A Lawn Becomes a Meadow
The homeowners wished to replace their thirsty lawn with native plants. Bird-lovers, they keep a well-stocked feeder in the front yard, where they can view it form the kitchen table. We decided to make the whole garden work for songbirds, hummingbirds, and everything they like to eat.
Instead of tearing out the lawn, we sheet-mulched right over it. Valley Water came and measured before we began, and the clients got a rebate to help with the project. We planted Carex pansa as our meadow “matrix” base, with flower islands of penstemon, flax, lupine, and blue eyed grass. A layer of native bulbs will be added to the islands in the fall (I can hardly wait!). These photos were taken about 6 weeks after planting.
“Canyon Snow” Irises line the front walkway.
In the shadier parts of the yard, where we were planting an understory for existing Narrowleaf ash, plum, and dogwood trees, we planted snowberry, yerba buena, woodland strawberry, a few more irises, and Roger’s Red California grape. We raised a little ridge of mounded soil in the sunny strip bordering a public walking path for sages and Ceanothus— great wildlife shrubs, and a nice buffer between pubic and private spaces. Everything we planted here is California native.
