@greyor happy to offer some suggestions if you’d like! and you can definitely start small by just putting a few things in—my experience was that it was a lot easier and more rewarding than i’d worried it might be

@Satsuma I would love that, you are very kind!

We have looked at the university extension for info but just need to systematically dig into it too.

Yeah I worry about $$ mostly, trying to triage what needs to be done around here based on that and severity

@greyor happy to! your local university extension is definitely a goof starting point.

if you’re trying to keep costs down, your best bet is either seeds or landscape plugs. I used a mix of both for my garden — i got a set of 25 plugs from https://www.thepollennation.com when i moved into my apartment and had pretty good success, especially with the drought tolerant goldenrods.

I planted milkweed from seed (a friend collected some seeds from their plants and started them in an egg carton for me) as well as black eyed susans ( these i think? https://www.southernexposure.com/products/rudbeckia-cherokee-nf-ecotype/ ). the milkweed was doing pretty well until the bunny moved in and decided it was best thing ever lmao and i got soooo many plants from the black eyed susan packet even though i literally just planted them midwinter and hoped nature would do the job okay.

@greyor if you’re planning to keep any lawn, even in the short term, you could try overseeding it with more drought tolerant and pollinator friendly turf plants — MNU did a good study on plants for bee lawns that might be useful in that respect, which included not needing irrigation or fertilizer on their list of desired characteristics: https://extension.umn.edu/landscape-design/planting-and-maintaining-bee-lawn they link to some places you can buy bee lawn mixes that met their standards online as well as tips for how to establish, etc

@Satsuma I really appreciate all this, thank you! Will have to dig into it, lots of food for thought!! 💙

@greyor university extension is good.

good news is that one of the things you can do (assuming you don't live in HOA hell) is have the rest of this season/your winter be focused on killing off the lawn with the idea of reseeding at an appropriate time with native plants.

I would also look into nurseries that offer how-tos in xeriscaping and other low-water options. a lot of them are willing to consult with you re: what your options are and give you quotes so you know what to work toward. labor is a lot of the cost, so if you're willing to DIY a lot of it, it may be less expensive than you think.

local nursery people or university extension may also be able to put you in contact with other people trying to get back to native planting or xeriscaping. starting by just getting info about who's doing this is a good way to go.

also: https://www.denverwater.org/residential/rebates-and-conservation-tips/remodel-your-yard/xeriscape-plans/budget-xeriscape-plans

@Satsuma

@titania @Satsuma this is lovely, thank you, friend! 💙

No HOA thankfully so we can mostly do our thing.

DIY is fine as long as I have direction lol.

Will def look thru all this. Denver Water is a great resource I've used, but this page is new to me. Yay!