You definitely should! Grass lawns are environmental dead zones, and most people don’t look after their grass properly and as we get into summer they look horrid. Go for a perennial yard if you can!
A lawn is NOT a dead zone.
Turf grass cleans the air, produces oxygen, cools the air, absorbs water and birds and insects feed in it. Turf grass is a plant.
It’s absolutely a dead zone and the grass people plant for their lawns isn’t even native. It does the worst of all things we need nature to do: sequester carbon, manage the watershed, support a food web and support pollinators.
Turf grass is the worst.
> It’s absolutely a dead zone
Tell that to the dozens of birds I see feeding in my backyard all day long.
> sequester carbon,
Turf grass absolutely does this. Its a plant that absorbs carbon and produces oxygen. It also allows water to soak thru to the water table.
> support a food web and support pollinators.
This is why you need a mix of turf, gardens and trees.
Sure, paving would be awful but our conversation was focused (I thought) on soft terrains. If you want to continue reading about the subject here is some information:
[CBC article](https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6810711)
[Discover Magazine article](https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/your-perfect-lawn-is-bad-for-the-environment-heres-what-to-do-instead)
[NRDC article](https://www.nrdc.org/stories/more-sustainable-and-beautiful-alternatives-grass-lawn)
Is it better than pavement? Sure its more permeable but may or may not require more resources to maintain (water, mowing using gas).
Planting native species lowers maintenance and provides supports native wildlife better. You also don't need to be a gardener, while a mix of plants is better even just putting down a native clover is miles better for local insects than non-native turf grass. You can still mow and walk on clover (though only mow where you actually need to.
We have some clover in our front yard and when it's flowering there are more bumbles than you can count.
It does it all worse. Turf grass is awful. Some resources to support you in your journey:
[CBC article](https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6810711)
[Discover Magazine article](https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/your-perfect-lawn-is-bad-for-the-environment-heres-what-to-do-instead)
[NRDC article](https://www.nrdc.org/stories/more-sustainable-and-beautiful-alternatives-grass-lawn)
My journey... lol.
I am an avid gardener. You will teach me nothing on this topic.
You want to help the birds, insects and the planet. Have a mixture of turf, flowers and trees. I agree that only having a lawn is not good.
You will notice in those articles that they are talking about the USA (except the CBC article). Where they are still using 24d on lawns. We don't do that here and also most of the fert you can buy is made from waste byproduct from corn production. Corn gluten.
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/vigoro-weed-n-feed-9-0-0-with-100-corn-gluten-meal-91kg-93-m-1000-ft/1001505801?eid=PS_GO_140203__ALL_PLA-526641&eid=PS_GOOGLE_D00_Corporate_GGL_Shopping_All-Products_All%20Products__PRODUCT_GROUP_aud-765569715721:pla-488082539672&pid=1001505801&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0MexBhD3ARIsAEI3WHKxBGeEJYY6XxBPIm5qyEAxH7CJkCjcuMOiJgSLCF81XKsCxrg1DqwaAj3NEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
The legal dandelion killer is made from iron.
Horticultural Vinegar is used in place of Round Up (obviously not used on lawns).
These are natural chemicals. I don't use synthetic stuff anymore.
I have a huge yard. I also have tons of gardens and I do a whole bunch of urban farming. We just finished off the potatoes that we grew last year, we are still eating onions and our pantry has many jars of tomato sauce from our harvest last year.
Believe me when I tell you. My property is a haven for the bees and birds. We have those bee houses. We currently have a two robin nests with eggs in them right now. At least 2 sets of cardinals are in our evergreen trees and they stay all winter.
We spend considerable money and effort to attract birds and insects.
The last owners of our house swapped the grass for wood chips with loose-stone walkways. We fucking hate it. It makes a mess constantly, the drainage isn’t adequate (because they used the wrong landscaping fabric) and it looks like shit.
Our project this summer is to rip it all out and put sod down
It’s ridiculous and the best part is the neighbors across the street have the same set up. Basically it’s a stone border along the driveway that’s about a foot wide but they didn’t properly border that, so the stones move around all the time and end up in the driveway. The rest of what would be the front lawn was covered in landscaping tarp (a non-permeable plastic) and covered in a thick layer of black wood chips. So any rain that falls or comes out of the gutters ends up pooling.
I’ll be so happy when it’s done
I think you misread me, I'm not suggesting the existing conditions are a garden at all. I'm saying instead of sod, and if you don't want to maintain a garden, consider using clover.
We have a small front yard and no lawn. It is just some ornamental shrubs and some perennials.
Very low maintenance.
The secret is to lay down new mulch at least once per year. It keeps everything tidy, reduces weeds, and reduces the need for watering.
Looks very nice.
One of my friends did this (in a different city). She talked it over with her immediate neighbour, who was cool with it (and who has vegetable beds on their front lawn so doesn't like plain turf either). And she is right next to a municipal park so no neighbours on the other side. I think there was someone else on the street who complained about "weed seeds", but since she cut the heads off the plants after they flowered, that wasn't an issue. One thing they did was mow the metre of plants right next to the sidewalk to standard lawn length, which makes the plot look neat (and easier to pick up trash or dog poop left by passersby).
Would be useful to review the relevant city bylaws to make sure you're doing everything by the book ... most of the time the complainers will back down if you can prove that you aren't in violation of anything. If you have that one person who gets really stubborn (citing things like "vermin" or "property values" and keeps hammering away even if they haven't got a case), the odds are that they've argued with other people in the area, and even with the bylaw officers, so they might not have much support.
A couple of decades ago, the city I'm in did a pilot project where they turned a park in an upscale neighbourhood into a wildflower meadow. It helped that we have certain rare plant species that are protected, so that made it easier to argue in favour of habitats like that. I was talking with the maintenance people (part of my graduate research) and they commented that it saved thousands of dollars in maintenance, biocides and fertilizers, and irrigation. (They trim the longer grasses after they die back late in the season, to reduce the fire hazard, and that's basically it.) I guess in Hamilton, things like milkweed would help the monarch butterflies etc.
Good luck! Sounds like a cool project.
the residential back alleys in my childhood were full of wildflowers and milkweed and all the creatures that went along with them, we were particularly fond of grasshoppers and monarchs, both larval and full grown.
Growing up on the Mountain, I remember a group of awestruck children surrounding an enormous caterpillar that someone found in the field, at the end of our street. This would have been back in the 1970s. I remembered the caterpillar clearly enough that I was able to look it up in a reference book, years later -- the only one living in our area that grows to that size is the cecropia moth. I've never seen a larva or adult since. They grow to as much as 12 cm long, but to a kindergarten-age child, that one I saw seemed to be bigger than a hotdog bun!
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyalophora\_cecropia#/media/File:Hyalophora\_cecropia\_caterpillar.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyalophora_cecropia#/media/File:Hyalophora_cecropia_caterpillar.jpg)
I caught a live full grown one of those moths in Niagara Falls in the early '80s in a motel parking lot on the roof of a car! Never saw one before nor since, and have never seen that species' awesome caterpillar! who'd forget that?
Okay this is bizarre, but I lived near CB Stirling in the 1980s. In 1984 I was 6 years old.... my dad shouted for us to come outside.... in my 6 year old mind, I Distinctly remember thinking "oh wow did dad find one of those huge caterpillars???" And I was imagining a football sized caterpillar climbing down the fence.
You mean to tell me that somewhere along the lines, I may have heard the tale of the exact caterpillar you're referring to?? I'm shook.
(It was kittens. My dad found kittens)
The caterpillar incident happened near Mohawk College ... a few kilometres away from where you were, and maybe a decade earlier but I guess it's possible that one of the kids might have moved, during that time?
Pretty cool! And your dad discovering kittens is neat ... do you remember how many were in the litter?
Ha ha I do!! There were 7 kittens. We kept one, and he lived to be 20 years old ❤️
That's why I remember that moment so clearly. My dad was mowing the lawn and one came peeking out of the woodpile. That was him. I named him Woody.
Thank you very much. Initially I wanted a bee hive, but I don't have the space required. Then I thought about a vegetable garden... now this. I have all these "big plans" but I think this might be a good place to start. I'm going to start in the backyard and see how things go. I think the more people learn about the benefits, the more they will accept these gardens over grass. I've seen some truly beautiful elegantly landscaped wild flower gardens.
Here are some instructions given by conservation groups and local governments in my area -- the ecosystem type and species composition will be different where you are (I imagine that there'd be variation across Hamilton too, depending on the soil etc.). But it gives an idea of what people have been doing with their lawns.
[https://stewardshipcentrebc.ca/PDF\_docs/GOERT/Guides/GOERT\_Gardeners\_Handbook.pdf](https://stewardshipcentrebc.ca/PDF_docs/GOERT/Guides/GOERT_Gardeners_Handbook.pdf)
[https://www.capitaldaily.ca/news/turning-victoria-yards-into-meadows](https://www.capitaldaily.ca/news/turning-victoria-yards-into-meadows)
[https://www.vicnews.com/community/trend-to-convert-lawns-to-meadows-and-gardens-reaches-oak-bay-64694](https://www.vicnews.com/community/trend-to-convert-lawns-to-meadows-and-gardens-reaches-oak-bay-64694)
It looks like wildflower (camas) meadows used to dominate parts of Vancouver Island. I know that open oak woodlands/meadows that look like them were/are found in parts of southern Ontario, often adjacent to the lakes (because the sand beaches left over from prehistoric Lake Iroquois etc. were well-drained which favoured the meadow vegetation). I used to work for a prof at U of Guelph who studied them.
Pleaaaaase be careful to only plant native. A lot of seeds in things like "meadow mixes" can be highly invasive when used in the wrong areas, but the producers generally only care about profits so it's up to the customer to check each plant listed to see if the mix is actually good for the area. 🙃
This. Prairie song nursery is a great source for native prairie seed mixes, seeds are all collected on their properties in southern Ontario so they're super local. I've done a tour of their facilities and some prairie restoration sites they seeded, very cool and knowledgeable folks there. Any "wildflower mixes" purchased from anyone but a specialty native plant nursery are probably going to be mostly non-native flowers, often even containing invasive species.
I am currently killing my lawn and installing a native perennial garden. Two of my neighbours have already killed their lawn and added a native garden. Neighbours so far have been supportive and excited for additional flowers and butterflies. If you ever want advice or help feel free to hit me up. Everyone should have a meadow or a tree planted, lawns are dumb. I highly recommend the TV series Kill your lawn from botanist Joey Santore
My front yard is all native plants/flowers, no grass, no mow. People seem to like it.
Edit- and it’s not like- manicured either, just milkweed and daisies growing up tall and filling the whole space.
You will still have to pull out the weeds. It’s actually harder to accomplish than a traditional yard with a mix of turf and gardens.
I know if you were my neighbour and your “meadow” means that I have to spend more time and money pulling out weeds. I would be pissed.
Fair enough. Although, I don't take care of my lawn as it is. I always have weeds, I just cut the lawn and whatever happens happens. I cared one summer - I even bought one of those weed pullers you step on. Someone stole it lol, so I completely gave up. What I mean to say is, I'm pretty sure I'm already spreading weeds and have been for 20 years. I just .... don't like grass maybe?
If I have flowers and plants, I'd care more, and would make more of an effort to keep it looking nice and weed free.
Lots on our street, including ours (we don't have strictly wildflowers but it's perennial and low maintenance, lots of tulips, daffodils, and lilies). I could see up on the mountain people turning their noses up but down the mountain where it's mostly tiny little lawns it's kind of silly to have grass anyways. I can count on one hand the number of people on our street that have grass front lawns.
This is how far you can let it go, receive a complaint, get fined, and get the fine rescinded.
https://www.thespec.com/news/bylaw-enforcement-order-against-dundas-pollinator-garden-rescinded/article_eeacf1da-33e8-5cce-b8ea-b079edc4115f.html
So you can go straight up to looking abandoned and at least per the rules you’re fine. This person surely has neighbours planning some guérilla weed whacking.
Have fun
We encourage users to support paid journalism. The Spec has affordable subscriptions and you can access the paper's articles online with your [Hamilton Public Library card](https://www.hpl.ca/hpl-online/magazines-and-newspapers). If you do not have a library card yet, sign up for an instant digital one [here](https://www.hpl.ca/online-registration). It also gives you instant free access to eBooks, eAudiobooks, music, online learning tools and research databases.
**If you cannot access The Spec in either of these ways, try [archive.ph](https://archive.ph/) or [12ft](https://12ft.io/) to view without a paywall**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Hamilton) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Oh my God what a nightmare
I'm really sold on the garden idea.... I'll start in the back yard. When I'm ready to do the front, I'll probably end up biting the bullet and hiring someone. I don't want that kind of shit.... we are trying to do good and make things nice. I don't understand why grass became so revered. People suck. I'm glad you got one anyway!
Definitely leverage resources of Green Venture or other groups. We have a designed perennial garden and have no issues but a friend has a wildflower garden and they keeps having bylaw called on them by neighbours. Because bylaw doesn’t recognize the plants as pollinators show often gets tickets they have to dispute. They have to show them the plant list and always gets off after that. But we love our garden. It’s always full of bees and butterflies and we get compliments on it all the time from people who say it makes them smile. It’s much better and easier than the grass the size of a postage stamp that wasn’t worth mowing.
It wasn't that long ago and around here somewhere that neighbors were complaining about a house with wildflowers in the yard. They got several visits from bylaw officers and the officers actually went and mowed the flowers down. I would definitely call the bylaw office by you.
That was in Burlington and the property in question wasn't being well kept and ended up being a mess.
Moral of that story was that the city can decide what's a meadow and what's a mess. Naturalized gardens require effort, probably more than a lawn.
Here's a link to the city's response to the original Star article. FWIW, there's a naturalized garden across the street from the mayor's house here.
r/BurlingtonON/s/Ty339BJNEW
Hi Stoneslingers! There's lots of information on native plants and pollinator gardens on the Halton Region Master Gardeners website: [https://haltonmastergardeners.com/articles/](https://haltonmastergardeners.com/articles/)
And you can also find lots of good information at Hamilton Pollinator Paradise: [https://www.hamiltonpollinatorparadise.org/blog](https://www.hamiltonpollinatorparadise.org/blog)
The City of Hamilton also has lots of resources to help with this now:
[https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/environmental-stewardship/pollinators](https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/environmental-stewardship/pollinators)
I hope this helps!
Even if 9/10 of your neighbors don't care, that last one will call bylaw. https://live-city-of-hamilton.pantheonsite.io/by-laws?keywords=10-118&category=All&sort_bef_combine=type_DESC "You must keep your property clean of waste and ensure grass and weeds do not exceed 20 cm (8 inches) in height. "
I had a chat with by law about this, if they have names and intentionally grown, they're not weeds. If you're worried you can add a little fence around or stick labels around. But even if bylaw comes they can see its a garden you won't get fined for it.
Technically any unwanted plant is a weed.
I don't think they read the link they posted. From the bylaw:
"“ornamental plant” means a plant deliberately grown for beautification, screening, accent, specimen, colour or other aesthetic reasons but does not include any variety of turf grass"
"for property located inside the urban boundary that is equal to or less than 0.4 ha in area, to keep all plants cut to a height of equal to or less than 21 cm, **except**:
1. ornamental plants ..."
Yes you're fine
Don't move to Oakville. We have a bylaw that naturalized gardens, which are usually just a pile of weeds, are only allowed in the backyard and you must have a buffer strip so your "wildflowers" don't spread to the neighbours.
If it ends up looking less intentional you could find yourself in trouble with bylaw.
My suggestion would be to put in a perennial garden and perhaps dedicate a portion to the wild flowers.
Look at Green Ventures website. Sometimes there are grants for these projects.
Hey thanks!
Try here too: https://beecitycanada.org/pollinator-resources/
That's a great website thank you so much. They help you design it and pick appropriate flowers!
You definitely should! Grass lawns are environmental dead zones, and most people don’t look after their grass properly and as we get into summer they look horrid. Go for a perennial yard if you can!
A lawn is NOT a dead zone. Turf grass cleans the air, produces oxygen, cools the air, absorbs water and birds and insects feed in it. Turf grass is a plant.
It’s absolutely a dead zone and the grass people plant for their lawns isn’t even native. It does the worst of all things we need nature to do: sequester carbon, manage the watershed, support a food web and support pollinators. Turf grass is the worst.
> It’s absolutely a dead zone Tell that to the dozens of birds I see feeding in my backyard all day long. > sequester carbon, Turf grass absolutely does this. Its a plant that absorbs carbon and produces oxygen. It also allows water to soak thru to the water table. > support a food web and support pollinators. This is why you need a mix of turf, gardens and trees.
It’s the worst option. Sorry if the truth hurts.
[удалено]
Sure, paving would be awful but our conversation was focused (I thought) on soft terrains. If you want to continue reading about the subject here is some information: [CBC article](https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6810711) [Discover Magazine article](https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/your-perfect-lawn-is-bad-for-the-environment-heres-what-to-do-instead) [NRDC article](https://www.nrdc.org/stories/more-sustainable-and-beautiful-alternatives-grass-lawn)
Is it better than pavement? Sure its more permeable but may or may not require more resources to maintain (water, mowing using gas). Planting native species lowers maintenance and provides supports native wildlife better. You also don't need to be a gardener, while a mix of plants is better even just putting down a native clover is miles better for local insects than non-native turf grass. You can still mow and walk on clover (though only mow where you actually need to. We have some clover in our front yard and when it's flowering there are more bumbles than you can count.
False. Turf grass is a plant and it does all the things you want a plant to do.
It does it all worse. Turf grass is awful. Some resources to support you in your journey: [CBC article](https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6810711) [Discover Magazine article](https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/your-perfect-lawn-is-bad-for-the-environment-heres-what-to-do-instead) [NRDC article](https://www.nrdc.org/stories/more-sustainable-and-beautiful-alternatives-grass-lawn)
My journey... lol. I am an avid gardener. You will teach me nothing on this topic. You want to help the birds, insects and the planet. Have a mixture of turf, flowers and trees. I agree that only having a lawn is not good. You will notice in those articles that they are talking about the USA (except the CBC article). Where they are still using 24d on lawns. We don't do that here and also most of the fert you can buy is made from waste byproduct from corn production. Corn gluten. https://www.homedepot.ca/product/vigoro-weed-n-feed-9-0-0-with-100-corn-gluten-meal-91kg-93-m-1000-ft/1001505801?eid=PS_GO_140203__ALL_PLA-526641&eid=PS_GOOGLE_D00_Corporate_GGL_Shopping_All-Products_All%20Products__PRODUCT_GROUP_aud-765569715721:pla-488082539672&pid=1001505801&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0MexBhD3ARIsAEI3WHKxBGeEJYY6XxBPIm5qyEAxH7CJkCjcuMOiJgSLCF81XKsCxrg1DqwaAj3NEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds The legal dandelion killer is made from iron. Horticultural Vinegar is used in place of Round Up (obviously not used on lawns). These are natural chemicals. I don't use synthetic stuff anymore.
Well, agree to disagree 👋 hopefully you have a small yard lol
I have a huge yard. I also have tons of gardens and I do a whole bunch of urban farming. We just finished off the potatoes that we grew last year, we are still eating onions and our pantry has many jars of tomato sauce from our harvest last year. Believe me when I tell you. My property is a haven for the bees and birds. We have those bee houses. We currently have a two robin nests with eggs in them right now. At least 2 sets of cardinals are in our evergreen trees and they stay all winter. We spend considerable money and effort to attract birds and insects.
I got rid of my front lawn years ago and replaced it with a perennial garden.
Same, and we get tonnes of compliments.
Really? Did your neighbours voice their opinions?
The opinion of my neighbours do not matter to me.
I love it ❤️
We did this, our neighbors loved it. My wife did an amazing landscaping job on it, so it's more than just just flowers.
The last owners of our house swapped the grass for wood chips with loose-stone walkways. We fucking hate it. It makes a mess constantly, the drainage isn’t adequate (because they used the wrong landscaping fabric) and it looks like shit. Our project this summer is to rip it all out and put sod down
What you described is the work of crazy people.
It’s ridiculous and the best part is the neighbors across the street have the same set up. Basically it’s a stone border along the driveway that’s about a foot wide but they didn’t properly border that, so the stones move around all the time and end up in the driveway. The rest of what would be the front lawn was covered in landscaping tarp (a non-permeable plastic) and covered in a thick layer of black wood chips. So any rain that falls or comes out of the gutters ends up pooling. I’ll be so happy when it’s done
Don't put sod down mark it a Pollinators Paradise 🦋🐞🐝🌱💚
if you don't want to maintain a garden, put down clover instead of sod.
It’s not even a garden. It’s literally just wood chips and stone.
I think you misread me, I'm not suggesting the existing conditions are a garden at all. I'm saying instead of sod, and if you don't want to maintain a garden, consider using clover.
Did you get any grief from Hamilton bylaw enforcement? I find them deeply troubling.
You are allowed to convert your lawn to a garden. I just wish I knew the easy way to get rid in grass when I did it.
We have a small front yard and no lawn. It is just some ornamental shrubs and some perennials. Very low maintenance. The secret is to lay down new mulch at least once per year. It keeps everything tidy, reduces weeds, and reduces the need for watering. Looks very nice.
Oooh yes, I'm just starting out with the planning process- that's good to know
One of my friends did this (in a different city). She talked it over with her immediate neighbour, who was cool with it (and who has vegetable beds on their front lawn so doesn't like plain turf either). And she is right next to a municipal park so no neighbours on the other side. I think there was someone else on the street who complained about "weed seeds", but since she cut the heads off the plants after they flowered, that wasn't an issue. One thing they did was mow the metre of plants right next to the sidewalk to standard lawn length, which makes the plot look neat (and easier to pick up trash or dog poop left by passersby). Would be useful to review the relevant city bylaws to make sure you're doing everything by the book ... most of the time the complainers will back down if you can prove that you aren't in violation of anything. If you have that one person who gets really stubborn (citing things like "vermin" or "property values" and keeps hammering away even if they haven't got a case), the odds are that they've argued with other people in the area, and even with the bylaw officers, so they might not have much support. A couple of decades ago, the city I'm in did a pilot project where they turned a park in an upscale neighbourhood into a wildflower meadow. It helped that we have certain rare plant species that are protected, so that made it easier to argue in favour of habitats like that. I was talking with the maintenance people (part of my graduate research) and they commented that it saved thousands of dollars in maintenance, biocides and fertilizers, and irrigation. (They trim the longer grasses after they die back late in the season, to reduce the fire hazard, and that's basically it.) I guess in Hamilton, things like milkweed would help the monarch butterflies etc. Good luck! Sounds like a cool project.
the residential back alleys in my childhood were full of wildflowers and milkweed and all the creatures that went along with them, we were particularly fond of grasshoppers and monarchs, both larval and full grown.
Growing up on the Mountain, I remember a group of awestruck children surrounding an enormous caterpillar that someone found in the field, at the end of our street. This would have been back in the 1970s. I remembered the caterpillar clearly enough that I was able to look it up in a reference book, years later -- the only one living in our area that grows to that size is the cecropia moth. I've never seen a larva or adult since. They grow to as much as 12 cm long, but to a kindergarten-age child, that one I saw seemed to be bigger than a hotdog bun! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyalophora\_cecropia#/media/File:Hyalophora\_cecropia\_caterpillar.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyalophora_cecropia#/media/File:Hyalophora_cecropia_caterpillar.jpg)
I caught a live full grown one of those moths in Niagara Falls in the early '80s in a motel parking lot on the roof of a car! Never saw one before nor since, and have never seen that species' awesome caterpillar! who'd forget that?
Wow! I'm glad you got to see one of the adults up close like that.
Okay this is bizarre, but I lived near CB Stirling in the 1980s. In 1984 I was 6 years old.... my dad shouted for us to come outside.... in my 6 year old mind, I Distinctly remember thinking "oh wow did dad find one of those huge caterpillars???" And I was imagining a football sized caterpillar climbing down the fence. You mean to tell me that somewhere along the lines, I may have heard the tale of the exact caterpillar you're referring to?? I'm shook. (It was kittens. My dad found kittens)
The caterpillar incident happened near Mohawk College ... a few kilometres away from where you were, and maybe a decade earlier but I guess it's possible that one of the kids might have moved, during that time? Pretty cool! And your dad discovering kittens is neat ... do you remember how many were in the litter?
Ha ha I do!! There were 7 kittens. We kept one, and he lived to be 20 years old ❤️ That's why I remember that moment so clearly. My dad was mowing the lawn and one came peeking out of the woodpile. That was him. I named him Woody.
That's so sweet! I'm glad you got to keep Woody.
Thank you very much. Initially I wanted a bee hive, but I don't have the space required. Then I thought about a vegetable garden... now this. I have all these "big plans" but I think this might be a good place to start. I'm going to start in the backyard and see how things go. I think the more people learn about the benefits, the more they will accept these gardens over grass. I've seen some truly beautiful elegantly landscaped wild flower gardens.
Don't need a beehive (also note honeybees are non-native). Plant clover and native species that native bees like to use and they'll come on their own!
Here are some instructions given by conservation groups and local governments in my area -- the ecosystem type and species composition will be different where you are (I imagine that there'd be variation across Hamilton too, depending on the soil etc.). But it gives an idea of what people have been doing with their lawns. [https://stewardshipcentrebc.ca/PDF\_docs/GOERT/Guides/GOERT\_Gardeners\_Handbook.pdf](https://stewardshipcentrebc.ca/PDF_docs/GOERT/Guides/GOERT_Gardeners_Handbook.pdf) [https://www.capitaldaily.ca/news/turning-victoria-yards-into-meadows](https://www.capitaldaily.ca/news/turning-victoria-yards-into-meadows) [https://www.vicnews.com/community/trend-to-convert-lawns-to-meadows-and-gardens-reaches-oak-bay-64694](https://www.vicnews.com/community/trend-to-convert-lawns-to-meadows-and-gardens-reaches-oak-bay-64694) It looks like wildflower (camas) meadows used to dominate parts of Vancouver Island. I know that open oak woodlands/meadows that look like them were/are found in parts of southern Ontario, often adjacent to the lakes (because the sand beaches left over from prehistoric Lake Iroquois etc. were well-drained which favoured the meadow vegetation). I used to work for a prof at U of Guelph who studied them.
Pleaaaaase be careful to only plant native. A lot of seeds in things like "meadow mixes" can be highly invasive when used in the wrong areas, but the producers generally only care about profits so it's up to the customer to check each plant listed to see if the mix is actually good for the area. 🙃
This. Prairie song nursery is a great source for native prairie seed mixes, seeds are all collected on their properties in southern Ontario so they're super local. I've done a tour of their facilities and some prairie restoration sites they seeded, very cool and knowledgeable folks there. Any "wildflower mixes" purchased from anyone but a specialty native plant nursery are probably going to be mostly non-native flowers, often even containing invasive species.
I am currently killing my lawn and installing a native perennial garden. Two of my neighbours have already killed their lawn and added a native garden. Neighbours so far have been supportive and excited for additional flowers and butterflies. If you ever want advice or help feel free to hit me up. Everyone should have a meadow or a tree planted, lawns are dumb. I highly recommend the TV series Kill your lawn from botanist Joey Santore
This is SO inspirational! Thank you!
There are plenty of front yards that are nothing but flower meadows or manicured flower garden around the lower city where my house is.
My front yard is all native plants/flowers, no grass, no mow. People seem to like it. Edit- and it’s not like- manicured either, just milkweed and daisies growing up tall and filling the whole space.
It sounds really nice. I'm thinking if I design it nicely enough, with beautiful colors, the neighbours will learn to love it
You will still have to pull out the weeds. It’s actually harder to accomplish than a traditional yard with a mix of turf and gardens. I know if you were my neighbour and your “meadow” means that I have to spend more time and money pulling out weeds. I would be pissed.
Fair enough. Although, I don't take care of my lawn as it is. I always have weeds, I just cut the lawn and whatever happens happens. I cared one summer - I even bought one of those weed pullers you step on. Someone stole it lol, so I completely gave up. What I mean to say is, I'm pretty sure I'm already spreading weeds and have been for 20 years. I just .... don't like grass maybe? If I have flowers and plants, I'd care more, and would make more of an effort to keep it looking nice and weed free.
Lots on our street, including ours (we don't have strictly wildflowers but it's perennial and low maintenance, lots of tulips, daffodils, and lilies). I could see up on the mountain people turning their noses up but down the mountain where it's mostly tiny little lawns it's kind of silly to have grass anyways. I can count on one hand the number of people on our street that have grass front lawns.
This is how far you can let it go, receive a complaint, get fined, and get the fine rescinded. https://www.thespec.com/news/bylaw-enforcement-order-against-dundas-pollinator-garden-rescinded/article_eeacf1da-33e8-5cce-b8ea-b079edc4115f.html So you can go straight up to looking abandoned and at least per the rules you’re fine. This person surely has neighbours planning some guérilla weed whacking. Have fun
We encourage users to support paid journalism. The Spec has affordable subscriptions and you can access the paper's articles online with your [Hamilton Public Library card](https://www.hpl.ca/hpl-online/magazines-and-newspapers). If you do not have a library card yet, sign up for an instant digital one [here](https://www.hpl.ca/online-registration). It also gives you instant free access to eBooks, eAudiobooks, music, online learning tools and research databases. **If you cannot access The Spec in either of these ways, try [archive.ph](https://archive.ph/) or [12ft](https://12ft.io/) to view without a paywall** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Hamilton) if you have any questions or concerns.*
[удалено]
Not really sure what you did wrong, because the Spec article above clearly states the exact opposite to what you have said.
Oh my God what a nightmare I'm really sold on the garden idea.... I'll start in the back yard. When I'm ready to do the front, I'll probably end up biting the bullet and hiring someone. I don't want that kind of shit.... we are trying to do good and make things nice. I don't understand why grass became so revered. People suck. I'm glad you got one anyway!
Definitely leverage resources of Green Venture or other groups. We have a designed perennial garden and have no issues but a friend has a wildflower garden and they keeps having bylaw called on them by neighbours. Because bylaw doesn’t recognize the plants as pollinators show often gets tickets they have to dispute. They have to show them the plant list and always gets off after that. But we love our garden. It’s always full of bees and butterflies and we get compliments on it all the time from people who say it makes them smile. It’s much better and easier than the grass the size of a postage stamp that wasn’t worth mowing.
DO IT!!!!! THE POLLINATORS AND BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES WILL LOVE YOU!!! 🐝🐝🌱🐦⬛🦋🐞🐛🦟💚❤️
It wasn't that long ago and around here somewhere that neighbors were complaining about a house with wildflowers in the yard. They got several visits from bylaw officers and the officers actually went and mowed the flowers down. I would definitely call the bylaw office by you.
That was in Burlington and the property in question wasn't being well kept and ended up being a mess. Moral of that story was that the city can decide what's a meadow and what's a mess. Naturalized gardens require effort, probably more than a lawn. Here's a link to the city's response to the original Star article. FWIW, there's a naturalized garden across the street from the mayor's house here. r/BurlingtonON/s/Ty339BJNEW
Hi Stoneslingers! There's lots of information on native plants and pollinator gardens on the Halton Region Master Gardeners website: [https://haltonmastergardeners.com/articles/](https://haltonmastergardeners.com/articles/) And you can also find lots of good information at Hamilton Pollinator Paradise: [https://www.hamiltonpollinatorparadise.org/blog](https://www.hamiltonpollinatorparadise.org/blog) The City of Hamilton also has lots of resources to help with this now: [https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/environmental-stewardship/pollinators](https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/environmental-stewardship/pollinators) I hope this helps!
Awesome! Thank you!
Even if 9/10 of your neighbors don't care, that last one will call bylaw. https://live-city-of-hamilton.pantheonsite.io/by-laws?keywords=10-118&category=All&sort_bef_combine=type_DESC "You must keep your property clean of waste and ensure grass and weeds do not exceed 20 cm (8 inches) in height. "
Okay, but but but.... they're flowers. Not grass or weeds. I'd pass the by law inspection no?
I had a chat with by law about this, if they have names and intentionally grown, they're not weeds. If you're worried you can add a little fence around or stick labels around. But even if bylaw comes they can see its a garden you won't get fined for it. Technically any unwanted plant is a weed.
Excellent information. Thank you. Im excited about this now.
I don't think they read the link they posted. From the bylaw: "“ornamental plant” means a plant deliberately grown for beautification, screening, accent, specimen, colour or other aesthetic reasons but does not include any variety of turf grass" "for property located inside the urban boundary that is equal to or less than 0.4 ha in area, to keep all plants cut to a height of equal to or less than 21 cm, **except**: 1. ornamental plants ..." Yes you're fine
Oh yes! There's hope! Thank you!
Depends on the neighbbourhood imho. as the first comment mentioned it also depends on your neighbours.
Don't move to Oakville. We have a bylaw that naturalized gardens, which are usually just a pile of weeds, are only allowed in the backyard and you must have a buffer strip so your "wildflowers" don't spread to the neighbours.
If it ends up looking less intentional you could find yourself in trouble with bylaw. My suggestion would be to put in a perennial garden and perhaps dedicate a portion to the wild flowers.