A bumblebee hovers near flowers on a Solomon’s seal plant in Cathy Chapman’s yard in South Portland. Careful plant selection can help keep pests at bay.
Chapman uses various types of ground cover and native plants on her property instead of having a grassy lawn. Plants that attract pollinators and “good bugs” bring the green, minus a lot of mowing.
Cathy Chapman carries arugula that has gone by out of her garden to her compost pile. Chapman rotates what she grows from year to year to keep the soil fertile and to keep pests at bay naturally.
David Melevsky, owner of Go Green Organic Land Care, treats grassy areas at Ocean Park Meadow condos. When managing pests and weeds organically, "you're looking to improve soil biology, which in turn feeds your grass and makes it more insect and drought resistant," Melevsky says.
Melevsky's work at at Ocean Park Meadow condos includes fertilizing grassy areas that have been reseeded to repair winter damage.
Sweet alyssum waits to be planted in Chapman's backyard in South Portland. Chapman, who plants alternatives to a traditional lawn in her yard, uses the ground cover to attract bugs that eat aphids.
David Melevsky, owner of Go Green Organic Land Care, treats grassy areas with fertilizer at Ocean Park Meadow condos.
David Melevsky, owner of Go Green Organic Land Care, treats grassy areas with fertilizer at Ocean Park Meadow condos on June 7.
Chapman uses various types of ground cover and native plant species for the backyard of her South Portland home instead of having just a grass lawn. Sometimes the best organic solution to a lackluster lawn – one that might otherwise require chemical fertilizers to grow – is no lawn at all.
Dew drops remain on leaves of lady's mantle, a ground cover plant that Cathy Chapman uses in her South Portland backyard in place of grass.
Cathy Chapman carries supplies past her South Portland garden while planting on June 6.
Cathy Chapman harvests spinach from a garden box in her vegetable garden in South Portland. Chapman was removing the spinach and arugula, which were last year's crops in the box, so she could plant peppers in it this season. Chapman rotates what she grows in her garden boxes from year to year to keep the soil fertile and to help keep pests at bay naturally.
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