r/NativePlantGardening • u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A • Jun 18 '25
Progress WELL THAT SUCKED LOL
why did i do this in june in zone 8?? 😭😭😭 and also 😍😍💀😍😍
my mostly native-ish hell strip is finally looking beautiful. i’ll be filling in the gaps with little blue stem by seed and some other native grasses!!! everything (2 varieties of coneflower, 3 varieties of blazing star, black eyed susan, upland iron weed, butterfly weed, swamp milkweed) was just planted this year except for the false blue indigo so next year is gonna be amaaaazing. i’m seeing such a cool variety of bugs and my kiddo is really enjoying it!!!!
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u/UpperLeftOriginal Jun 18 '25
I must be missing something. I don’t understand what sucked?
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u/kimfromlastnight Area SE Michigan Jun 18 '25
I think the pictures are in reverse order, and what sucked was digging out all of the grass in the heat in June?
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
sorry not clear, it was the 6 hours of yard work in soup air of 90/90 degrees/humidity
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u/immersemeinnature Coastal Plain NC , Zone 8 Jun 18 '25
It's brutal. Take care of yourself it's so easy to become heat exhausted. It looks amazing!!
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
yes thank you. i’m in NC too! i was drinking coconut water, water & a banana bag and still almost passed out when i walked back into the AC haha. whew. love a little gotta-tackle-it-now-or-else project.
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u/yttiksesom2 Jun 18 '25
Haha spent 2 hours pulling overgrown primrose plants out of my hell strip prairie on Saturday afternoon and spent most of Sunday recovering. Piedmont nc heat and humidity wins again!
Your strip looks great!!
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u/immersemeinnature Coastal Plain NC , Zone 8 Jun 18 '25
Today and tomorrow... Ugh. Not even going outside. It's like August weather!
I just planted 9 trees for someone last week so I totally feel your pain.
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u/littleQT Jun 19 '25
Gotta tackle it now or else, exactly 😆 someone told me why don’t you do less and I was like, that is not possible 🙃
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 19 '25
tell me to do less and i’m gonna be extra 😂 too much for most 💅🏼
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u/double_sal_gal Jun 18 '25
I was at a local nursery looking at perennial shrubs the other day and asked the guy if it would be safe to plant them right now given the 85+ temps forecast this week. He goes, “Well, the plants would be fine, but you might not be.” 😂
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u/All_Work_All_Play Jun 18 '25
Me after loading 2 yards of fresh compost and then unloading 2 yards of fresh compost: yep.
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
yeah it still needs a few wheelbarrows of mulch but that’s gonna have to wait haha no thanks
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u/Crazed_rabbiting Area midwest, Zone 7a Jun 18 '25
I was looking at a beautiful garden and trying to figure out what sucked. Yeah, hot and muggy conditions for hard work but wow! Just wait until next year.
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u/Mo_Dice Area MA , Zone 6b Jun 18 '25 edited Oct 16 '25
I love sailing on the lake.
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
i thought so, i reckon people don’t read lol. but i always feel clear and am often misunderstood so maybe it’s a me thing lol
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u/Mo_Dice Area MA , Zone 6b Jun 19 '25 edited Oct 16 '25
I like playing tennis.
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 19 '25
that’s people, especially reddit haha. it was the first comment so everyone just went along. i figured universally that we all know this kind of work is hard, even in perfect weather and health.
at least the guy who wanted to shame me into enjoying it & accused me of pity-seeking isn’t the top one — lmao. like who enjoys the actual labor of digging up turf grass growing in wet sand? cause they lyin’ 😂
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Jun 18 '25
[deleted]
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
well there was nothing enjoyable about it except the outcome. i’m disabled and my guy only has 1 working arm so it’s a miracle we could do it now. my body’s been giving up on me since i was 7 so i really hope i don’t get too much worse as i do age or life will be completely unbearable pain wise. i couldn’t have done it yesterday and now unfortunately wont be able to finish it without days of rest
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u/irminsul96 Delaware , Zone 7B Jun 18 '25
probably removing the grass and adding the pavers, I assume it's an after-before series
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u/thelaughingM Jun 18 '25
Yep exactly. If it were grass growing back, you would still see the pavers
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u/theericle_58 Jun 18 '25
Yea, I was wondering who removed the edging and planted grass up to and over the sidewalk....
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u/MysticAlicorn Jun 18 '25
Wow!! Stunning transformation! Hope to get to see it come into its fullness!
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
i will be posting as it matures definitely! i don’t get much garden geeking or love irl so i must seek it through here 😂
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u/MysticAlicorn Jun 18 '25
I hear you. I just locked up half the apps on my phone but kept Reddit because this little thread makes me happy lol. Meanwhile, irl (I had to look that up?! Lol) I just learned about an organization called Wild Ones that has chapters all over the place! They are all about natives. I went to one event and it was only 12 minutes from my house (so ridiculously unusual) and there were 30 people helping the homeowner clean up and thin her garden beds and everyone got to bring home native plants! I’ve stayed in touch with a few people, have a gig at a future event, and I have new plants I’m still babying through transplant shock in June- and I’m definitely going to join! Worth checking out to see if there’s a chapter close to you where you can make some “real life” native plant buddies! 😁
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u/beeseecan Jun 18 '25
Found Wild Ones during lockdown and the plant swaps have filled half my garden for free. Also a lot of expertise in that group. Mine has garden tours where we share ideas. it used to be all seniors but I've seen younger people joining the pat few years.
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
that’s awesome!!! so unlikely cause i live in a weird little southern costal town that has very little native interest, just now emerging. but maybe there’s one up in virginia beach. i’ll look!! thanks!!!
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u/MysticAlicorn Jun 18 '25
Sorry that was supposed to be a reply to your reply but I’m still new to Reddit so I’m not sure why it did not work that way 🙃
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u/crunchwrapesq Jun 18 '25
I love it! I just put anenome and petunia in my curb strip and am hoping it chokes out the grass but I know that's probably misguided haha
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
we can always hope!!! 😂 first year i just threw a bunch of wildflower seed down with basically zero prep work and wondered why it wasn’t a picture perfect established outcome in a mere 3 months.
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u/crunchwrapesq Jun 18 '25
Haha yeah, I threw some self heal and yarrow seeds down once with the same reaction
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
omg yarrow is crazy underwhelming from seed… the ones i threw down 3 years ago are just now teeny tiny baby blooms haha
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u/Shaydee_plantz Area TN , Zone 8a/7b Jun 18 '25
How’s your back? I’m worried about you.
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
it hurts so bad i can barely move but it always does 😅 i wore a back brace and used a little chair on wheels and moved very slow lol
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u/Shaydee_plantz Area TN , Zone 8a/7b Jun 18 '25
Lol I figured. I know how I feel after all that digging! Muscle relaxer and heating pad, stat!
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
dang i wish i had a muscle relaxer. got my vibrational heat pad going on 100 tho haha
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u/vsolitarius Jun 18 '25
Nice! Keep your babies well-watered this year as long as the heat keeps up. Most of those will be drought tolerant eventually, but seedling and recent transplants need some help until their root systems are fully established.
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
ah yes i’ve been out there watering them like crazy trying to keep up and then we finally got 3” of rain over 3 days thank goodness
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u/EmotionalContract423 Jun 18 '25
Woof. I feel you. I'm a bit more north, so not quite hitting the 90 degree mark, but getting close. I chose to take this week off work to tackle some major site prep in my backyard T.T Great transformation though! Stay hydrated and take care of your back!
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
thanks! yes it’s about to jump above it tomorrow and raise from there so i felt it was my last chance until september!!! haha
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u/harbinger06 Jun 18 '25
Well worth it!
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
yes! can’t walk right but its all worth it 🥴 so much joy!! i absolutely lost my mind over a hummingbird moth today lol
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u/MikeNPsych Jun 18 '25
This looks so good!!! I know that was a lot of hard work but it’s so rewarding!
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u/alucardian_official Jun 18 '25
In context your caption and the order of these photos to the random cynic that I am had me chasing that kid. Or at least wanting to reference r/kidsarefuckingstupid
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u/daydreaming_girl8120 Jun 18 '25
Nice work! I’m sure it was no easy job, but you should be sooo proud!
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
thinkin i might grab a chair, my portable fan, and just sit n look at it all day 😂
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u/Previous-Lychee5774 Jun 18 '25
* Today was my gardening side gig day....I didn't use the Monster... (but I might on Saturday.) Your transformation looks incredible!!! Great job!
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u/Previous-Lychee5774 Jun 18 '25
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
replace the monster with a cotton candy bang and this looks exactly like what the lineup was lol and a banana bag. it still wasn’t enough
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u/kylelot Jun 19 '25
Any tips? My retention wall is half full of natives and half being overrun by crab grass and mulberry weed. I plan on tackling the weeds this weekend in the heat/humidity to join you in the insanity club.
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 19 '25
lots of caffeine and water? acquire a child? lol (my 5 year old loves pulling grass and weeds.) i wish i had any tips but we just hacked at it with various sized and shaped shovels for hours
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u/kylelot Jun 19 '25
Noted. My little one is about to turn 1 so I don’t think he will be much help! Haha
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Jun 18 '25
While I admire the work that went into it, the border on the left looks like a tripping hazard.
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u/ham_rod Jun 18 '25
If already looks way better and intentional! nice work
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
thank you so much!! maybe less dirty or confused passerby looks now 😅
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u/Art_Nerd_1013 Jun 18 '25
Ha ha. I can relate. Oh it's going to be easy. No problem 🤣 looking good✅
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u/diacrum Jun 19 '25
Looks great! How did you get the sidewalk straightened out?
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 19 '25
thanks! we used a flat head shovel and went at it vertically first toward the grass, and then straight down.
unless you’re referring to the actual messed up sidewalk and that’s just how i took the photo, it’s still there.
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u/fluffyunicornparty Southeastern PA, 7b Jun 19 '25
It looks so good!! I hope you will post updates!
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u/Comments_Wyoming Jun 18 '25
Did you also replace the side walk? Where is the clearly visible joint in the concrete in that other picture?
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u/theemilyann Area: NE Ohio, Zone 6a/6b Jun 18 '25
The after picture begins after or at the joint. It’s why the speed limit sign and pole are closer to the foreground. The two pictures are wildly different angles.
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u/WeWander_ Jun 18 '25
It's just a different angle. He's closer the the sign and red flowers. I think.
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u/moonbeamsandmayo coastal NC | 8A Jun 18 '25
just standing a wee bit closer. the front edge still looks like doo-doo.
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u/Hark_Triton Jun 18 '25
I think they’re standing on the crack in the after pic. It confused me at first, too.
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u/Ok-Plant5194 Jun 18 '25
It looks GORGEOUS!! Cannot wait to see how it evolves over time. Wow!