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Health & Fitness

Landscaping VS Gardening?

Do You really NEED a Lawn?

I LOVE working in the dirt, planning which plants to grow, where they'll thrive best (sun? shade?), deciding which plants will complement each other when growing next to each other, all that "stuff". I never had any formal training in growing things, I am self-taught...which means I've killed my share of plants over the years. but I've also learned a lot about what DOES work.

Something I've also become aware of over the past several years is that my personal idea of what I'd like my "garden" to include & how it would look has changed. I no longer believe that I should have a "perfect, manicured" lawn of exactly 2" height grass. In fact, a lawn is not in MY vision at all anymore. Instead, I see a variety of plants, shrubs, & trees which will thrive without very much maintenence at all because they are all plants which are native to THIS region, to this climate, to this growing season, even to this red clay soil (?)...well, probably a BIT of soil amending will be necessary for some plants.

I no longer think a lawn, in the front of the house or the back yard, is desirable. In fact, it's a LOT of work to keep it looking good, weed-free, and what a LOT (a waste?) of water it requires! During drought years, it's almost sinful to water a lawn as much as necessary to keep it green, and my conscience will no longer allow me to waste natural resources on something that's not necessary for appearances sake.

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Instead, I've spent entire weeks ripping up a lawn (I'm sure one could hire someone to do this, but I did it myself; it's HARD work, just so you know) in order to put down a weed/grass barrier over almost the entire area where the lawn once existed & placing wood chips (or a different substance of your choice) several inches thick. Wood chips don't need to be watered. The weed barrier can be either the store-bought kind (usually a black cloth-like roll of a material that blocks most things from growing up through it), or you can use layers of newspaper (five or six layers, overlapping each other), followed by the wood chips. You might even be able to get some wood chips for free from a tree removal company's truck---they have to get rid of those chips somewhere, why not your yard? Can't hurt to ask...(Note: be cautious about WHAT they've been chipping, or you could end up with some undesirable plants growing in the middle of your yard).

I don't cover my entire property with wood chips; that would be rather boring, in my opinion. Besides, I like to grow SOME things. But rather than going to the garden store & impulsively buying what looks "pretty" or really nice (in the store!), I do a little reading about which plants grow naturally around this area. These are the plants that will require the least amount of care from me, after they've become established. Some weeding is always going to be necessary, but that's life. So I go to the garden store already knowing which plants (shrubs, trees) will do well in the locations I've selected for them in my yard. Leaving different areas without the weed barrier is usually how I work with what I DO want to grow. Yes, some garden soil and/or compost will often be necessary if roots are going to work their way through the dense clay that's in so many yards in our region, but not as much as you'd expect.

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You can also ask some friends & neighbors for cuttings from their gardens if they're growing something that you'd like to have in your yard, maybe returning the favor with something from your yard that they'd like to grow (or a new garden trowel!). "Swap plants" to save money, as well as to ensure that that plant WILL grow in your region.

If you've already weed-barriered an area where you eventually decide you want to plant something after all, you can fairly easily dig through the chips & barrier to make a hole large enough for your purposes (you might need scissors to cut through the store-bought barriers).

Then, the rest is up to your imagination and desires. There's no "law" that says you must grow vegetables in a different area than ornamental plants (although you might want to be aware of deer or other animals in your neighborhood who might eat some of your "tastey" plants, & segregate those appropriately). Arrange your planted sections of the yard according to where individual plants will "like" the conditions (full sun, part sun, shade, etc), as well as where you think they'll complement each other, on color, texture, heights, etc. Experiment---you can always move a plant or try something different next season if it didn't work out as well as you'd hoped. That's exactly how I learned the gardening skills I have "cultivated" over the past 15 years or so. Trial & error. Ask someone knowledgable (someone at the garden store, or in the horticulture dept. or extension service at UGA). ANY experienced gardener will be happy to give you advice---obviously, they love to garden & are usually willing to advise you about what & where & when to plant, and how to keep your plants healthy & looking good.

If you absolutely HAVE to have a lawn, go sit in a shady spot at the Botanical Garden and wiggle your toes in their grass to your heart's content!

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