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Comment by trgn | Hacker News Reader

I planted milkweed in my front yard. These plants don't come cheap, between 10-20$ at the nursery for a young plant. I never was able to grow them from seed. Anyways, the plants did attract a few monarchs late summer/early fall. I counted two. I planted nine total.

I got a code violation warning last month for not mowing my front yard and having overgrown "landscape weeds".

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You have inspired me, thank you. Thanks to your inspiration, I'll be planting as many milkweed plants as I think will grow here, in addition to my usual off-grid food planting. Little by little, I am nursing this overgrazed plot into a complex microcosm.

The plot is in a major migration route and this is the first year I'll be actively be supporting Monarchs, other than planting my usual garden herbs. They seem to like carrots and parsley. You have inspired me, thank you, trgn.

Do some searching; there are many free or subsidized milkweed organizations.

One example - https://monarchwatch.org/bring-back-the-monarchs/milkweed/fr...

Thanks, I'll check them out. In the meantime, I have nearly two acres fallow in a major migration route down the Rio Grande, about a quarter mile from the river. Every year, the butterfly migrations make my heart soar. I look forward to seeing them blossom a few years down the road.

You are a good human, thank you.

I planted milkweed seed about 3 years ago. Had my first plant that sprouted and survived in the spot I planted just this past summer. Give it some time, you never know. Some seeds have to go through a freeze/thaw cycle or two to sprout properly.

The good news is that if you can get milkweed to grow, you'll never be able to kill it. I believe it's capable of propagating by runners, so it might not be vital for the seeds to be viable in your climate.

Thanks, I didn't know that. I'll stick with it and try again.

I got a code violation warning last month for not mowing my front yard and having overgrown "landscape weeds"

This is ... fascinating for me. For a number of reasons. Like, it's the exact opposite of what I do with my 'lawn' and makes me feel naive and like I've been living under a rock for not realizing there are places where people actually get warnings for this. Can you elaborate in what kind of place you live, which country? What are the reasons behind such code? Do you think whomever gave you that warning would listen to sientific arguments of why such code is pretty much the opposite of what would be appropriate when it comes to nature?

Residential neighborhoods don't want nature.

Nature means snakes, possums, bats, all kinds of critters that do well with lots of small brush and tall grass and then find themselves inside somebody's house.

That's the reason I was given to not plant lots of brush around a house I was renting. If you make the land around the houses inhospitable to life, you're less likely to have life living in your air vents, attic, etc. Just a perspective to why lawns are kept tight.

On top of what jazzyjackson said, a lot of people correlate well-manicured lawns with property value. For instance, quite a few place won't allow vegetable gardens in the front yard. It gives an impression of poverty. Which makes me wander what is the best word for modern suburban aesthetic. Sterility?

Blight.

Pretty normal older suburban neighborhood in the midwest, no HOA or covenants or anything like that. I expect some busybody neighbor called local 311. Most front yards are just mowed grass. People do plant trees, shrubs, and have flower beds for annuals. I read online that people get around it by making the plants look more intentional. Next spring, I'll frame the milkweed with boxwoods and put a sign with something like "our neighborhood butterfly garden" or something.

If you get cited you can appeal based on the milkweed.

> I got a code violation warning last month for not mowing my front yard

That sucks. Why do such restrictions exist? My whole front yard is ivy and bushes. There's no mowing that, and it looks very pleasant (and the frogs like it, too).

How? Homeowners associations. I planted milkweed in an empty side yard and was cited for the same thing.

Also I was cited for having a browning lawn. My neighbors brought me a bag of weed-and-feed (basically lawn seed with pesticide) because he thought I did not know how to “do the lawn.” Very sweet, but all I wanted was not to kill everything. Wasn’t allowed.

Just thinking how I would react in that situation... the concept being alien to me (UK, and having lived in various other countries) perhaps little wooden signs around the garden explaining the features of each plant and multi-plant eco-system, and one for the grass too, perhaps in the shape of a sheep.

From what I've read, urban areas are the refuge for monarchs since there are people like you that plant it, and areas that don't get pesticide applications.

It is rural areas that are blanked with pesticides that are the problem. You can cover large distances in the rural areas of the country where everything is sprayed and there is no milkweed.

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