I am mostly in the planning phase but, today I mowed my backyard and I only mowed the areas that had lots of the ugly weeds. I attached the picture of that in progress.
I just found out about leaf mulch. Basically just about all natural forests are heavily mulched by leaves. The first major plan I have is to plant trees and I will be planting 1 to 3 trees in the front yard. I will use a standard mulch until the tree(s) sheds enough leaves to produce enough mulch for the tree(s) themselves. Apparently it is better to shred them than to leave them whole. You can use a lawnmower to shred them and there are other ways. The link I will post below has all the other methods of shredding them plus a whole lot of other info. I liked that site the best but there are plenty of others. After I shred them I will make or, buy weaved plant material to place on top in the fall to prevent the wind from blowing it away.
For the tree I might forage for the seeds in a state forest or, buy a seedling. It is legal in my state to forage for food and seeds for personal use. If I can but, I do not believe I will be able to legally, is to forage for weaving material to hold the leaves down.
I did have a tree in my front yard at one time but, I decided to have it cut down when I noticed it leaning towards my house. What I did realize is you get a lot less weeds with the shade. As the tree grows it will shade more and provide more mulch for a larger area.
I still have to have a small area of grass or, something that does not hinder digging for the cities easement area. I also want a few feet of grass/lawn near the houses of my neighbor's as I feel not doing so would be rude. I am trying to go low maintenance along with minimal lawn.
For the backyard I ordered running bull clover but, I do not have it yet. I am also trying to go 100% native to Indiana. Running Bull Clover is extninct in my area. I am
to plant plants that are endangered or, currently extinct to my area. As far as the tree, Ash is the only tree that has a problem do to the Emerald Ash Borer. There is the American chestnut but, I will not even go through the trouble of getting a seed. Basically you have to promise to marry the tree to obtain one, not only figuratively but, kind of literally.
I will probably will not select an Ash due to its size and I have a small yard. Plus I would feel better with 2 so they can produce seeds. I still have a lot of planning so feel free to give any advice.
by DenaliDash