How to make a yard that rocks
Plus: You'll purr over Teen Talk; New crossword includes South End and east Charlotte locations; Top news of the week
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More homeowners in Charlotte go lawn-free — I replaced my pitiful dying grass with mulch, rocks and plants.
Leigh Dyer, who lives in Charlotte’s Oakhurst neighborhood, ditched the grass for a more low-maintenance option: mulch, rocks and drought-resistant plants.
By Leigh Dyer
When I moved last year, I gained a backyard that was a lush landscape of flowering plants, shrubs, pavers, dog-friendly artificial turf and very little grass. In the front of my new home in Charlotte’s Oakhurst neighborhood, though, was the saddest patch of dying Bermuda grass you’ve ever seen.
I’m no landscape expert and tend to outsource my lawn maintenance, so I had no interest in spending money or time to “make grass happen.”
I’d heard about the trend of lawn-free yards — homeowners who ditch turf grass in favor of options including rock, mulch and a combination of lower-maintenance, drought-resistant and pollinator-friendly plantings.
I was also inspired by several nearby homes in my neighborhood that had gone lawn-free and cultivated beautiful patches of flowers, water features and vegetable garden beds in their place. If I had to spend money to fix the yard regardless, I wanted to pursue the most eco-friendly and lowest-maintenance option.
I turned to Mike Kenerley, owner of The Essential Gardener (and who happens to be one of those nearby neighbors with a lawn-free yard of his own). The trend originated in Western states, where “xeriscaping” has become a necessary solution for drought-stricken areas, but Kenerley said he’s seen the idea catching on in Charlotte neighborhoods in the last couple of years — particularly in neighborhoods closer to uptown with smaller front yards.
I also called several area garden centers for input, and two — Banner Nursery on Monroe Road and Turtle Creek Nursery in Davidson — confirmed that anecdotally they’re hearing a lot more Charlotte-area homeowners wanting to get away from grass. Residents want to avoid watering during droughts or to plant more edible gardens.
Looks good, adds biodiversity: Kenerley, like many in the landscaping business, is not anti-grass, but he likes the biodiversity the lawn-free trend brings. “When you have flowers and the type of plants that attract pollinators — bees, butterflies — that's the main thing for me,” he said. “And the aesthetic appeal. The way it makes you feel when you walk up and see it — that’s a fun thing, too.”
My yard is small: My entire lot is just over a tenth of an acre, and it already had several mulched areas and one rock-covered side yard, so my project was relatively simple. The mulched areas expanded, and the second side yard gained white rock to match the first side. Boulders, river stone and a mixture of plantings including heuchera (coral bells), encore azaleas, a prostrate yew shrub, drift rose and mixed perennial flowers completed the look.
Angi.com (formerly Angie’s List) says the average cost of a landscaping project is between $1,300-$5,600 depending on complexity; I came in higher than that with Kenerley’s company, due to the amount of somewhat pricey stone and labor involved. (But I’m also saving the monthly fees I was paying a local lawn maintenance company before I moved.)
Another inspiration is my friend Kate Fox, who converted her entire front yard, in south Charlotte off N.C. 51, into a serene lawn-free landscape as a DIY project over the past year. Her much larger lot (0.4 acres total, about half in front) cost her under $1,000 to convert herself.
Kate Fox of south Charlotte transformed her yard as a DIY project, at a cost of less than $1,000. Neighbors were skeptical at first but now stop to admire her eco-friendly yard.
When she moved there in 2020, like me, she was confronted by a lawn in bad shape that had to be fixed somehow. A few dead trees needed to be removed, too, so she had the tree removal company chip them to create her mulch. She claimed my leftover moving boxes, lined the yard with cardboard to compost the remaining grass, and covered it with a thick layer of the mulch. As her money and time allowed, she purchased and established her own plantings.
Her selections included native and non-native plants chosen for their tolerance of our dry, hot summers and wet winters: dogwood, wild geranium, blazing star, Japanese maples, bearded irises and butterfly bush. The landscape includes multiple rock-lined paths for children and guests and a tree-shaded seating area with wrought-iron furniture, where her family spends leisure time.
“I don’t enjoy just gazing out at grass, but when I’m sitting out there and there’s the butterflies and birds and fireflies in the evening, it’s just so enjoyable. I enjoy all that life,” she says.
She notes her yard attracts natural mosquito predators, and they are seldom bothered by any pests.
‘I thought you were nuts’: Neighbors were initially skeptical of her “yard full of mulch,” which stood out in a neighborhood still known for its manicured lawns, but have grown to appreciate the project as it evolved. “They’ve said ‘Oh my gosh, I thought you were nuts when you first did this, but now I love walking by every day,’” she says. “I’ll see people standing there for 10 minutes, pointing at things and discussing them.”
Here are some tips for those considering going lawn-free:
Consult with a local nursery or gardening shop to learn about which plantings can thrive in your particular yard’s conditions.
If you’re not sure whether you’ll like the look, experiment with one area of your yard that’s already mulched for trees or shrubs, and try expanding it with grass-suppressing cardboard and extra mulch.
You don’t have to do it all at once. Like Fox, you can add plantings over time, according to your own preferences on maintenance requirements.
If you have a homeowners’ association, check on their rules; some have a requirement that a certain percentage of yard must remain grass, but most have more generally worded requirements about maintenance that don’t prohibit a lawn-free yard.
Here are some extra tips from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.
Leigh Dyer is a former Charlotte Observer reporter and SouthPark Magazine editor who currently works in communications in Charlotte.
Today’s supporting sponsor is Soni Brendle:
Teen talk: Build your vocabulary
Impress and delight the young people in your life by using the words they use. The Ledger shows you how in this occasional Saturday feature.
Today’s word: Purr
Pronunciation: “Purr”
Definition: An affirmation or emphasis, usually spoken when in agreement with a positive statement.
Examples:
“I just bought a gorgeous new dress today!” “OK, purr!”
“OMG! I just got tickets to the Charlotte Hornets! Do you want to come?” “Yes! Purr!”
“Check out my new manicure!” “Purr! Your nails look so good!”
Ledger analysis: To more seasoned ears, “purr” sounds like a 2020s version of “cool” — or to really seasoned ears, “groovy.” Like a lot of young-person slang, its popularity appears fueled by TikTok, where it is a popular #hashtag. But if you’re not on TikTok, feel free to drop it as an exclamation of approval into conversations with fellow humans, or with your cat.
—Caroline Mecia, age 19
Weekly local crossword includes colorful South End building and east Charlotte’s Lawrence __ Elementary
Can you finish this week’s Ledger crossword? Do you know 20 Across, “Color of Charlotte’s The Arlington high rise?” (4 letters)? Or 35 Down, “Lawrence __ Elementary (East Charlotte school)”?
Ledger crosswords are created by Chris King, edited by Tim Whitmire and presented by CXN Advisory. Enjoy!
.PDF (suitable for download and printing):
.PUZ (suitable for use on tablets and computers with Across Lite app):
For more crosswords with local clues, check out our dedicated Charlotte Ledger Crossword page.
This week in Charlotte: Gas odor stinks up the city; Cooper signs $28B budget; Bank of America fined $225M
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Politics
Cooper signs budget and lifts state of emergency: (Observer) Gov. Roy Cooper signed a $28B state budget into law that will give raises for state employees and public school teachers. It also pours money into economic development, boosts the state’s savings fund and leaves taxes the same. In addition, Cooper said he plans to lift the Covid state of emergency order on Aug. 15.
Green Party sues elections board: (NPR) The N.C. Green Party is suing the State Board of Elections to get its party candidates on the ballot in North Carolina. The board voted last month to leave the Green Party off the ballot. The party is currently being investigated for fraudulent signatures in the party’s required paperwork.
Local news
Gas smell in uptown: (WCNC) Remember the rotten egg smell on Thursday? It was actually mercaptan, a chemical added to natural gas to make it easily detectable. An environmental company in uptown disposed of mercaptan tanks that were mistakenly reported as empty, according to Piedmont Natural Gas. No natural gas was found in the atmosphere, so it posed no threat to the community.
Crime on the rise: (WSOC) Crime in Charlotte was up 4% in the first half of this year, compared with the same period a year earlier. Burglaries are up 33% and vehicle thefts are up 10%.
S.C. lawyer charged with murder: (NPR) Former South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was indicted Thursday by a grand jury and charged with murdering his wife and 19-year-old son. He’s at the center of a number criminal fraud investigations and lawsuits. The case has been the subject of national media intrigue and the popular “Murdaugh Murders Podcast.”
Business
Uptown office tower: (Axios Charlotte) Developer Lincoln Harris unveiled plans for a 24-story office tower at the corner of South Tryon Street and Brooklyn Village Avenue (formerly Stonewall Street). It has been under construction for a few months. Lincoln Harris president Johno Harris told The Ledger (🔒) that there’s no timeline for building another office tower on the site but that the company is “ready to strike” when the time is right.
Bank of America fined over cards: (Observer) Bank of America has to pay $225M in penalties after federal regulators said it used “unfair and deceptive practices” in distributing prepaid cards with unemployment benefits. The bank was also sued this month over claims that it didn’t adequately warn customers about potential fees when using the money-transfer service Zelle.
Good reads
Charlotte’s last great mayoral race: (Inside Politics newsletter) With a mayoral election coming up in a couple weeks, WFAE’s Steve Harrison looked back at the last close mayor’s race in Charlotte, in 2009. It featured Democrat Anthony Foxx against Republican John Lassiter. Foxx’s campaign manager, Bruce Clark, recalls that after Lassiter said he couldn’t or wouldn’t attend a debate, the Foxx campaign had someone dress up in a chicken suit outside Lassiter campaign headquarters. Clark recalls that it was “tense” watching election returns come in. Foxx squeaked by with a 51%-48% victory.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
UNC Charlotte students practice on robot patients: UNC Charlotte’s School of Nursing Stimulation Lab has upgraded its training technology. Instead of injecting an orange, students now have high fidelity patient simulators, which are life-sized robotic patients that have a pulse and can breathe, bleed and urinate, and even simulate birth.
Black Political Caucus endorsements: The Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg endorsed all of the Democrats running in the city’s election this month, including two that didn’t receive its endorsement in May’s primary.
CMS, CMPD faulted on producing records: A federal magistrate recommended that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department be sanctioned for failing to turn over documents in a federal lawsuit brought by a former Myers Park High student who said she was sexually assaulted.
Judge takes new job: Superior Court Judge Casey Viser resigned to take a new job at law firm Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick.
Wednesday Ledger (🔒):
Eye on Charlotte’s economy: The Ledger went in-depth on Wednesday on Charlotte’s economy, based on mounds of economic data and conversations with economists. Although worries about a recession seem to be increasing, local economic data is still encouraging, and economists say we’ll fare better than the national average. But if a recession hits, we won’t be spared, either.
Fed bank CEO in Charlotte: Speaking Tuesday at the Charlotte Rotary, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond CEO Tom Barkin said the Fed must tame inflation and that if a recession happens, we should “keep it in perspective.”
Grier Heights residents oppose development plans: Residents in Charlotte’s Grier Heights neighborhood are concerned about the traffic that a Starbucks and Chick-fil-A would bring to a shopping center in the neighborhood. The community held a meeting Monday with the developer to learn more about the Wendover Plaza plans and suggested using some of the space as a business incubator. The City Council is scheduled to hear the developer’s zoning request on Monday.
Queens University instructor honored as next Poet Laureate: The Library of Congress named Ada Limón, a poet and creative writing instructor at Queens University of Charlotte, as the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States. She will be in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 29 to open the Library’s literary season with a reading of her poetry.
Friday Ledger (🔒):
Unified Development Ordinance nears finish line: The Charlotte City Council is expected to vote on new development rules in a little over a month. Nobody seems fully happy with everything in the 685 pages of rules, but it’s expected to pass anyway.
Big View Diner under new ownership: Big View Diner in Ballantyne posted on Facebook that it “joined a group called Clean Plate Restaurants in April, but the goal is to keep everything as amazing as it’s always been!” The new general manager is not ready to speak on it yet. Big View was previously owned by Xenia Hospitality.
The Charlotte Area Transit System plans to cut back on bus service amid a shortage of drivers that is making buses unreliable.
Ways of Life (🔒):
Dot Faust’s eclectic life: Dorothy Louise Faust found joy and fulfillment in many things. She loved to bowl, teach Sunday school, play the Atlantic City slots and do nice things for strangers. She was known for her sweet potato fries and loving her two children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Her sister, Juanita Andrews, said, “Dot was really a treasure.”
Fútbol Friday ⚽️:
What we’ve learned about soccer: A little more than halfway through Charlotte FC’s season, writer Carroll Walton says, we’ve learned a lot: new terms like “brace” and “Olimpico,” the importance of supporters’ groups and that bottomless popcorn is a key in keeping young soccer fans entertained.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project
FYI - Xeriscaping is not permitted in many planned communities with "architectural standards" in the homeowner covenants, so be careful.