Susan Morrison, of the wonderful Blue Planet Garden Blog, challenged garden bloggers to share their lawnless gardens in a post (here) , to bring attention to, among other things, her "ongoing quest to replace the Great American Lawn with garden". A noble cause. She teamed up with Susan Harris, of Garden Rant and The Sustainable Garden blogs (two of my favorite sites) and other outstanding gardeners to create Lawn Reform a new website that advocates for: Regionally Appropriate Lawn Species, Eco-Friendly Care for all Lawns, Design Ideas to Reduce or Replace Lawns.
This challenge involves a contest, with a prize I want. To enter, write a post on your blog that answers the question: "I used to have a lawn, but now I have…” So, here is my entry...
I used to have a (front) lawn, but now I have an interpretive sign explaining why I don't have a lawn (and, I guess, why you should not either).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhXT7AvHuBxdyF52a4ayCRop9s0gNk5kMEynFuGVW9zxTO65u_zsU_vPF3S1aqXg9xWsjDx_q7pbWEaA_YNh2ZnBTRMDawpkYFiBoLWGDPtKVqVfaLHPuNgUaCB8zt9jp4QiTrvquJbcR/s320/Picture1.jpg)
I used to have a lawn, but now I have shooting stars and arrow leaf balsamroot (photo at the beginning of the post),
I used to have a lawn in the backyard, too...![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHqdFVy9gqeNam0t-gERs0iShqKEcNPdSCnB08YfUeTnT5ux90OEpTLJ4JAYXsC7XbxB7gst-_qmjmNas4hyYEDWdeTMHhNDmKKV5s-o2F1xS9rFrDbhY-CTYkkWuruGZvfbO5U01hpiG/s320/Scan4.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHqdFVy9gqeNam0t-gERs0iShqKEcNPdSCnB08YfUeTnT5ux90OEpTLJ4JAYXsC7XbxB7gst-_qmjmNas4hyYEDWdeTMHhNDmKKV5s-o2F1xS9rFrDbhY-CTYkkWuruGZvfbO5U01hpiG/s320/Scan4.jpg)
but now we have a vegetable garden surrounded by native plants...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOfzmx_OsheyaOhiUbSVWhPKWp8PbZKoRcpliQ04dHNTHA5gTV9p3ryEXbEGpgf1NvRGq1xB7gJbp9xjbKxjUD9M1ppwQwuMsDFtn8SNWQWNnAb5g3YxpWQCcL63jAJKIlILJIh4ig1UI/s320/garden+bench+and+veg+garden+July+2009.JPG)
with grasshoppers, and visits by over 50 species of birds.
and a blog.