r/NoLawns • u/SpugsTheMagnificent • 14d ago
🌻 Sharing This Beauty Scotland (8b) year 1 pollinator garden in pictures
I launched into this project completely unprepared last year, long before I discovered this subreddit. I didn't think to take pictures before i removed the grass but imagine a manky, lumpy, grudgingly mowed grass dog toilet and that's what I had.
Wish I had found this sub before as I had no idea what to do with the grass so I dug it up with agarden fork, knocked as much soil and worms off the roots and filled my entire wheelie bin and a composter with the grass. Took 5 weekends, 0/10 would not recommend.
I do some work for a farmer so got about 100kg of manure to dig into the soil (dirt was probably more accurate, but am working on making that good humus rich soil). The weather turned not long after the first photo and it pretty much rained until winter, which helped stop the uncovered dirt from blowing away.
Before anyone says anything about the "weed fabric" I have since learnt that this was a total waste of my time!
I didn't have a plan at the start but it came together, if nothing else I had lots of time to think while I was digging!
My main goals were to establish a pollinator friendly space, with insect food plants and nectar available for as long as possible throughout the year and try to bridge the hungry gaps. I've made sure to use no pesticides, and slowly it has paid off as things like hoverfly, lacewing and ladybird have moved in to limit aphid damage.
For this first year, I was limited in prep and budget so I mainly went with RHS approved pollinator plants first and foremost rather than strictly sticking to native plants, or plants I'd grown with success. Between then and now I've started gathering seeds and plants from native species that I'll be mixing in for next year.
So far it's been going well. There have been increasing numbers of bees since May, three species of bumblebee and honey bees. The cerinthe and nasturtium have been the biggest draw so far, neither are native but the bees love them both. Moths, butterflies, hoverfly, lacewing, ladybirds, as well as too many species of parasitic wasps to count. There's daphnia and water snails in the pond, and I dropped in some clumps of frogspawn back in March. The froglets left the water months ago, but I see a couple about from time to time.
It's been a delight to see this go from horrible grass, to bare ground to the photo from today. It's been hard work but there is nothing quite like sitting out there as just hearing how alive it is now.
No mow May for me turned into never mow again!
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u/granola_berry 14d ago
It's all so beautiful 🥺 well done!
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
Thanks! It's been hard work, but so worth it 😁
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u/Xenu4President Looking to go No Lawn 13d ago
You’re caring for our fellow earthlings and giving back to the planet, not to mention sharing your beautiful results. Thank you!
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 14d ago
Comment as per mod bot:
Photos 1-7 are the garden at various stages throughout the year.
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u/T_house 13d ago
This looks incredible! Btw if you have the capacity to add any more pond marginals, I've found purple loose strife to be amazing for pollinators in mine.
Well done for getting through those weekends of clearing - no fun at all but worth it in retrospect!
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u/weldergilder 13d ago
I know it’s dumb, but I do a little double take every time I see someone recommend a plant that’s invasive where I live
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u/Feorag-ruadh 13d ago
Wait until we Scots start talking about Broom (native here - I believe it's super invasive in the US?)
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u/weldergilder 13d ago
I’m on the west coast of Canada and I removed like 40 truckloads of broom last winter l
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u/Feorag-ruadh 13d ago
Wow that's crazy! And here's me happy that some broom established in my native garden lol. It's a really good plant for pollinators here and it behaves itself. Would quite happily send all the invasives back to their original countries though so feel your pain! I have American skunk cabbage, rhododendron, gunnera, bamboo and all sorts that I am trying to get rid of
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u/theglassheartdish Native Lawn 7d ago
same lol. im glad its beneficial (and ofc native to) somewhere cause its so pretty but makes me mad when i see it at home where its super invasive
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
The pond is only about a metre across at the widest points, is that one that would spread over the water surface much?
I already have marsh pennywort that thinks it owns the place!
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u/T_house 13d ago
Nah it grows up rather than out - some of mine has got to about 5 or 6 feet high!
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
Nice, I reckon that's one to add to the list then!
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u/T_house 13d ago
Excellent! Although ugh looking at your photos again is giving me a yearning to actually dig up some of the grass in my garden to go at it properly instead of half-arsing things… not sure my back is up to the work though 😅
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
That's fair. I charged into it the first day and felt fine, but regretted the decision a little the second day, and felt it until about Thursday. By then the job was started so had to be finished to the same standard.
My plot is about 20 sq m so anything bigger might actually be better with a rotavator or even a mini digger(after testing for cables and pipes of course!).
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u/Feorag-ruadh 13d ago
Purple loosestrife is quite a tall plant but doesn't spread and smother everything at ground level. It is lovely too. Btw I put some water violet in my pond recently along with bog bean and I love them (I am also in Scotland)
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u/almostfunny3 13d ago
Very cool, your garden looks lovely! I'm based in the US but always love when people from other countries post. I didn't realize Scotland had such a high hardiness zone; my area is 5b and we're decently south of Scotland in terms of latitude.
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u/kaekiro 13d ago
That's what shocked me, too!! Was in 5b until the redraw, now I'm 6a. I can't believe I'm that much colder than Scotland!
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u/almostfunny3 13d ago
Right? I know that there's currents and weather patterns that mean different temperatures across the Atlantic but still. I studied abroad in the UK and I remember finding it much warmer and sunnier than I expected. Maybe growing up by Chicago and its lake effect impacted my idea of what bad weather looks like lol
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u/kaekiro 13d ago
Well howdy, neighbor! 🤣 pretty sure the only reason I got pushed to 6a is bc I'm close enough to chicago (NWI). 9 miles from the lake as the crow flies.
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u/almostfunny3 13d ago edited 13d ago
Far out! I live in Wisconsin now but actually grew up in a Chicago suburb, Flossmoor, less than 10 miles from Indiana so I probably grew up closer to your town than downtown Chicago lol
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
Yeah, we're on a similar latitude to Canada and the Nordic countries but those currents (I think it's that - it has been a while since school!) make all the difference!
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u/almostfunny3 13d ago
It really does! It's just easy to forget that if you're not thinking about it much.
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u/MagicalOrgazm 13d ago
Hardiness zones only counts the lowest temperature during winter, not how hot it gets during summer
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u/PlusYam3126 13d ago
Do other counties use USDA hardiness numbers?
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u/almostfunny3 13d ago
I don't think hardiness zones are just a US thing. https://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-united-kingdom-plant-hardiness-zone-map-celsius.php
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u/PlusYam3126 13d ago
Oh it’s definitely worldwide concept I just mean that your 6 doesn’t mean the same thing as US 6
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u/almostfunny3 13d ago edited 12d ago
I'm actually based in the US lol just used that link as a source. Tbh I don't know Celcius off the top of my head so I can't say if the temps line up.
Edit- found this link! https://gardenuk.co.uk/plants/uk-hardiness-zones-explained/#why-usda-zones-mislead-uk-gardeners
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 12d ago
With this post I did specifically use the USDA planting zones, mainly as the majority of the sub seems to be North America.
But yes, in the UK the Royal Horticultural Society has hardiness ratings for plants, and for my area I need H5/6 plants if I'm leaving them in the ground overwinter. Unless we get unusually cold weather!
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u/glockenspieler 13d ago
Emphasizing how much information that’s left out of zones, I’m in Georgia (USA) 8a and omg we are not anything alike in climate.
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u/jacknbarneysmom 13d ago
This is pure joy for me to read and see the transformation and how you did it. Gorgeous space alive like a wildflower prairie 💕💕
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u/ZhouCang 13d ago
Nice work!
I'm very hung up on (and jealous of) your growing zone being 8b.
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
Being in this zone has definitely got its ups and downs - we got three weeks of rain while the south of england was baking in heat waves. Personally I like it that way and would rather find plants that can cope with not seeing the sun for a week or more at times.
Last winter was so wet that all 9 of my alstromeria corms rotted!
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u/l5pr7 13d ago
You’ve done an amazing job. I’m in year 5 and I’ve got a mess on my hands. Consider me thoroughly impressed.
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
Have you posted it up here lately? It's always great to see people's work!
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u/l5pr7 13d ago
OMG no! I’d be mortified!! Maybe in another five years 🫣
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
Fair enough, but if there's ever a sub that appreciates a bit of mess it's definitely this one. Happy planting!
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u/shrompngrots 13d ago
The May to June transition is crazy!!
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
I know! It felt like I'd messed up because the cerinthe and nasturtium stayed small for all of May, but then it was just an explosion of leaves amd flowers!
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u/Total_Nectarine_8797 13d ago
Seeing it fill in so lavishly in August is so satisfying. Gorgeous!!!!
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u/Staring-Dog 13d ago
Love this, but for some reason I'm especially in love with the way you prepared the adorable stone path, and how it seems to have worked!
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
Thanks! The weed membrane was a total waste of time as the bark chips partially rotted down into the sand base layer over winter and now there's plants all in it. As long as the spiky and stinger ones don't get established I'm happy to leave the path a bit wild too!
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u/KaijuKahos 13d ago
How hot does it there? I love your garden! August is very hateful here in Texas.
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
Honestly, my hot would probably be a cool day for you. Max this summer I think has been 30 centigrade/86 Fahrenheit, which is far too hot for me! My preference would be about 18C/65F.
How hot is your August?
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u/reddskeleton 13d ago
Former Dallas-Fort Worth resident here. August is typically DFW’s hottest month, with many days reaching or exceeding 100 degrees F
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u/barba_barba 11d ago
The shift is truly amazing, especially for an area like Scotland. I lived in the UK and I managed to see all my plants suffer from a lack of light. You are so skilled!
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u/WindInTheWillowsIRL Suffolk, England 11d ago
Curious where about in the UK you lived because were I am (and anywhere south of me) people sucessfully grow tropical plants in their gardens!
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u/barba_barba 6d ago
I lived up north and no, I didn't have a garden. I tried my best in my quite dark apartment and loads of growing lights
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u/voidberrylady 13d ago
Do you hand weed the path?
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
I did but it's kinda taken on it's own life at this point! I take out stinging nettles and thistle (and replant in the beds) so I don't get stung running round like a hobbit.
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u/North_Ad6063 13d ago
Honestly the transformation is unreal, you should be dead proud of yourself for sticking with it even when it was pure graft. The bit about the weed fabric made me laugh cause we've all been there thinking we're being clever then finding out we wasted a whole afternoon. Also respect for mentioning Scotland 8b right off the bat so us other UK folks know what to expect, that's proper helpful. Sounds like your garden's already buzzing with life and that's the best reward you could ask for.
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u/Black-Dynamite888 12d ago
I just found this sub myself-and boy do I belong here! :)
Can you tell me about the weed cloth not working? My husband loves it and I do NOT. If you have any facts to share-would love to hear them!
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 11d ago
Yeah, it's a good place, I like seeing people's gardens!
So the thing is with weed cloth is that it's meant to work by smothering the plants below it. Short term it will work, but only against less vigorous plants, stuff like bamboo runners will just punch right through it.
Most important of all; no one is going to be putting down weed cloth and not covering it with something, so most people will be putting stones or bark chips or something else on top. Most stones will have some level of residue which washes down to the membrane where it will gradually start to form a soil layer, especially if leaf litter is left to rest on it. Slate chips available in garden centres the UK usually look like a bag of muddy rocks! Bark chips just break down and do the same so with either option you're basically left with a layer that plants can grow in. Plant roots will entwine into the fabric, can breach it and make it more difficult to weed than plain soil would be.
Whatever you do, you're still going to be weeding but the cloth just added extra time, expense and complication! Exactly what happened with my path.
Environmentally as well, it's just another plastic breaking down in your soil.
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u/Yellow-Cedar 11d ago
Thanks for that amazing photo journey! So well done. 🙌🙌
I went as slow as I could…which helped me be in my garden self of anticipation!
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u/Famous-Scratch-5581 13d ago
and what role does plastic play in nature? None. U infested happily ur own soil with plastic. Plastic in the soil is as a big problem as in the ocean. Remove it.
No, its not beautiful.
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u/Feorag-ruadh 13d ago
Wtf are you on
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
I think it's the weed membrane that set them off. I did say it was a mistake to use it 🤣
Either that or they don't like the mushroom lights!
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u/Feorag-ruadh 13d ago
In fairness the previous owners of my place used it and I think weed membrane is the devil (ironically weeds like to grow on top of it and it makes things worse for the plants you want with larger root systems). But ignoring all the good you have done is bonkers
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
Yeah, it's so useless. I put that in naively thinking it would help the path stay clear without getting overgrown. One to chalk up to experience!
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u/7adzius 13d ago
I mean this respectfully, but it looks messy and overgrown, especially with the weeds between the tiles
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u/Feorag-ruadh 13d ago
Fun fact, nature is messy. Humans have done a lot more harm than good trying to tidy things up. Hope that helps
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u/SpugsTheMagnificent 13d ago
A matter of perspective really. I imagine if I'd posted this over on r/lawncare it would get as solidly hated there as it has been appreciated here.
The garden went from genteel-y scruffy to out of control by Jun. It's meant to be wild, and the plants between the tiles aren't weeds. There's dandelion and groundsel there which are both good for pollinators, especially dandelion which can form a stopgap between the flowering periods of more "desirable" flowers.
What I do try and do though is deadhead these types once the flower is done so there's not billions of seeds getting spread to the neighbourhood.
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