Anyone go all native?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I did. I got rid of my lawn and planted shrubs, trees and mostly native plants.

I'm also in the midwest (Minnesota). Because of the expense I did it in stages over three years (side yard, back yard, then front yard). Since then I've had to change things here and there as the yard got shadier, but the nice thing is that once the plants get established the yard is pretty self-sustaining. Native plants are better able to crowd out weeds, so eventually you won't have as much weeding to do as in a conventional garden, and they are also more disease-resistant than non-natives. Check into permaculture, which is a system of planting species that complement each other. I planted Baptisia, a legume, next to each of my three fruit trees (Honeycrisp and Honeygold apples and a dwarf Meteor cherry) and they quickly got huge without my ever having to fertilize them. I've also planted a lot of pollinator-friendly plants like Mondarda and it's fun to watch the bumblebees and little native bees swarm around them. Do it!