- Location
- Mars, PA
- Completed
- September 2025
- On site
- 2 weeks
The brief
What we did
The owners were watering a front lawn that still went brown every August. We took it out and replaced it with a native scheme chosen for this soil and aspect — grasses, coneflower, little bluestem and serviceberry for structure.
It was watered through the first season to establish and has not been irrigated since. It also holds its shape into winter, which a lawn does not.
Scope of work
- Lawn removal and soil preparation
- Native planting design and installation
- Hardwood mulch and spade edging
- First-season establishment watering plan
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Services used
What went into it
By the numbers
- 2,400 sq ft
- Lawn removed
- 2 wks
- On site
- 0
- Irrigation since year one
- 60%
- Water bill cut
The brief
Watering a lawn
that still died
The owners were irrigating a front lawn every summer and still watching it brown out by August. The soil was thin, the aspect was full sun, and grass was simply the wrong plant for the site.
We took it out and put in something that belongs there.
- Lawn removed and soil prepared properly
- Natives chosen for this soil and aspect
- Watered through year one, nothing since
Build sequence
How it was built
-
01
Removal
Turf stripped and taken away rather than rotovated in.
-
02
Soil
Prepared and amended for deep-rooting perennials.
-
03
Planting
Coneflower, little bluestem, switchgrass and serviceberry in drifts.
-
04
Establishment
Mulched, edged, and watered on a schedule through the first season only.
Details
What made the difference
-
Right plant, right place
Natives matched to the soil, aspect and rainfall.
-
Four-season structure
Seed heads and grasses hold shape through winter.
-
No irrigation
Unwatered since the first season.
-
Habitat
Pollinator planting that actually gets used.
“Half the water bill and it looks like something, which the grass never did.”