Turning your yard into a meadow can save water and time. Here's how to do it

As the prospect of having a green lawn becomes increasingly unattainable during bone-dry summers with water restrictions in place, a growing number of people are ditching their grass altogether. 

Kristen Miskelly, owner and operator of Satinflower Nurseries in Vancouver Island's Capital Regional District, says she's seen increased interest and general awareness for her "meadow-making" workshops over the years. 

"I think it's a number of factors, from caring about local biodiversity to looking for alternatives to resource-heavy lawns … that have minimal environmental benefits," Miskelly said.

Meadow-making is the process of turning any greenspace into a natural meadow sown with native plants that require little to no watering during the summer. 

Allison Luke, principal instructor of the University of British Columbia's Botanical Garden Horticulture Training Program, says she's seen a lot of interest in meadow-making over the past few years. 

"It's one of the top three trends we see in gardening right now," Luke said. 

Miskelly is well known and respected for her meadow-making work and education, Luke said, and is one of the top people in the field. 

Benefits of native plants

Satinflower Nursery's workshops, offered online and in person, take participants through the process of converting a lawn or other greenspace into a meadow.

"When we're looking at plants for those spaces, we encourage native plants that are super friendly, ecologically speaking, and have a number of benefits including drought tolerance," Miskelly said on a recent tour of the nursery with CBC News. 

She says some patches in the Satinflower nursery haven't been watered in the 10 years the business has been open. 

As for starting the process, Miskelly has a few suggestions for getting rid of grass. 

One of the most simple methods is sheet mulching: covering the grass with cardboard, then layering that with organic matter like mulches and composts. Another method for more vigorous species is to cover the area with black plastic over a couple of months in the summer. 

For those looking for a more immediate effect, Miskelly recommends hand digging for smaller lawns or renting a sod stripper for larger areas. There are also lawn companies that could come and remove grass for you, she says. 

After that, Miskelly suggests topping what's left with some weed-free mulch or soil.

The fun part

At that point, the space is ready for some seeds or plants. 

"This is the fun part," she said. 

The variety of flowers, grasses and bulbs that goes into an area should really depend on what type of soil and sunlight conditions are present, and the climate of the area.

On Vancouver Island, some common native plants include woolly sunflower, grasses like Roemer's fescue and bulb plants like camas and onions. 

Gardeners can also plant gardens to attract wildlife like birds, butterflies and important insects like bees, she says. 

For seeds, Miskelly suggests planting in February or March, or even in the fall — she says some seeds actually need to stay idle over winter.

Don't overdo it

If all of this seems overwhelming, Miskelly sympathizes. 

"Embarking on projects can be overwhelming," she said. 

"Pick a spot and an area that makes sense and that isn't overwhelming to you, that's something that you can look forward to working on." 

Luke, the UBC botanical garden instructor, agrees. She says a lot of people are just interested in native plants more generally, so starting with planting those is a good idea. 

"You don't have to go whole hog and rip up your lawn," she said.