What do you get when you fire the company who was mowing your backyard and then let nature take back over in some areas? The answer for me is ~50 new trees, enjoyment, a non-comparable sense of pride, an endless supply of work, the feeling of being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of growth, and …
After my first year living here I decided the backyard lawn guy had to go. I wanted to see what would grow if not sheered off at ground level. The previous owners had nothing in the yard other than grass (not fancy grass, just the ordinary patchy variety), 4 trees on the sand hill, 1 sycamore tree on the bedroom side yard, and a row of cedars at the back fence line. I’ve planted a few new trees myself, and lots of bushes and plants, as well as an annual veg / flower bed. This year I focused on butterfly and bee friendly flowers.
What has been just amazing to me is the incredible variety of plant and tree life I now have. What fun it’s been watching new things pop up. Volunteer trees are everywhere, from cottonwood to elm to maple and mimosa. My goal, what I’m working toward, is to have my own personal nature center. I’m using that term very loosely.
The main downside, or “issue” for me is difficulty in maintaining it all. My property is half an acre, and while that’s not big by Kansas standards, it’s pretty big for standard, Southern California city lots. I have a very limited range of tools, a meager budget, and only so much time, what with the summer heat, a parttime job, and whatever else that’s always taking time from my days.
The lawn that had been here didn’t die, it grew, and grew and grew as I’ve battled it back. The little electric weed whacker (string trimmer) that my brother bought for me is about as overworked as it can get. My manual lawn mower (bought for $10!) balks if the grass gets over 2″ in height, which it surely does when I’m away visiting relatives. When I returned from 10 days in California recently, during which time it rained on several days, the backyard was wild. I’ve been trying to get a handle on it again, but yet again, rain! I’m glad for the rain, but you can imagine the after effects.
At any rate, my backyard experiment is a work in progress. I just love seeing all the wild things that grow on their own… bushes with berries that the birds just love, wild morning glories, sunflowers galore, moon flowers, dandelions, and more. ~SueBee
SueBee Arts 
A splendid experiment. Letting grass grow is always a problem as it is very hard to control once it gets past a certain height unless you have big machines. Have you thought of a goat?
Yes, I have thought about a goat, or two, but learned they may not be allowed in a residential neighborhood. I’ll have to do more research as I’m sure they’d do a great job, once I fenced off half the yard that I wish to keep intact!
Maybe a sheep with a good appetite would be more acceptable.
Indeed! I’ll do some research with the city folks.