Think Outside The Lawn - Page 2 of 2 - Low-maintenance, eco-friendly lawn alternatives for those who want more results from less work.

Nature's chop-and-drop mulching Image by Larisa Koshkina from Pixabay

Basics / Garden / Permaculture / Techniques and How-To

Chop-and-Drop Mulching: What, Why, and How

Chop-and-drop mulching is nature's way of mulching. It's easy, free, and conducive to a healthy…

by Veronica Shukla September 9, 2020

Wild Carrot, Queen Anne's Lace, Daucus carota in my garden

Queen Anne’s Lace: The Easy Carrot

Queen Anne's Lace, or wild carrot, is an extremely beautiful and useful plant for the…

by Veronica Shukla September 2, 2020

Raspberries can be productive, even if you don't extensively thin them

Ecosystem Mimicking / Food Growing / Garden / Perspective Shift / Techniques and How-To

Less Raspberry Thinning: When Less Maintenance Results in Even Less Maintenance

When I'm trying to decide on how to maintain my garden or manage pests, I…

by Veronica Shukla August 31, 2020

Milkweed flowers

Ecosystem Mimicking / Perspective Shift / Plants

Common Milkweed and Its Many Uses

Milkweed is edible, attracts pollinators and beneficial insects and much more! Learn about what milkweed…

by Veronica Shukla August 28, 2020

Pea is a nitrogen fixing plant

Basics / Botany / Ecosystem Mimicking / Garden / Permaculture / Terms

Nitrogen Fixing Plants and Their Roles in Guilds

Nitrogen fixing plants are very useful in a guild. Learn all the ways plants get…

by Veronica Shukla August 26, 2020

A lawn being used by playing dogs

Lawn / Techniques and How-To

Is a Lawn Right For You? How to Choose the Best Low-Maintenance Landscaping

Do you need a lawn? If so, how can you make it more eco-friendly and…

by Veronica Shukla August 24, 2020

Image of clover lawn by Zdeněk Chalupský on Pixabay

Ecosystem Mimicking / Lawn / Techniques and How-To

6 Reasons to Avoid a Clover Lawn

A clover-only lawn might look beautiful, but it comes with just as many problems as…

by Veronica Shukla August 23, 2020

Purple Loosestrife is a poster child for invasive species, choking out other native plants in many wet areas.

Basics / Perspective Shift / Terms

Invasive vs. Aggressive: Plants That Don’t Want to Die

What are invasive plants and what are aggressive plants? What about noxious weeds? I try…

by Veronica Shukla August 20, 2020

Wild Sunflowers

Food Growing / Garden / Plants

Wild Sunflower: Weed or Worthy?

Cultivated sunflowers tend to be loved and prized by all, while their wild ancestor tends…

by Veronica Shukla August 18, 2020

Veronica Shukla

Plant Lover & Blogger

Hi, I’m Veronica Shukla, and I have some different theories about landscaping, gardening, and lawns. I have a passion for trying to be as ecologically friendly as possible with my urban property, and I like to think outside the box — and outside the lawn. I’ve been studying permaculture, ecology, and botany for several years now and have a Permaculture Design Certificate from Whole Systems Design. I also founded a local nonprofit in South Dakota and Minnesota called Project Food Forest and continue to do design and consultation through it. I travel into the great outdoors as much as I can to observe natural ecosystems in progress, and I also practice on my own property and at public food forests run by Project Food Forest.