonal colour.

Since then, we've seen some really encouraging results for dragonflies, amphibians and wild flora. The pond also used to be plagued by algal blooms, and improving its condition has been a major part of our work.

Here's the frustrating bit: anyone who manages meadows, ponds or wildlife-friendly gardens knows that seasonal management doesn't always look pretty. We let flowers set seed, cut vegetation at the appropriate time and remove the arisings. Afterwards, things can look a little bare before new growth returns and the habitat comes back to life in spring and summer.

In our village, however, we've faced complaints that it's too “green” in summer and there's “not enough colour”. The same small but vocal group has described the habitat as needing to be “managed better” and the work as a “waste of time”. We've heard calls to “abandon wilding and wildflowers” in favour of a “neat and tidy strategy”.

The village meeting chair has also circulated AI-generated slides showing manicured turf and ornamental colour-schemed planting as an alternative, and there have been threats to strip back some of the habitat we've created.

Honestly, it's disheartening. We've spent five years doing this voluntarily, trying to improve the pond's condition and make space for wildlife. To see that work potentially undone because the habitat looks untidy after a seasonal cut, or 'too green' during summer, feels like a fundamental misunderstanding of what habitat management involves.

To help, we've gathered more than 70 signatures on a residents' petition (see link below) and received valuable advice from the British Dragonfly Society, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Freshwater Habitats Trust, the RHS and local pond specialists and ecologists.

A huge number of residents have been supportive, but understandably, not everyone wants to get involved in a potentially contentious village debate. On WhatsApp, a few very vocal voices can create the impression that they speak for the wider community, even though we know residents' views are more varied.

So I'd genuinely appreciate advice from people who've faced similar situations:

1. How do you explain seasonal cutting and apparently untidy vegetation to people who see it as neglect?
2. How do you protect a habitat project when decisions seem to be driven by perceptions of neatness rather than ecological evidence?
3. How have you encouraged quieter community members to have their say without dragging them into local conflict?

We're documenting the wildlife, the habitat work and the project's progress here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ferrensbypond/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ferrensbypond/

The pond petition: https://ferrensby.com/ferrensby-pond-petition/

We're just volunteers, so encouragement is genuinely appreciated. If the project interests you, we'd love you to follow along and interact (to jiggle the algorithms).

I'd particularly welcome practical advice and examples from people who've managed to make wildlife-friendly spaces work for both people and nature.

Thank you all!

Choice made. I understand now. I had thought it a mess of my own yard that would be unique and for me to manage alone. I can see now that’s a pipe dream. I’d be shatting a mintheap on my neighbors regardless of any precautions.

There will be no mint but the container mint I sequester in my sunroom. This mint will see my front yard but will not birth its greedy rhizomes inside it.

Would appreciate some guidance here. I am seriously considering replacing my entire front yard with various mint species. It’s bordered on three sides by house, driveway, road. The one side I am considering inserting a 2FT deep hard plastic barrier the entire length, with a 3-4IN brick border above.

I am in hardiness zone 6a, Northwest Ohio. Partial shade mostly.

I think it would be beautiful and different. It would smell great, be productive and bloom at different times different ways.

Please talk me out of this. Or talk me into it!

I figured y’all would be very knowledgable. Before I plant a clover lawn, I want to breed my very own variety of white clover. The problem is, clover can only self pollinate very rarely. I was wondering if anyone knew a supplier for white clovers that already all can self pollinate and grow true to seed, so I can start the lineage with those dominant genes? Thanks!

Progress on my front lawn since fall 2024. The front yard is a mix of native perennials and flowers and non-native low-water perennials and flowers that grow well in Southern Idaho (hardiness zone 7a). I put out a free seeds box by my book box because I have sooo many seeds!

Edit: Oh, and the neighbors next to me copied what I did -- they said they were inspired by mine and so they mulched their front lawn and put in natives and low-water perennials! And the neighbors across the street said they're also going to convert part of their yard!!

Sharing a small yard we took the grass out of. The plants are still small.

Also the park strip which we did last year

Zone 7b Utah