The Learning Center

Books, websites, podcasts and more! All of the best sources for learning about r/nolawn topics. If you know of a good source not listed on this page, please message the mods (here) and be sure to explain why you believe it fits here.

1. The Problems with Lawns

Take a moment to think about the constraints we put on lawns.

A lawn plant must be short; Between 1-4 inches tall. If it grows taller, it must be tolerant of regular mowing to that height.
It probably needs to be durable. A lawn used for recreation needs to tolerate a great deal of foot traffic. Kids, dogs, adult yoga; lawn plants handle it better than any other.
It also must be aesthetically pleasing. Many people want a green lawn for as long as possible and water their lawns constantly to achieve this.

Very few plants manage to meet these all of these criteria.

2. Resources

Check out all of our resources on our Resources Wiki Page

2.1 Other Online Guides & Info

Prepping for wildflowers via r/gardenwild (reddit link)
Mulches: The Good, The Bad, and The Really, Really Ugly
Sheet Mulching, Grass to Garden Video
Intro to Permaculture Book
How to Make a Bee Friendly Garden
Native Turf: A New Lawn Guide from the city of Ames, Iowa
The Ultimate Winter Sowing Guide
California -Cal Scape Video
How to: Clover Lawn
Rewilding your lawn or garden? First, get to know it - Rewilding Mag
Homegrown National Park
Wild Ones Get Involved
Homegrown National Park - Plant Native Guide

3. Native Plant Resources by Country

Please message the mods here if you have any good resources and links for your country

You can visit the Native Plant Resources by Country Wiki Page

4. How to Begin

Please note: We're overhauling this section and creating a beginners guide, it just takes a lot of time and research. Please message the mods if you have anything you'd love to add!

Research! - Learn everything you can, use the resources below and ask questions. Start with Our Resources and explore your own.
Plan it - What is your goal, what do you want to see?

Talk to your local conservation/native plants society/master gardener etc. to get more information.
Check out Wild Ones Garden Designs or any other garden designer to help you plan
Do more research on plants for your yard, pick natives avoid invasive, make sure they'll work in your space

Start small - You don't have to do the entire yard, start with one garden bed and learn from your mistakes.
Remove what you don't need - Remove anything that isn't staying, grass, weeds, invasive species etc.
Get to planting! - Talk to your local conservation/native plants society/master gardener or nursery to figure out the best time to plant, and the best way to plant each type of plant in your space
Maintenance - Follow the advice for your plants to maintain them through their first year. If they're native, you'll generally have less maintenance over time.
Enjoy! - Seriously, you did it, it's beautiful, enjoy it before you decide to take on another project.
Share your experience - Help others learn from you, did you make a mistake? Share it so other people can avoid it. Did you learn something really cool? Let us know, make a post. Share some before and afters and let us know how long it took and what steps you took.