Shrink Your Lawn kit

Returning next spring!

Let us help you convert your lawn to a native garden! The easiest way to create new garden beds is "sheet mulching" - laying down cardboard and mulch to smother your grass. Our Shrink Your Lawn kit saves you the hassle of hoarding cardboard and takes just 15 minutes to install. Your garden will be ready to plant in about a month. In a year, the cardboard will break down completely, leaving only mulch behind. Check out our simple instructions here.

Each kit includes a roll of cardboard, several bags of brown wood mulch, and simple instructions. Choose among 3 sizes: 6’x5’ (30 sq ft), 6’x10’ (60 sq ft), and 6’x15’ (90 sq ft).

Bonus: 10% off your plants!

When you come back for your plants, we'll give you 10% off. We recommend planting with 1.5' spacing (see quantities below). This will allow your garden to fill in quickly, help prevent tall plants flopping over, and reduce your need to weed. Here is the number of plants required:

6’x5’ bed - 16 plants

($103.68 $93.32)

6’x10’ bed - 28 plants

($181.44 $163.30)

6’x15’ bed - 40 plants

($259.20 $233.28)

Can I DIY this instead?

Absolutely! Here are some tips.

Cardboard: Avoid cardboard with extensive printing and any water-resistant coatings, including food-grade cardboards like pizza boxes. These materials can contain harmful chemicals like PFAS. Make sure to remove any plastic tape and shipping labels before putting down your cardboard. We recommend a 6” overlap between pieces of cardboard to avoid weeds poking through.

Mulch: Apply 2-3” of mulch. For native plantings, avoid using nutrient-rich soil amendments like compost and topsoil, which can promote weed growth and cause tall plants to flop. We recommend:

• Leaf compost. (You can buy it by the yard in Cleveland, Westlake, North Royalton, and Akron.)
• Arborist wood chips.
• Wood/bark mulch certified by the Mulch and Soil Council. (Avoid cedar and cypress mulch. Dyed mulch is fine.)