An Introduction on Converting Lawn to Prairie Gardens

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Urban lawns are high maintenance, resource-intensive, ecologically-barren Superfund sites. We can do better when we learn from and mimic local prairie or meadow plant communities from our region. Whether you live in Pennsylvania or Georgia, Arizona or Oregon, there are prairies, grasslands, and savannas to study.
In this 28 minute video see some exciting examples and possibilities, explore the basic how-to from prep to design to management, and take the first step into a healthier future where we live, work, and play. Prairie up!
As always, you can find far more detail and instruction via the 15 extensive online courses available at monarchgard.com. Some of the most popular include:
Starting Your Native Plant Garden
Green Mulching With Sedge Plugs
Fundamentals of Garden Layers
Cultivars 101
Designing With Common Nursery Plants
Encounters With Weed Authorities
We host a vibrant online community / forum of native plant gardeners, offer long-distance Zoom design consultations, and provide keynote addresses for a variety of organizations. Benjamin Vogt is the author of A NEW GARDEN ETHIC: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future, and PRAIRIE UP: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design.

Опубликовано:

9 дек 2021

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Комментарии : 96

@TheAdventureAuto 7 месяцев назад

My wife and I bought a house in December of 2022, and the roughly .25 acre backyard was all turf grass with 2 medium sized Dogwood trees in the back corners. I went to town and in one season built a path that twists and turns around the perimeter, planted 4 small native trees, over 40 shrubs, and too many perennials to count. I created a large area reserved for milkweed to help the Monarchs. And I've dug out two ponds. Looking forward to year 2.

@lollabells6121 5 месяцев назад

Thank you I have been on a CRUSADE to convince my family that grass isn’t the way to go! I just started converting our yard to a native paradise that is welcoming to the birds, butterflies, frogs rabbits & deer! My parents were sitting on our back porch last summer & they commented on how beautiful & peaceful it was! They couldn’t believe all the birds! Sometimes it’s just easier to show people- that’s how I won over my family at least & YES THEY ABSOLUTELY LOVE the beauty & less work! Not to mention it’s a wonderful teaching environment for our children, they get to see frogs, newts, baby birds & owls - to see their joy is amazing. They are learning to appreciate nature & respect our environment right outside their back door! Those are lessons being lost on too many young people these days.

@girlintheglen 3 месяца назад

I decided to pursue this path out of frustration with the cost of hiring someone to mow. Coming out of winter it was good timing. I was surprised to discover this subculture of meadow cultivators. In a short space of time my property is now boasting ground covers that flower and attract bees, and I'm able to use my push mower (not power), for a few paths within my new meadow inspired landscape.

@katiekruger2857 Год назад

“Make good trouble” thanks so much for this! I’ve had a lot of neighbor resistance (especially to our chosen method of spraying) which has been very discouraging. This was the boost I needed!! Off to go do a winter seeding and convert our MN backyard to prairie and pollinator habitat. (planning to add plugs in spring).

@bvogt Год назад

Prairie up! :)

@tom99790 11 месяцев назад

I did also, but with time they have come to appreciate what it offers..just takes smiles and time!

@Grimace99 Год назад

For those that want the HOW to covert your lawn, 13:55 is where you want to go.

@jdawg414 2 года назад

I’m so pumped! I have a somewhat large yard to convert . Still enough in the back to have a nice turf rectangle to play on. I’m all for less watering for sure and I love seeing nature do it’s thing. Great great video!

@lilchurro3 Год назад

How are you doing this / how did you get it all started? I am trying to strategize our large yards as well, and am thinking of doing some sod cutting and sheet mulching various patches at a time over a few years. I hate that it's slow though, but seems like gardeners need to get used to playing the long game. lol

@jdawg414 Год назад

@@lilchurro3 That’s what I’m doing too. This past fall I saved all my leaves, and took my neighbors as well. Last year my husband left piles of leaves and it killed patches of grass so I know it works quite well. I also saved a ton of cardboard so I’ll lay that all out this spring when the snow melts. I know it probably won’t be ready till fall at the earliest but you have to start somewhere plus I want to take my time to really plan out the planting plan.

@ziptiefighter 7 месяцев назад

I didn't set out to do this five years ago, but here I am...~3/4 of my front lawn has been converted to mostly (not all) natives. Some intermixed traditional (i.e. non-native) plants (daffodils, iris, tulips, lavender, et al) temper the anxiety of passing neanderthals.

@bjo7526 Год назад

Great video. Great idea. We seeded about 12 acres in spring 2021. By the following autumn it already looked great and will only get better.

@adiposerex5150 2 года назад

Our lawns are very European. It’s easy to see they don’t belong here. Grass is actually the weed. People sink lots of dollars on weeds. Too funny.

@burrochapadogrl 4 месяца назад

It’s even funnier how heart disease plagues Americans but they spray dandelions with poison AND THEY ARE MEDICINAL FOR HEART HEALTH

@tinyjunglejoy2706 2 года назад

I have great success with my ‘pollinator patch’ in MI this year. I’m planning to expand it and am adding more natives to my landscape. I have almost no lawn in the front and get consistent compliments from passers by

@Leaflimb 2 года назад

This presentation is so good, thank you, Benjamin!

@magyardeutschusa Год назад

I've learned more from your postings on native plants than any other.

@bvogt Год назад

Thank you. Glad to help!

@katiebird 2 года назад

Great video! I'm in to my first year restoring my front lawn to native plants. I'm documenting the process and will share it probably after year 3. The first year was pretty rough/weedy ugly...but I'm so glad I pushed through because I think year 2 is going to be beautiful! And I was surprised at how supportive my neighbors were. People would literally stop and tell me it was "really coming along" and it was beautiful. Your video is definitely inspiring!

@utubepunk Год назад

Almost a year later, how's it going?

@katiebird Год назад

@@utubepunk It's going great. I definitely learned how important it is to seed and plant densely. The weeds are crazy in areas that I didn't seed as much and almost nonexistent in the heavily seeded areas. I really recommend Aromatic Aster because it's aggressive but stays around 2 feet tall.

@freeradiorulo4894 Год назад

Nice work brother tear up that turf! I read your book and it convinced me to put in a native pollinator plot! I made a video about it as well. Keep up the good work!

@awildapproach 2 года назад

Fantastic video! Thanks for sharing it with us. I learned a lot.☺️

@melissamitarotonda8372 2 года назад

What a great video, one of the most helpful one I have watched recently!

@bvogt 2 года назад

Thanks!

@pelinkadercan2172 2 года назад

Thanks, this is beautiful

@bronwenh1861 2 года назад

I just had my front yard completely done in natives, and working on my backyard. I’m hoping to influence the people in my development. @Benjamin Vogt, has anyone in your neighborhood changed their lawns over to native gardens? I believe most of your pictures are from your own home, and everyone around you still has nothing but lawn.

@bvogt 2 года назад

No one in my neighborhood or client neighborhoods -- but my clients are all great advocates and helping to talk with their neighbors. I think the myth that lawns are easier to take care of stalls many conversations about these conversions, as I say in the video. Lots more pics of client spaces at monarchgard.com.

@samuraioodon Год назад

we don't have HOA but my city government of plant, texas has given me a few warnings about doing a pure clover garden. i told them the reason and so far no fines. i have changed it earlier this summer to a native garden that hopefully will bring more wildlife and pollinators. i mulched on very thick to kill off unwanted weeds and as time passes i will be propagating and making it as dense as possible. i only see 1 out of 50 homes that have this style. i'm also interested in bring more monarchs to my house, probably will buy bulks of milkweed and find a place to plant them.

@gardenreel 2 года назад

Nice👌👍

@noahejones 2 года назад

Appreciate the video! One follow up: can you please expand on what “spray kill” means to you ( Round Up, vinegar, etc….) Thanks!

@bvogt 2 года назад

Glyphosate, non pre emergent formulation. Lots of products have glyphosate in them, including Roundup. Which is actually less toxic than hort vinegar (stats in my forthcoming book on this). www.monarchgard.com/thedeepmiddle/to-spray-or-not-to-spray-garden-site-prep-and-reviving-biodiversity

@utubepunk Год назад

@@bvogt Why not a mix of orange oil concentrate, vinegar & dish soap?

@threeriversforge1997 Год назад

I'm planning it. The front yard is mostly hill up to street level, and shallow like a lot of urban sites. A thorough pain to mow, hence why it looks horrible. And since the slope faces the house, it'll make a nice place to de-lawn and add some native prairie. I'm thinking Panicum across the top for a "hedge" to block some noise and dust, and the slope proper with sedges to start since it's a pretty full-sun site.

@elizabethsavory4828 2 месяца назад

@wendyshelton5010 25 дней назад

We are from St. Joseph Missouri. We love this video would we be able to use this video in a court case about our prairie. Please and thank you for your time ❤

@wtravisyoung 2 месяца назад

Really appreciate your response. If a sod cutter is used, can the sod be flipped over and planted into?

@jdy1054 10 месяцев назад

I have a 50 foot black maple in my yard, (my small property is only about 2/10ths of an acre, about half is the house, driveway, and sidewalk)and about a 25 foot elm. The leaves are a problem in my 15 x15 native garden. They don’t decompose quickly and cause the mountain mint to die off. I tried leaving the leaves, I’ve tried blowing them out, raking them out. I used to shred them, but heard that lots of cocoons are in there. I don’t cut this strip in the fall. Best ideas? I love mountain mint. The coneflowers, milkweed, zizia , bee balm,etc seem to cope ok, but the leaves cause them to have some die off, too. I have planted a dwarf oak to replace a large black maple that died, so eventually it will return to a shade garden. What’s your best ideas on dealing with this? Shred leaves, mow the garden, let the plants that survive be, replace dead spots every year with new plants. I’m in SW Ohio.

@rrentz114 2 года назад

Also, how does planting trees fit into this theme? Are trees more for natural forested landscapes?

@karoleebrown1858 3 месяца назад

We need to find ways to to make the economics work to do this conversion.

@ErelasInglor Год назад

Hmm, the "Original grassland ecoregions" map is missing areas in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and from New Jersey's coast up to Massachusetts where there was a coastal grassland present originally. 🤔

@bvogt Год назад

Watch the new "Kill Your Lawn" video. Or see chapter 1 of PRAIRIE UP.

@ErelasInglor Год назад

@@bvogt Good to see some of it addressed. I was referring specifically to the map I quoted above. It's actually amazing to see how many maps out there misrepresent native plant and ecotype ranges across the U.S., but hopefully this will be amended as more historical data is accumulated on the topic.

@rrentz114 2 года назад

Great video Benjamin! Do you know of any examples of prairie or low maintenance native plant landscapes in warm subtropical climates like Florida? How about coastal areas?

@bvogt 2 года назад

There are lots, that I know, be as far as specific examples your Google search strings are as good as mine. FL has longleaf pine savananna.

@jeanaltshuler6989 Год назад

I am going to order your new book but do you have guidance in any of your courses on how to get rid of garlic mustard moving into our woods without using herbicide . Or do you have a materials that covers that? Thank you all your knowledge.

@bvogt Год назад

Sorry, I have no experience with GM, thankfully. I suspect you have years of using herbicide ahead, which is not a bad strategy -- means justify the ends when needing to rebuild native plant communities.

@brunetyannick1174 9 месяцев назад

Yeaaaaah, thiccccc ! Ahah you made my day with your love for prairies. Keep fighting the good fight !

@jdy1054 10 месяцев назад

I want to hear the chemistry joke! I’ll tell my condominium joke if you tell me your joke! I’ve been slowly adding native plants for about 20 years, and have only once used raid on yellow jackets in fall that had become too aggressive to safely live with.

@carold3086 Год назад

How do you handle lawn that has the netting? Can I still leave it in? I always thought it needed to be taken out by a lawn cutter in order to change to a native garden.

@bvogt Год назад

Leave it. Less site disturbance the better. We plant 90% of our plug gardens into killed lawn, lawn that maybe had netting.

@wtravisyoung 2 месяца назад

Can burning be used as a site prep to get rid of turf before sowing native seeds? If so, what time of year for burn? What other steps? Really hope you can answer this for me! Thank you!

@bvogt 2 месяца назад

Fire is not going to kill the roots of a lawn grass.

@bradstephan7886 2 года назад

Question: I have a rural Nebraska lawn of about 25,000 sf. This season I decided to just let it grow (I have no interest in planting, designing or landscaping) and mow walking paths. My usual mowing time is 4+ hours and now it's just 45 minutes. Do I really need to mow it all down in the Spring or can I just let Mother Nature take care of it? If I do mow, I definitely will NOT be bagging it! Thanks! PS - My original lawn consisted of whatever the prairie blew in. PPS - What about burrowing critters? As long as they are not burrowing near the house (I have concrete and pavers around the house), I don't mind.

@bvogt 2 года назад

Over time the dead material will pile up and suppress new forbs from germinating. A regimen of mowing and / or fire is always wise. Best to consult with someone on that. Burrowing critters help build soil and improve the ecosystem.

@fleabillydesign 7 месяцев назад

when is the best time to preform the annual mow (Texas 100 miles south of Austin)

@bvogt 7 месяцев назад

When soil temps remain in the 50s. Here in Nebraska I use Cropwatch which has daily 4" depth temp readings.

@user-dz7mc7it4f Год назад

What do you use to spray kill? & will it affect nearby young trees?

@bvogt Год назад

Glyphosate. Not if you read and follow the directions.

@lesleyjohnson3359 2 года назад

Thank you for the video. I am planning to slowly start converting my Wisconsin front yard to natives this summer. What lawn killer would you recommend for removal of the turf before planting?

@bvogt 2 года назад

One treatment of a non-pre emergent glyphosate. Lots of brand names out there. Follow bottle directions -- longer and green the lawn is, the better. I go over this stuff more in my online classes. ;)

@utubepunk Год назад

@@bvogt Glyphosate?! Really? That's also a known carcinogen & toxic. Why not solarizing or sheet mulch with cardboard boxes instead?

@bvogt Год назад

@@utubepunk www.monarchgard.com/thedeepmiddle/diy-garden-bed-prep-the-good-and-the-meh

@bvogt Год назад

@@utubepunk www.monarchgard.com/thedeepmiddle/to-spray-or-not-to-spray-garden-site-prep-and-reviving-biodiversity

@utubepunk Год назад

@@bvogt Thanks! What's your opinion on aerating soil in lawns?

@fpbuenosaires Год назад

What do you spray with to kill the original lawn? My concern is the poison going into the aquifer.

@bvogt Год назад

Glyphosate. It won't go into aquifer unless you dump gallons of liquid into a stream. Always read product instructions.

@kmsch986 Год назад

I bought a typical suburban home with lawn and I know how to deal with getting rid of the lawn but my huge issue is the builders apparent love of weed cloth and thick river rock mulch . The entire lot has a four foot border of it. I got a quote for removal and it was thousands of dollars which is outside my budget. Im thinking of trying “lasagna” planting over it and laying dirt on top and planting a lot of shallow rooting plants on top? Any thoughts . Hoping the roots would find a way and break through weed cloth over time

@bvogt Год назад

You must remove the cloth. Must. Then plant into the site soil, do not bring in new soil. Match plants to site.

@Han-uz1tl Год назад

The other major issue is city regulations about what may or may not go in your front garden, as well as neighbors complaining. I'm all in on converting 'dead' lawns into flourishing, vibrant mini-ecosystems, but the real change that's required is at the societal, political, and cultural level. As long as people continue to prefer 'dead' lawns to wild flowers, progress will remain an uphill battle. Every school in the nation should be promoting 'wild gardens' and warning about the dangers of all the herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers (not to mention gallons of precious water . . . ) required to keep those lawns from dying.

@bvogt Год назад

I cover those regs and working with an HOA in my book, online classes, articles, etc. It can be done. City regs can be overcome.

@scottcurtis1425 11 месяцев назад

have any of your neighbors converted their lawns? that would be interesting to see

@bvogt 11 месяцев назад

hahahahahaha

@wl3830 2 года назад

Wildflower so beautiful, here Canada Ontario, in Ottawa i had to mown my front yard, I couldn’t keep wild, this is law!!!! Shame

@UglySeventy8 2 года назад

Will rodents be a concern for the dwelling?

@bvogt Год назад

No.

@ryanpaulsen5603 2 года назад

Hit the like for the joke alone 🤣

@chrisp.76 Год назад

Would I see an increase in mice or rats if I transform my lawn into native meadow?

@bvogt Год назад

Rats eat human waste, not plant seeds. As with any natural garden, you will see an increase in wildlife. If the landscape is balanced, mice become an important food source for hawks, foxes, beneficial snakes, etc.

@graffic13 5 месяцев назад

No mention of NW ohio... major monarch habit.... biggest week I'm birding happens in NW ohio.

@rustyshackleford9557 2 месяца назад

I live in a town that gets 17 inches of rain annually and is naturally prairie land but most of our citizens couldn't tell ya the difference in a zero-scape and a xericsape. They all have bluegrass yards with zone 7 plants in a zone 6 USDA zone Your beautiful landscape would immediately get me a code violation letter with a fine.

@Kneenibble Месяц назад

Something tells me you fit right in, edgelord.

@rustyshackleford9557 Месяц назад

@@KneenibbleI had to look up " edgelord" , I appreciate learning a new word. I edited my comment to be a bit less edgy. Thank you. I am like a pelican in the forest, an owl at the ocean, the quote psalms.

@jjgrenwich264 Год назад

Or, if you plant maximillian sunflower, rest assured nothing can out compete it, lol

@briankoziel6650 27 дней назад

Oh my neighbors are going to be upset if I make our front lawn look like the backyard. Oh well.

@luthiermatt Год назад

Less why and more how.

@bvogt Год назад

This is an introduction. The "how" is in the online classes.

@Bananapants000 11 месяцев назад

What's your chemistry joke...? 🥺

@bvogt 11 месяцев назад

I'd tell you but I wouldn't get a reaction.

@Bananapants000 11 месяцев назад

@@bvogt OHHHH I SEE....

@brettmoore3194 9 месяцев назад

Could you imagine if everyone converted their yards to produce ,.,. Produce

@knyghtryder3599 Год назад

Lawns make me puke , such waste , strips n paths or small short grass patches are great for furniture , bbq , walking accessibility, but all else should be prairie , forest marsh or desert or whatever wild land , endless lawn is so upsetting and unappealing and weirdly codified into land use law

@asfd74 Год назад

I call it having you vision adjusted. Once your vision is adjusted, rose gardens, lawns and manicured gardens look hideous. Makes me want to knock on their door and complain or call the city inspector :)

@knyghtryder3599 Год назад

@@asfd74 Thanks for the support ! We want the aesthetics , but we need the wildlife , without the nature it doesn't make sense

@francostacy7675 Год назад

I am converting yard over to food and habitat for insects. I use no chemicals and create my own compost but I think a lot of your data is exaggerated and you lose people because it’s not believable. Just because somebody has a nice chart or diagram or paredo charts or even a published book doesn’t make it factual. I do like your message though and believe in the value of what you preach so don’t take it as a negative. Good video and lawns are a waste