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And it'd still leaves the option for zone 8-9 hardy shade loving accent plants and some stone or cypress mulch.

That thinking will likely fall by the wayside as gas prices continue to increase.

user wrote:

That thinking will likely fall by the wayside as gas prices continue to increase.

nah you will just see more electric / hybrid / whatnot offerings in the mowing department.


Or maybe more fuel efficient gas engines that offer more mows per gallon. Really who needs a 61/2 hp hotrod.

In all honesty gas will have to be a lot higher than $4 a gallon before it really starts to matter.  We have around 3 acres, we blow snow, bag the leaves with the mower, we have a gator, leaf blowers, chain saw and we used around 80$ of gas last year.

nayrk wrote:

Tallgeese wrote:

Pariah wrote:

I am deliberately introducing "weeds" into my backyard. I stop by the side of country roads and collect cuttings from flowering indigenous plants and transplant them into my yard.
My goal is to have all natural flowering plantings that will attract and support native species of birds and insects. I call it my "hippie garden" project.
I haven't gotten that much in yet but I am already seeing many more butterflies, dragonflies, bees, birds and giant garden spiders. Artificially fertilized and cultivated yards might as well be dead zones as far as the native flora and fauna are concerned. I want a yard that is alive and thriving with life.

Look hippie, in America you are expected to have only zoysia or fescue in your yard cut at precisely 3.25" a minimum of once a week with a gasoline-powered mower. You are also required to water it during the daytime and use fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides that may cause your pets and/or children to develop health problems. Get with the program!

i despise how often this is the case

Next spring the front yard will get a good application of corn gluten meal and that's all I am willing to do to control weeds. I do keep a small spray bottle of plant killer for really noxious weeds like thistle. Spot application when needed is much better than making the whole yard toxic as a Super Fund site.

Kinda funny, a Texican advocating a roundup.

"Get yourself some Agent Orange, pilgrim."

user wrote:

I use spot applications of roundup, but only for poison ivy.

I tried using a "spot application" of roundup while watching Poison Ivy - and it really really hurt.

Yes I have updates.  Sorry I haven't been on, but work had to be done and I'm tired at the end of the day.  The rock was moved, the yard has been sprayed (again) with agent orange.  We had a lot of rain last week which made the weeds grow faster and faster.  I have been raking and clearing out the dead stuff that does come up with a rake.  Nothing is above 6" except the tree, and flowers which all stay as is.  We replaced the broken rock with large amounts of stone to build the retaining wall, though still in sight of passers by, you have to really be "looking" to see it.  We are trying to move it behind the house and next weekend to the final resting place as we build our wall.

We have no weeds over the side walks (never did)  Nothing blocking the "public" right of way anyway. as for the truck parked in the yard yes it is ok there as we have it on brick.  The rule is it has to be on rock, or brick or something, not just on dirt, but hard to see in the picture.

Friday was the deadline so I assume they came by today or will wait until Monday (I know they want that money)  as for being turned in I almost doubt it (though I wouldn't put it past one guy)  Neighbors are all friendly and understand we have been out of work for the past year, and realize our failed attempt at seeding grass last year.  I was told by one neighbor that the city loves to just drive around and pick out houses.  i know this from experience with my grandfathers house, although he is on a a much busier street than I am.

I understand city laws, even though I don't agree with them.  If we had junk cars, or furniture in our yard I could see it, but I hardly think dead constitutes fines.  I would add rock, but as pointed out it adds way too much heat and that is one thing I am trying to cut back on.....in the summer anyway. 

Our plans to move to Alaska include moving as far away from a town as we can afford to and let nature run the yard with the exception of a dog run that our dog will see only in the light of day no matter how little it is.  Don't want him getting eaten.

Orion wrote:

See, I could see people not wanting junk in the yard, and there are laws regarding that already for both city and country folk.  You need a junk yard permit if you want to keep that stuff around.  What I am complaining about is neighbors who bitch about lawns, flower beds, paint color, etc.  I work in a town that is too smurfing picky about that smurf.  I had a guy whip out a machinist rule and bitch that his mower was cutting 1/32 of an inch lower on one side than the other.  He wanted me to fix it.  WTF?  Another guy was bitching about a "weed" in his lawn that was spreading from a neighbor's place.  The "weed" happened to be an attractive plant that put out tiny yellow flowers.  I thought it looked nice in the lawn and gave it some color.  This guy nearly blew a gasket over it and threatened to call the cops.  smurf, if its green and it grows, it becomes lawn around here.  Crab grass, quack grass, bluegrass, wild wheat, canary grass, brome grass, timothy, prostrate knotweed, creeping charlie, fox tail, ragweed, pigweed, etc are all present in my lawn.  Its awesome.  I never have to water it, never have to fertilize it, and it stays a nice deep green.



I still think that the "requirement" for keeping your house/yard all tip-top is bs.  If I want my grass shaggy and I want to park my car in the drive way, and I want to grow "weeds" in my flowerbeds, then why the smurf can't I?  Its not hurting anyone.  Like Res said, doing so can invite wildlife back into the cities and make life more interesting.

I agree. I live out in the country surrounded by hay and cornfields. Hell, the majority of my own property is split between corn and oats this year, with the remainder being pasture. You honestly think I'm going to keep "weeds" out of my lawn?

I don't know all the names for the stuff growing in my lawn, but guess what? My yard is green and lush, and miracle of miracles, when the lawn mower goes over the weeds, they get cut to the same length as the grass. My friends in town, they cut their grass short like astro-turf, suck up all the clippings and wonder why their lawn turns brown in August, despite the watering and the fertilizer. Me, I just keep cutting that green smurf once a week, without doing anything else.

BTW. I have a parts car for my wife's car, and an old Sundance I want to stick a new gas tank into. They're sitting in front of my pole shed in the pasture. The parts car has a vine growing out of the old engine compartment. It might be wild cucumber or something. I don't know, I don't care. It looks green and healthy and pretty. I'm not a total redneck though, I do cut the grass around them! I wonder what a neighborhood association would say about that?

user wrote:

Denali, have you been able to see any of the Tougher In Alaska shows? I'm sure he exaggerates some for drama...

No I haven't but I have heard about them.  Hubby and I are both big Alaska fans.  I know it's a much harsher place to live but one reason I like it is we can get away from neighbors and stupid city stuff (I guess we could almost do that here)  We've both traveled to AK and do hope to call it home one day

evilproducer:  Our "lawn" was covered in sandburs and goat heads when we moved in.  We have gotten rid of some of the most sticky of the plants.  We were hoping that a really good "nuke" of the yard would help keep them from coming back.  I know that with all the seed that is down, it will be difficult.  We plan to either sod next year or just plant grass and nuke just the weeds as they come up.  One way or the other we do plan to have grass in part of the yard.  The other part will have some kind of plants that are for hot dry times.

Oh and thanks for the tip on not raking what you mow.  When we get our grass I will have to keep that in mind.