Bluestem wrote at 2010-01-31 13:42:

Hello. I laughed when I read your accounts of dealing with your neighbors and your village because I could picture myself reacting the same way you did. I enjoyed your photos and watching the progress of your native landscape because I am doing the Texas version of prairie restoration in my front and back yards.

My front prairie is beginning its second year. One thing I did to ease my neighbors and the city into acceptance or tolerance of my lawnless front yard was to put edging around my prairie and continue mowing lawn grass around the edges. The lawn border is no more than four feet wide, but it gives an intentional look to the wildness within the edging and it provides a buffer zone between my prairie and the neighbor’s pesticides. In the next year or two, I will move the edging out to the property lines and get rid of all of the lawn grass.

My front prairie is primarily Little Bluestem and various prairie flowers. In the back prairie, I have Little Bluestem, Switchgrass, Indian Grass, and various other grasses, flowers and shrubs. Since my neighbors were not used to this sort of yard, I thought it would look less “weedy” to focus on one grass in the front prairie. I guess it worked. I have not "heard" any complaints. By the way, your mystery grass in photo 61 looks like Indian grass.

You can see a history of my prairie at http://planobluestem.blogspot.com/.

I look forward to reading more of your adventures in Native Suburbia.

Michael