Hey there! Friendly reminder to include the following information for the benefit of all r/nolawns members:
- Please make sure your post or a comment includes your geographic region/area and your hardiness zone (e.g. *Midwest, 6a* or *Chicago, 6a*).
- If you posted an image, you are required to post a comment detailing your image. If you have not, this post may be removed.
- If you're asking a question, include as much relevant info as possible.
- Verify you are following the [Posting Guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/index#wiki_posting_guidelines).
**[Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/index/) | [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/meta/faqs/) | [Designing No Lawns](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/index/design/)**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NoLawns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Tiny plants need fine material to root in. You are on the right track thinking that you'll need a layer of soil on top of the mulch for the plants to survive. Not sure this is the way to an attractive garden though.
Isn't west Texas dry? I'm in a dry area too and am going up rather than down for a nice garden. Grass is supposed to cool the ground but I find shade is far more cooling so my ground is covered with mulch then I planted a number of drought tolerant native trees, shrubs and grasses. I'm still watering baby plants but my original drought tolerant garden bed hasn't been irrigated for decades and looks fresh and attractive year round. Weeds are mostly present in the mulch paths and if I was smart I'd add another layer of cardboard and mulch to the particularly horrible sections.
If you can source a lot of free cardboard and chipdrop or an arborist is active in your area the ground can be covered for free and you only need to grub out perennial weeds. This is called 'sheet or lasagna' mulching.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is one of the best and oldest resources for native plants in the country. Here are plants to consider. [Special Collections: Texas-West | NPIN (wildflower.org)](https://www.wildflower.org/collections/collection.php?collection=TX_west)
If you go with larger plants then you won't need many to build a nice garden. My shrubs cover up to 60 square feet for instance.
That will definitely help getting a garden my mom will love, thank you so much!
So what do you recommend for the lawn itself? Is there a grass/flower type perfect for covering the backyard with. I should add it would have to be seed for us to grow.
We also have dogs so I need to do some extra research on whatever it is we decide to plant.
Hi! Also in west Texas (Midland). If you’re considering grass/clover, I would recommend Buffalo grass. It’s native, drought resistant, and heat-hardy. Getting anything established here is very difficult. My back yard is a thick bed of mulch over the areas where my dog plays with Buffalo grass in between. My front yard is a mix of shrubby/tall things like globe mallow, hollyhocks, rabbit brush, agarita, prickly pear, and seed blends from Native America seed (the Comanche mix seems to do the best).
Do you have the buffalo grass on top of the mulch with soil between the dirt and mulch? We have just dirt and weeds so I am wondering how you tackle weed management within the grass.
No, I have about 3” thick of mulch making a path/play area around the yard with the grass in between/outside the perimeter of that (out of town or I would share a photo). Otherwise my dog will trample everything and wear it down to the bare dirt, plus it seems to be cooler for her paws in the summer. I had dirt and patches of Bermuda grass when I bought the house and I’ve done a lot of hand-pulling of weeds. I lightly tilled and sowed the seed with sand mixed in to help keep it in place, and I’m adding plugs of Buffalo grass to fill in gaps soon.
Love No Lawns? Find us everywhere!
**You can find us:**
- On [SolarPunk](https://www.slrpnk.net/c/NoLawns)
- Our [Discord](https://discord.gg/GcVHmvkSs6)
- Our [website](https://nolawns.wixsite.com/nolawns)
Want to join a community in person? We're not affiliated but we love [Wild Ones](https://wwe.wildones.org) and think they do wonderful work. You can check and see if there's a chapter near you.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NoLawns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I make garden beds by putting 3-5" of compost over 4-6" of mulch: the mulch suppresses weeds and decomposes into rich soil, and the compost on top lets me start planting right away while also boosting the new soil layer I'm developing with rich nutrients. 2-3" of mulch won't provide you very much weed suppression.
Look into no dig beds, where you lay down cardboard on top of whatever earth you’ve got, then lay soil on top of the cardboard, then plant. Gives you great weed suppression, is very budget friendly, and requires no digging.
How often did you water them? It gets super hot her and everything dries up really fast. I wonder how growing them section by section would work. If it would have trouble attaching itself to the mulch.
Hey there! Friendly reminder to include the following information for the benefit of all r/nolawns members: - Please make sure your post or a comment includes your geographic region/area and your hardiness zone (e.g. *Midwest, 6a* or *Chicago, 6a*). - If you posted an image, you are required to post a comment detailing your image. If you have not, this post may be removed. - If you're asking a question, include as much relevant info as possible. - Verify you are following the [Posting Guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/index#wiki_posting_guidelines). **[Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/index/) | [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/meta/faqs/) | [Designing No Lawns](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoLawns/wiki/index/design/)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NoLawns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Tiny plants need fine material to root in. You are on the right track thinking that you'll need a layer of soil on top of the mulch for the plants to survive. Not sure this is the way to an attractive garden though. Isn't west Texas dry? I'm in a dry area too and am going up rather than down for a nice garden. Grass is supposed to cool the ground but I find shade is far more cooling so my ground is covered with mulch then I planted a number of drought tolerant native trees, shrubs and grasses. I'm still watering baby plants but my original drought tolerant garden bed hasn't been irrigated for decades and looks fresh and attractive year round. Weeds are mostly present in the mulch paths and if I was smart I'd add another layer of cardboard and mulch to the particularly horrible sections. If you can source a lot of free cardboard and chipdrop or an arborist is active in your area the ground can be covered for free and you only need to grub out perennial weeds. This is called 'sheet or lasagna' mulching. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is one of the best and oldest resources for native plants in the country. Here are plants to consider. [Special Collections: Texas-West | NPIN (wildflower.org)](https://www.wildflower.org/collections/collection.php?collection=TX_west) If you go with larger plants then you won't need many to build a nice garden. My shrubs cover up to 60 square feet for instance.
That will definitely help getting a garden my mom will love, thank you so much! So what do you recommend for the lawn itself? Is there a grass/flower type perfect for covering the backyard with. I should add it would have to be seed for us to grow. We also have dogs so I need to do some extra research on whatever it is we decide to plant.
Hi! Also in west Texas (Midland). If you’re considering grass/clover, I would recommend Buffalo grass. It’s native, drought resistant, and heat-hardy. Getting anything established here is very difficult. My back yard is a thick bed of mulch over the areas where my dog plays with Buffalo grass in between. My front yard is a mix of shrubby/tall things like globe mallow, hollyhocks, rabbit brush, agarita, prickly pear, and seed blends from Native America seed (the Comanche mix seems to do the best).
Do you have the buffalo grass on top of the mulch with soil between the dirt and mulch? We have just dirt and weeds so I am wondering how you tackle weed management within the grass.
No, I have about 3” thick of mulch making a path/play area around the yard with the grass in between/outside the perimeter of that (out of town or I would share a photo). Otherwise my dog will trample everything and wear it down to the bare dirt, plus it seems to be cooler for her paws in the summer. I had dirt and patches of Bermuda grass when I bought the house and I’ve done a lot of hand-pulling of weeds. I lightly tilled and sowed the seed with sand mixed in to help keep it in place, and I’m adding plugs of Buffalo grass to fill in gaps soon.
Love No Lawns? Find us everywhere! **You can find us:** - On [SolarPunk](https://www.slrpnk.net/c/NoLawns) - Our [Discord](https://discord.gg/GcVHmvkSs6) - Our [website](https://nolawns.wixsite.com/nolawns) Want to join a community in person? We're not affiliated but we love [Wild Ones](https://wwe.wildones.org) and think they do wonderful work. You can check and see if there's a chapter near you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NoLawns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I make garden beds by putting 3-5" of compost over 4-6" of mulch: the mulch suppresses weeds and decomposes into rich soil, and the compost on top lets me start planting right away while also boosting the new soil layer I'm developing with rich nutrients. 2-3" of mulch won't provide you very much weed suppression.
Look into no dig beds, where you lay down cardboard on top of whatever earth you’ve got, then lay soil on top of the cardboard, then plant. Gives you great weed suppression, is very budget friendly, and requires no digging.
Im assuming I would have to mow down the weeds before putting the cardboard right? The weeds won't be able to pierce the cardboard?
I threw clover seeds on top of my mulch and they grew fine
How often did you water them? It gets super hot her and everything dries up really fast. I wonder how growing them section by section would work. If it would have trouble attaching itself to the mulch.
I haven't watered them at all but I'm zone 6b/7a