Met a guy at a native plant sale who changed how I think about lawns

I was at this little native plant sale put on by the county extension office last spring, just browsing for some milkweed for my backyard. This older guy, maybe 70, started chatting me up about the little bluestem grass I had in my hand. He said, 'You know, that stuff grows better when you stop babying it and just let it do its thing.' That stuck with me because I've always been the type to overwater and overfertilize everything. He told me he hadn't watered his lawn in 15 years and it was full of wild violets and clover, way more alive than my green carpet. I ended up buying 4 flats of prairie plants from his recommendation. Has anyone else had a random conversation with a stranger that totally shifted how you garden?

2 comments

2 Comments

felixfisher25d ago

Wait, he went 15 years without watering and it still looked good? That's wild. I almost killed a fern by forgetting to water it for one week.

holly_sanchez7525d ago

No watering for 15 years and it still looked good? That fern must have been part cactus or something. I can't even keep a snake plant alive for 6 months without checking on it. How does a plant just survive for that long without any help?