No-mow lawns: A photo tour of Portland's wild yards
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One resident tore out their lawn grass and scattered seeds to plant some maple and oak trees. Photo: Craig Williams
More Portlanders are swapping grass for low-maintenance yards filled with native species.
Why it matters: Grass requires a lot of mowing and water.
Plus: Local water bills can be notoriously high, while climate change is raising the chances of more drought-like conditions in the future.
The big picture: Not only can native plants restore ecosystems and attract pollinators, they're also easy to maintain and the results are eye-catching.
What they're saying: "This is a trend that has really just started gaining a ton of momentum in the last year," Breanna Gunderson, who owns landscaping firm Urban Rewilding, told Axios.
- "If you put native plants in, you can be the worst gardener ever and still have a beautiful yard."
Driving the news: Axios Portland asked readers to share why they opted for no-mow lawns, what they planted instead, and what they love about the transformation.
Take a look at what some of our neighbors sent in.
Trish Neitzel of Tigard replaced her once "wildly overgrown yard" with "something that would require the least amount of maintenance, yet be aesthetically pleasing."
- She chose tougher plants — such as Winter creeper, spreading rush, white spruce, juniper and Japanese maple — that don't require a lot of water.
David Nokovic of Piedmont got rid of all the grass when he bought his home in 2019, joined the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon and picked horticulturally diverse species to achieve year-round greenery.
- "I've been delighted by the microbiome that has returned to the yard, lots of new pollinators, crickets and birds flying through."
Jeremy Katz of Foster-Powell "wanted to build a native rain garden to improve our environment."
- He researched Portland's ecoregion and planted slough sedge, tufted hairgrass, sword fern, camas lily and Oregon grape.
Carolyn Fromm of Tigard recently moved here from Southern California and immediately ditched the grass yard "to create space for a lot more fun things to do."
- Alongside her bocce ball court, stone fire pit and mini-golf course are camellias, hydrangeas, hakone grass, valley rose shrubs and Portuguese Laurel hedges.