Native plants

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

The concept of a manicured lawn is human invented. In reality long before humans, vegetation did what all life does. The manicured lawn is an manifestation of European royalty hundreds of years ago.

If your lawn is overgrown and your neighbors hate you for it, it means you are letting nature do it's thing.

I wouldn't get carried away with this.  I still want my property to look good; not looking for a wild patch of weeds.  Reducing the area of turf grass is a start and building beds with more native species is the general goal.  Last year I cleared a large area in my back yard and put down a small patch of gravel and moved a bench swing there and surrounded it with flowers and plants.  That eliminated around 600 square feet of turf grass.

There are several alternatives to turf grasses - some herbs, clover, ground ivy, etc. Most of these need very little water or soil amendments. If you have a local agriculture office (or whatever they’re called over there), they can probably give you advice about your options.

Boru

[Ranjr]

In town I had an aquaponic patio garden.  Mint, basil, and sage all did well rooted in lava rock.  Basic goldfish in the tank.  The sight and sound were relaxing.  Algae control was a bitch.  Better to have the fish in a pond than a tank, but I wanted the scene.