Picked native plants over a traditional lawn for my front yard in Austin

Last spring I decided to rip out the Bermuda grass and put in mostly Texas sage and little bluestem instead of a regular lawn. My neighbors thought I was crazy, but after the July heatwave my yard barely needed any water while theirs looked brown and sad. The HOA sent me a warning letter but I told them it was a conservation project. Has anyone else dealt with pushback for choosing native landscaping over standard grass?

2 comments

2 Comments

adams.harper8d ago

Yeah I used to hate on native yards. Then I saw one blooming in August and it changed my mind completely.

fiona3308d ago

Trad it for a nice lush green lawn that stays green all summer and actually looks intentional, not like a patch of weeds someone forgot to mow. Native yards just look messy and unkempt to me, even when they're blooming. Plus I've had neighbors with native plants drop seeds all over my yard, and now I'm fighting volunteer milkweed in my flower beds every spring. You can't tell me a field of ragweed and goldenrod is better than a neat bed of petunias and marigolds. Maybe they work for some people but I'll keep my sprinkler running and my yard looking like I actually take care of it.