First off, technically a weed is a plant someone does not want at a particular location. My HOA (Homeowners Association) has no wildflower on their approved plant list; therefore, wildflowers are weeds. Wildflowers on my front yard are therefore considered weeds. When there are too many “weeds”, I receive a notice of violation.

Second, hydroseed was sprayed by our home builder when the house was built, thus wildflowers grow from the seeds. When the seed flowers I will not pick it. I’ll wait till the flower dies. Do I sound frustrated?

I think I’m six years into this weed/wildflower conundrum and I don’t think it’s my imagination, but the wildflowers are increasing in number! This is despite my weeding them out, applying salt/white vinegar/detergent combo sprayed on various areas of the front lawn these past number of years.

This year I decided to try a “weed experiment”; however, it requires a huge amount of my manual labor. I weeded a section of land by hand. I cleared out every plant. Then I raked the rock off the area, made sure every plant was gone, applied the salt/white vinegar/detergent combo and raked rock back onto the area.

In the photo below, front portion is totally clear of plant life, the back has many wildflowers.

If you follow my blog, you know I travel. What will I discover when I return. Will that rock area have plant life and me finding my work was in vain? Time will tell.

Now to decide what to do in other areas of the front yard. Does anyone have a HOA list in southwest USA that DOES list wildflowers as an approved plant? If so, please share! Would be greatly appreciated!