Toby Riley in Northeastern Florida wrote to the Lawn Reform Coalition to tell us:
In 1998 I replaced my St Augustine grass with stone and mulch and crape myrtles etc – best move I ever made and it has paid for it'self many times over. Please sign me up as a supporter. Toby Riley.
So asked what was there before and he answered:
There was only a strip of grass along the front of the lot, about 30' by 210'. We saved most of the original trees. The grass was replaced in 1998 with native shrubs, ground cover, crushed stone and the crape myrtles. This year I am adding a vegetable garden since the front yard gets the most sun.
No yard maintenance costs, no fertilizer and very little water used. I have been repaid several times over. Please send it all over the country and we are glad to offer tours to anyone passing by in NE Florida.
Great transformation there, Toby, and thanks for sharing it.
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That sounds like permaculture gardening right there. Nice work. I'm a bit too attached to that green patch of carpet I call my lawn to replace it with native shrubs I'm afraid…
I am sorry, I have to disagree Justin. Native shrubs and hedging add so much more interest to a garden whether it is front or back. They are easy to look after and care for unlike a lawn which has to be carefully mowed extremely frequently in order for it to look good and neat.
Well one thing's for certain – yours sure does look good.