• @Zectivi@sh.itjust.works
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    22 days ago

    When I moved in, I told my neighbor I only mow my yard once every 2 weeks. Something I read that said it would help the bees. He’s done the same to match. We also have lightning bugs now, which I didn’t notice the first year.

    • @StarvingMartist@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      2222 days ago

      Are you supposed to do it more? When I lived with my parents and had access to a yard that’s about how much we did it (cause it was annoying to do it more)

      • @BorgDrone@lemmy.one
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        421 days ago

        Much, much less. The city I live in wants to promote biodiversity and has adapted their mowing schedule for this. Large parts of public greenery are only mowed once or twice per year. Other parts 6 times a year. Some parts are mowed 20 times a year, e.g. fields for kids to play on, or where it would be a safety issue (e.g. high growth blocking view around a corner), but that’s just a small portion.

        Also in some parts they only partially mow, to create spaces where there are different heights of greenery. They also sowed a lot of mixed flowers, which looks really nice.

      • @plantsmakemehappy@lemmy.world
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        422 days ago

        I usually have to mow once a week when we’re not in drought, otherwise the lawn gets too high, but during the heat of summer I don’t have to mow at all because the grass goes dormant.

      • @Zectivi@sh.itjust.works
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        222 days ago

        Before I bought a house, I only knew once a week when I was growing up. Seemed to be based on the neighborhood (upper Midwest).

    • @arrow74@lemm.ee
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      21 days ago

      I aim for once every 2 years lol.

      I think my neighbor doesn’t like me, but I got butterflies for days

  • @wise_pancake@lemmy.ca
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    5422 days ago

    My yard is a hot mess and the fireflies have started showing up.

    Also rabbits, and there’s a fox den nearby and they show up occasionally.

    I don’t like the fox because it took a huge hairy musty shit in my window well, it was putrid. I don’t know if he pooped into the well like an outhouse, or popped with his little head poking out.

  • AZERTY
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    1922 days ago

    I used to love sitting out back and watching them in the old house I was in. Now I’m an apartment dweller and the only bugs I see outside regularly are paper wasps.

    • @A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world
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      722 days ago

      I’m going with wild clover and flowers I think, clover loves it here and is all over the place anyway. Never gotta mow it.

      I just gotta get off my ass and find the time…

      • @wise_pancake@lemmy.ca
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        421 days ago

        We have white clover and if unchecked it grows above your shoes and leaves walking paths.

        I still prefer it to grass but I do mow it occasionally. It bounces back quickly and seems happy.

        It’s very fluffy in the summer which is a great vibe for the lawn.

  • @RebekahWSD@lemmy.world
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    1721 days ago

    We mow just often enough to stop the township from sending angry letters. So about once a month of that.

    • @chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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      521 days ago

      The city I used to work for tried banning mowing certain times of year, and had to back down due to all the lawsuits coming in.

      My current city is trying to ban leaf blowers (they’re terrible in like 8 different ways), but that’s also very difficult.

      • @RebekahWSD@lemmy.world
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        221 days ago

        Township here just doesn’t want a shaggy lawn. It still takes them awhile to send the letters. In summer we get it mowed once a month (or once they send a warning), winter we just don’t mow. It doesn’t grow enough.

    • @prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works
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      621 days ago

      MD HB322 is the GOAT.

      Basically every stupid rule my HoA has to enforce a “super short cut grass lawn” was invalidated by that.

      Now I have a pollinator sanctuary in my front yard.

      Fuck grass.

  • @mkhopper@lemmy.world
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    1322 days ago

    It’s No-Mow-May.

    Tell the HOAs to get stuffed and put the mower away for a few weeks.

    I’ve already seen quite a few mason bees buzzing around in my yard.

  • @Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works
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    722 days ago

    That looks nothing like my yard but still don’t see as many LBs as I used to. People blame yards like the one here and pesticides, but I don’t know. I felt like in the 80s and 90s there was an even bigger obsession with manicured yards and people found the most toxic stuff they could get their hands on to spray around their homes. Still had tons of lightening bugs then.

    • @calcopiritus@lemmy.world
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      822 days ago

      There are a lot of factors. I’ve heard light contamination is harmful for lightbug populations. And the modern LED streetlights are much brighter than in the 90s

    • @Gerudo@lemm.ee
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      1422 days ago

      You don’t know how hoas work do you?

      1st off, every hoa has regulations on lawns. It’s the bare minimum of virtually any hoa. Not quite to the extent of the photo, but absolutely will fine for any weeds, or unapproved plants.

      2nd, most hoas have hurdles in vote counts to change a rule. The biggest being your Karens and Kens who are the ones who call you in because you have one dandelion in your yard. Others include only voting like once a year.

      3rd, if your hoa is fairly new, your community in most cases, has to be nearly complete before you can even vote out hoa members to try to change the board.

      Hoas are a nightmare and take monumental shifts and time to make changes.

  • Flax
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    322 days ago

    The type of morons with gardens like these would see that as a good thing