I've noticed that usually organic gardening requires either lots of money or lots of do-it-yourself know how. We have neither. So, here are my tips after living in my home for 11 years without using chemicals, lots of money or know-how.
1. Live in a neighborhood or town that has a range of what's acceptable landscaping. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago where most homes had neat, weed- free, green lawns with evergreens for landscaping and rocks as ground cover. Now, I'm in an a more rural area where weeds and perennials are more abundant. Look for neighborhoods that have cars parked on other parts of the property besides the driveway.
2. Buy a home where the people didn't take care of their landscaping. Whatever you do, your neighbors will be happy and you'll look like fabulous homeowners.
3. Of course, weed killer is out of the question. That would be way too expensive and way too do-it-yourselfish and most definitely not organic. The trick to having a lawn made up of weeds and not grass is to mow the lawn before it has a chance to flower. Unless it's when the violets are blooming. A purple lawn is so rad. When there is a drought, you might have to mow because there is a pesky weed that actually flourishes without water and ends up looking like you have a lawn made up of ornamental grasses.
4. Have your local tree service drop off a mulched up tree that they just took down. Free mulch! Or, free diseased tree that just was taken down and now you are distributing said disease around your yard.
5. Become a teacher because then you won't be able to shop for flowers until the middle of June when all the flowers are 75% off. Okay, that's not organic, but it's cheap!
