not a lawn replacement, but...

[BioBlitz]

hello!

I'll be moving into a new house soon, and I'd like to make it really nice with some gorgeous, non-invasive plants.  does anyone have any suggestions?  It could honestly be anything from a shrub to a flower to a ground covering... anything will help!

[Chuck]

Tulip tree is a handsome native tree that is a foodplant for the Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar.  Various varieties of Swamp Milkweed, sold under more elegant names in some of the catalogs, will attract Monarch butterflies.

[BioBlitz]

Thanks!  Those look great... and having some Monarchs in the yard would be fantastic!

I think I might have a pretty big yard... does anyone have any more suggestions?

[George Hammond]

Hi, if you are in southeast Michigan, Ann Arbor's Natural Area Preservation unit has a great collection of brochures on native plants for landscaping in that part of the state. Some of their information is online, but the printed brochures are cheap and well-worth it:
http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/fieldoperations/NAP/NativePlants/Pages/NativePlants.aspx

Also, Native Plant Nursery has a great collection of photos online:
http://www.nativeplant.com/index.html

Where does the house's stormwater go? If it's dumping into street drains, you might want to consider a rain garden
http://www.ewashtenaw.org/living/environmental_health_and_services/environmental_portal/rain_gardens

[BioBlitz]

Thanks! 

These sites are great...