You can use native grasses and there’s no need to cut them more than like once or twice a year. There’s nothing bad about grass! It grows in the wild as well. Lawns are hell though.
Grass really, really depends on location and climate. I literally never water or fertilize my lawn; it looks fine.
The worse thing here is ecological. I keep my mower set to 4", and keep my lawn a bit longer than my neighbors. I see a ton of fire flies in my yard in the summer, and see a fraction as many in my neighbors yard.
Short lawns are terrible habitat, which makes them good for sports or a children’s play area. But 80% of my neighbor’s lawn is just aesthetic, which is something I really don’t get. Lawns are about as visually exciting as a beige wall. They’re a waste of space.
Right, grass here in central Europe grows with no effort at all. I would never in a million years water my lawn. People growing lawns in some North American desert however…
A plant doesn’t have to be native to benefit local ecosystem, parsley isn’t native, but there’s a local species of butterfly whose caterpillars love it.
Ignore the elephant in the room, the change in climate change.
Plant native plants to help your local ecosystem while something changes it for you.
Plant plants that restore function and are adapted to a wider range of climatic conditions. Don’t plant plants based on what it was like before colonisation 250 years ago.
What I find funny is that at least one of the three big guys is roided up. Probably two of them, though the last guy could possibly just be a competitive bodybuilder on a harsh cut cycle.
Middle guy though? Roids. No doubt about it if you spend enough time in gyms with guys that are pushing to get bigger. There’s a look to the mass you get that way that’s distinctive.
Hell, first big guy could be just starting to use as fast as that goes.
Can I just say that is awful advice. There’s an easy way to save it:
“Tell me where you are and I’ll give you a few good options to start with”
When the poster is clearly a hopeless beginner this kind of response is useless and overwhelming in information that they have no chance of understanding.
No, it’s great advice, and if they can’t figure out to google “native flowers in my region” after that then they really are hopeless.
Why is the onus always 100% on the people trying to help, while the newbie gets a free pass on not putting in effort? Frankly if the newbie put some effort in they probably wouldn’t have even needed to make the post in the first place.
Of all the hobbies and random niche things I’ve taught myself on the Internet over the course of 15 years, I’ve only ever had post questions twice. Whatever question one is asking has already been asked and answered. Very, VERY rarely is someone looking for information so niche that it doesn’t yet exist on the Internet.
It’s amazing that you want to enter this space, and I’d love to help you achieve your goals with every resource I have.
As you learn and grow, (Edit: correctly pointed out as sanctimonious)
I hope you’ll eventually consider augmenting your goal to include native species, which will bring the added benefit of maximally helping the ecosystems in which you are a part.
Yeah the muscle man from the meme wouldn’t assume where the beanpole lives. He might live in the place whose past governments colonised wherever OP is assuming they all live.
Steve never did plant his garden, instead he put it off feeling like too much if an amateur to even begin buying seeds, and instead invasive creeping Charlie and thistles colonized his decaying garden beds.
I know those guys are trying to be helpful, but to a newb they can feel like you’re not ready to even start your hobby, when the best way to start any hobby is to go and get something started, even if it isn’t perfect.
If you go to a local seed store they’ll probably be able to point you to native wildflowers, or there are lots of sellers online for seeds.
Eh, maybe, but native plants tend to be a way better option for new gardeners because they grow so much better. My mom and I tore out all the grass in our front yard and put in native plants and they’re the first plants I didn’t manage to immediately kill. If I’d tried roses, they probably would’ve died and I’d have given up. Instead, I have catmint thriving maybe a little too much and it’s full of bees!
That’s not what the first 2 guys said though, they just criticized his choice of words(even though he’s an amateur) and started ranting about colonizers. It’s not helpful. Comments like that just push new people away and make the community look unwelcoming.
It’s a mixed bag. Some natives grow easily, as they are naturally adapted to the climate, but some can be tricky little bastards as they are only adapted to very specific conditions that may or may not exist in your home yard (or they would do well once established, but getting to that point is difficult). Introduced species can be easier to grow, because they’re overadapted to the climate (that’s what makes invasive species so, well, invasive!).
Your example of growing catmint is a bit of luck on your part: mint is often considered a weed for growing so vigorously, so it’s a great choice for novice or “brown-thumb” gardeners. These are the types of plants we should be specifically promoting, so new gardeners don’t have to rely on luckily stumbling upon easy-to-grow natives.
On that note, might I advertise my namesake plant, “fireweed” (Chamaenerion angustifolium)? Beautiful flowers, easy to establish, self-sufficient once established (it’s called fireweed for a reason!), and beloved by bees. Native to much of Canada and the United States (and maybe northern Europe/Asia?). www.fs.usda.gov/…/chamerion_angustifolium.shtml
We actually have a non-profit where I live that grows and then puts together sets of native plants that will cover a certain amount of space and all grow in the same light/shade. We used their boxes, so less luck with the mint and more that we sought out plants like that. We also have some tall grasses, coneflowers, penstemon, about one million ice plants, and some others I can’t remember.
I don’t know if other states have similar orgs, but it’s a really great way to make native/pollinator-friendly gardens accessible to novices. All I had to do was plant them and weed them.
That’s a great resource! I know some places put together “native wildflower seed packs,” but I’ve heard mixed reviews. Some plants in the pack inevitably outcompete others (leaving you with minimal variety), and I’ve seen packs that contain species that aren’t actually native to the region. Your group’s version sounds like more work on their part, but likely with better end results.
The local plant centers are wonderful sources of knowledge. Bring them some pictures and there will be some nerd there ready to geek out. This is community building. :)
I know those guys are trying to be helpful, but to a newb they can feel like you’re not ready to even start your hobby
Don’t let other people hold you back.
If you’re trying to start a new hobby and you get put off by people giving you information because you think they’re being condescending, learn to put aside the personal feelings so you can focus on the thing you wanted to focus on.
New information is useful regardless of how it was presented to you. You can’t control how other people act, but you can control how you react to it. Learn to take the good and leave the bad.
You’re absolutely right and I would’ve commented something similar. What held me back is that we’re in ScienceMemes, not HobbyMemes, so we’re seeing advice that’s more scientifically-based rather than hobby-based or even human-based.
Roses and their cultivation spread from the Mid East into China, Egypt, Greece etc. thousands of years ago, pretty ignorant to blame it all on European colonialism.
At this point, seeing behavior and responses like this in so many communities of my interests, I feel like even that gentle of an approach is still too much agenda-pushing.
Not that the agenda in question lacks for value, ethics, or good intentions, but at the end of the day, based on the newbies inquiry, it’s still some version of, “You’re wrong for wanting to explore your interest. You should do what I tell you to do instead.”
In the communities for my interests that I participate in, I try (and sometimes fail, we’re all human), to explicitly steer clear of doing anything to diminish their enthusiasm, curiosity, and desire to learn. That’s the little ember that they need to really get going, so for me, the priority is not to put that out.
Especially in a case like this where, sure, maybe a native garden is ideal…but the alternative if they get overwhelmed or shut down or forcibly redirected by the community is probably just going to be grass and weeds, or no plants at all.
I think it’s great to offer up the natives as an alternative (while explaining the benefits to both the local ecosystem as well as to the gardener), but I would also say that if you’re going to do that, one should also encourage them to get into their new interest regardless of whether they follow that suggestion or not.
If OP wants to plant tulips, fantastic, and I’ll give you any tips I can on how to do that. I may suggest natives and why they’re also a great choice, but under no circumstances will I go into negative territory in telling them they shouldn’t follow up on their interest, unless of course it’s illegal, dangerous, harmful, etc.
And if op explicitly wants roses and tulips good for them. It should be “here’s how to start out with those. <Tulip info>. If you’re curious, there’s some pretty cool native plants that do well, and local pollinators love em. I think you’ll enjoy them to. Hit me up if you want to chat about selecting native species, I’m pretty into that”
Don’t make a new interest a “don’t do what interests you, do what interests me” thing.
I’m big into fishing and while people are generally pretty good to newbies, people can get ridiculously preachy over catch and release vs keeping fish, as well as safe and ethical fish handling practices.
I’m all about educating, but A) you need to do it with positivity and not guilt, B) a lot of times people get super, super anal about it…like… we’re all jamming a hook in a fish’s mouth and dragging it out of the water…in that context, laying it on some wet grass to quickly unhook it and get a picture is not the worst part of its day, and C) just because their fish handling may not be perfect doesn’t mean it’s cruel either…newbies gotta learn, and they’re going to learn better from gentle suggestion and explanation than coming at them telling them how wrong they are.
believe it or not, that was actually the original intention of western imperialism. keep the masses itchy and they’ll be so focused on their plight that they can’t rise up against the colonists. wake up bro, smdh
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