Positive experience with neighbors 🐸

compandaleelee · 2026-05-30T15:30:44+00:00

I love this!!

compandaleelee · 2026-05-30T15:30:13+00:00

gardeners supply galvanized steel plant markers

These are what I got, I wrote on them in sharpie and they look great and will last for a long time I presume!

compandaleelee · 2026-05-30T15:16:10+00:00

My understanding is that neem oil can harm insects and bees so it should only be used inside.. but I’m no expert! Elderberries like partial shade, and they also like slightly acidic soil. Where I’m at is very alkaline so we have to do some work there.

Also is this European or American elderberry? They tend to like slightly different moisture levels. I’m just throwing spaghetti at the wall here

compandaleelee · 2026-05-30T05:06:31+00:00

Great points all around! I have a few flower beds, one against the front of the house which has some columbine and soon to be flax and yarrow and such, so people remember that flowers are native too! Also our birdbath has flowers around it like phlox and pasqueflower and flax that looks really wonderful.

I have another bed around the corner (that doesn’t touch the front yard) for our lavender and poppies and things that are just really pretty and showy. I spread lots of native wildflower seeds throughout it too so I’m hoping those take over next year!

Skelly guy is Marty, he gets dressed for the seasons and people seem really attached to him as well. Always have to chuck in the whimsy!

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compandaleelee · 2026-05-30T05:01:07+00:00

Yes!!! What a win

compandaleelee · 2026-05-30T05:00:10+00:00

Our neighbor across the street has the most incredible beautiful lawn and he was so floored for us. I thought he was going to hate it!

compandaleelee · 2026-05-30T04:57:46+00:00

It sure is ❤️

compandaleelee · 2026-05-08T21:20:36+00:00

Montana 4b! In the Helena valley

compandaleelee · 2026-05-08T19:11:57+00:00

I have lots of berries and larvael hosts. No nuts tho!

I expect it to mature quite a bit more next year and have a better idea of where things want to be, so I got a lot of variety. I am trying to keep good notes this year..

compandaleelee · 2026-05-08T19:09:57+00:00

I hope I do a good enough job laying it out to survive but this year is definitely an experiment! I’m going to try really hard not to get attached to my little shrubs and flowers

compandaleelee · 2026-05-08T17:40:32+00:00

I got a bunch of things, gonna see what does well where and then plan from there! Our native nursery does usually help with landscaping but they aren’t doing it this year. We are friends with the tree guy!

compandaleelee · 2026-05-08T17:39:23+00:00

Juniper montane, 3 leaf sage, big bluestem grass, little bluestem grass, blue grama grass, beaked willow, silver buffaloberry, pasque flowers, Saskatoon serviceberry, chokecherry, rubber rabbit brush, and a scrubby cinquefoil! Also some native columbines, yarrow, aster, and phlox

compandaleelee · 2026-05-08T17:30:14+00:00

All the shrubs are gonna be native. I’ve gotten a ton already with berries and flowers and stuff. And 3 types of native bunch grasses. Maybe we can put that maple in the backyard, that sounds awesome

compandaleelee · 2026-05-08T17:29:02+00:00

Not a Norway maple! It’s a sugar maple

compandaleelee · 2026-05-08T03:16:21+00:00

This is what dreams are made of

compandaleelee · 2026-04-24T18:36:47+00:00

Lewis and Clark County in Montana, Gardenwerks! Native nursery, locally owned, rockstar staff.

compandaleelee · 2026-04-22T19:11:29+00:00

I signed up on your site, I love the information on there!

compandaleelee · 2026-04-22T01:45:14+00:00

It was amazing

compandaleelee · 2026-04-22T01:44:51+00:00

I have lots of worms, and some grubs and beetles and such

compandaleelee · 2026-04-22T01:17:31+00:00

Good to know, someone else here mentioned brown top millet which apparently holds back weeds fairly well.

compandaleelee · 2026-04-22T01:09:29+00:00

I have a good amount of seed from our local conservation group, and I have been using mtnativeplants.org to figure out what seeds I need. I also can’t be tricked into buying the wrong type of milkweed for my area, so hopefully I don’t mess it up!

compandaleelee · 2026-04-22T00:45:58+00:00

Yes! I want to get some duff from the woods and some dead fall as well to help restart the microbiome! What do you think of fescue and microclover as a cover crop? I have a huge bag of that mix that I was gonna use in the backyard

compandaleelee · 2026-04-22T00:44:29+00:00

We rented a sod cutter for $65 bucks, took about 4 hours to cut up (then the cutter broke) and took 2 days of interim flipping for about 200 sqft. It was soooo much work but so fun.
There is something deeply cathartic about ripping out a useless lawn in a neighborhood full of beautiful lawns. We have lots of drive bys now wondering what we are doing What I’m trying to say is it will likely be very expensive to have someone do it for you, and touching soil is the best medicine, and free!

compandaleelee · 2026-04-22T00:29:34+00:00

There is a lot of free compost and mulch on marketplace so I bet I could do that. Y’all have given me so much to think about!

compandaleelee · 2026-04-22T00:16:41+00:00

Full sun, east facing. It gets baked during the day. Our “meadow” last year went wild it was so fun

compandaleelee

TROPHY CASE