Mid Summer Meadow

Here's my front yard with the defiantly unmowed meadow. I was anticipating some pushback from the neighbors but I forgot that we're all pretty congenial. I like the idea of growing grass seed for the birds and the deer seem to like having it there. Some yarrow, sweet peas and rabbit ears are maturing there.

In another bold move, I stopped mowing half of the strip of land in front of my yard that is owned by the HOA across the street. We only use it to access the mailbox but we've mown it for years. After the HOA president mentioned that they want to reassert ownership (in light of all the adverse possession cases in Boulder recently) I realized that they can take care of it. I think getting our mail 6 days/week for the last 22 years established our right of way to the box. It's still a conversation waiting to be had.

I'm Liking the Meadow

The swathes of grass that I left to grow are satisfying to watch. This one includes some Clary Sage, some Sweet peas and some other irregulars that show up normally to be mowed down. So far no complaints from the neighbors.
I love the different grass flower heads. I tried to capture them with the camera it's not quite expert enough to get the detail.
The deer seem to like it too, some stopping there to graze before they get to the roses.

Sculpting Grass

Ok, I thought about creating a maze in the front yard but settled with just sculpting the grass this year. We have a boundary between our front yard and the street that is technically owned by the HOA across from us, though with the adverse possession law, who knows? This year I left a swathe of grass unmowed at the bottom of our property to act as a natural fence. Just for fun, I'm leaving an unmowed circle in the middle of the front area. The grass is about to bloom so the pollen will be tough for a few weeks, but it's tough for me anyway.
If the neighbors complain, I can say aliens created a reverse crop circle in our yard.

Maybe a Maze?

I'm really considering doing some kind of grass sculpturing in my front yard this year.    

We never put sod down in the front yard which is about half of our 1/4 acre lot.  We just water and mow the field grass that was there when we started building.  One year we let it grow a little too long for some neighbor who reported us.  Apparently the idea of a meadow wasn't their vision for the 'hood.

But this year, I'd decided to leave some patches of grass to grow to provide a natural 'fence' to the south and to leave some seed heads for over-wintering birds.  Serendipity called and left me a message about Rick Darke who is speaking at the Denver Botanical Gardens tomorrow.  "Sure, I know you won't make the drive, but at least check out his books," she said. So I found this one.  I'm inspired now to let a lot of the yard grow and just leave some paths to get to the planting areas and compost.  It just looks so sensuous.

My 'before' pictures are in the camera.  Once the mowing starts, I'll post something on whether this is an event worth tracking or just a reason for that neighbor to call the city again.

photo from rickdarke.com