As I walk my neighborhood, I find I cannot stop myself judging my neighbors level of gardening interest.  While most are kept neat and tidy, there are exceptions that make me wonder why they chose to purchase a home with a yard.  I get that not everyone enjoys gardening.  I am not bothered by weeds.  I just want it to look like someone cares.  If you hate gardening, there are plenty of lawn care folks that will provide a minimal level of care to mow whatever grows in the lawn and keep the edges trimmed for a reasonable sum of money.

But if you are not a gardener and do not want to pay for regular lawn care I suggest you simply eliminate the lawn.  Yes, there will be an up-front investment, but ongoing maintenance expenses will be minimal.  One way would be to get a landscaper to come in remove or kill the grass then install a well-planned high density mix of sun loving native perennials.  It will require mulching and an annual cut down and clean-up.  You may even be inspired to zhuzh it up a bit with a path, small patio, and seating area to enjoy your new space.

If it is a shady area, you can have a beautiful shade garden with spring ephemerals, evergreen shrubs, ferns, and flowering plants along with seasonal show stopping herbaceous perennials.  You would definitely want to upgrade with a bit of hardscape because you will want to be out in this garden throughout the year.  Again, there would be some maintenance to keep it looking its best.

There is yet another solution, that once installed would be very low maintenance.  An urban pocket forest is a concept that is gaining momentum across the globe.  It was developed by the Japanese botanist and plant ecology expert Professor Akira Miyawaki.   The Miyawaki method is a technique for cultivating fast-growing groves of native plants, in a dense, mixed planting intended to simulate the layers of a natural forest.  The trees used consist of several species of natives because they are best adapted to your particular environment and therefore are more likely to thrive and to support a wider web of wildlife.

By planting densely, the trees grow tall quickly as they try to out compete each other for sunlight.  Just like in a forest the trunks stretch out straight with leaves clustered at the top.  The Miyawaki method is said to accelerate climax forest establishment from 100+ years down to 20 years by sidestepping the slow march of natural succession.  Initial planting is focused on the plants that mark the theoretical endpoint of succession thereby skipping earlier stages of succession (steps 2-5 in the illustration below).

In a Miyawaki forest project, the soil is typically loosened and amended with organic materials to create a soil composition that is similar to the forest floor of a climax forest.  Here in the Mid-South trees seem to grow like magic and while working some compost into the soil and breaking up compacted areas and hardpan would be great it is not mandatory.

For a Miyawaki forest, the standard planting density is three plants per 10 square feet.  A 10’ x 10’ plot would contain 30 plants!  This would be costly to do with large plants and since small plants are less expensive, easier to plant, and quicker to become established, which is the focus of the Miyawaki method.  Sourcing tree whips (slender, unbranched shoot) will require that you go to an on-line nursery.  The Tennessee Environmental Council has an annual sale of select varieties of tree whips that you can order in November and receive for planting in March.  Just look them up on the web to get details.  They utilize volunteers to distribute the trees, which you pick up locally upon arrival to keep the cost affordable.  If you are a gardener and want to create a Miyawaki pocket forest you can consider collecting seeds locally from native trees to grow your own whips.

Mulching is a critical component of the Miyawaki Method.  After planting, the ground is covered with a thick mulch similar to fallen leaves on a forest floor.  You can use hardwood mulch, shredded leaves, or leaf compost as your mulch.  As the plants become established over the first few years, the plantings typically need occasional watering and weeding, but after three years the young forest patches have developed enough to shade out weeds and shelter the soil.  They are then generally self-sufficient and need no maintenance of any sort—no pruning, no watering, no fertilizing, no leaf raking and no pest control—ever.

The plant list is a selection of primarily native late succession species.  Your pocket forest should have a minimum diversity of 30 locally native species divided into four structural layer categories; Canopy trees, sub-canopy trees, arborescent trees (small understory trees), and shrubs.

A word of caution is in order.  Your newly planted pocket forest will not look impressive at first and may require a bit of signage to let neighbors know what you are doing in your garden.