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Evelyn founded the LessLawn website in 2001 to promote ideas about nature-friendly landscaping. She went on to become an award-winning author of four garden books (see descriptions below), a partner at the provocative team blog GardenRant, nationally known speaker, and founding member of the national Lawn Reform Coalition. The LessLawn website served as a beacon for gardeners with an interest in wildlife habitat, native plants and ecosystems, and low-maintenance landscaping until it was retired in 2025. In 2025, Evelyn began publishing her own articles online, and she teamed up with a fellow wild gardener to produce a podcast called Closer to Nature. The ideas Evelyn has promoted for decades continue to gain traction, as popular culture grapples with shaping a more benevolent relationship to our environment and individuals re-examine their home landscapes with a view toward living closer to nature. |
Beautiful No-Mow Yards
50 Amazing Lawn Alternatives
A Timber Press bestseller since its publication, this comprehensive guide to shrinking your lawn presents dozens of inspiring alternatives to turfgrass in a wide variety of styles from coast to coast, along with advice on how to make and maintain an eco-friendly landscape (including smarter lawns) and thumbnail sketches of 100 choice ground-layer plants.
Apprentice to a Garden
A new urban gardener goes wild
Winner of two gold medals! Evelyn Hadden's first book is now available in an updated and illustrated edition with whimsical drawings by artist Shari Zimmermann. Part essay and part memoir, it chronicles four years of adventures and aha moments in a small urban garden in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This beginner's journey of awe, despair, and hilarity will bring back memories for experienced gardeners wherever they live and will smooth the way for those just starting down their own garden paths.
Hellstrip Gardening
Create a paradise between the sidewalk and the curb
Create a healthy garden in your hellstrip or other curbside location. This comprehensive guide covers challenges including car, foot, and paw traffic; utility and maintenance equipment; restricted root zones; contaminated soil; neighborhood covenants and city regulations; and more! Includes a dictionary of over 100 curbside-worthy plants and in-depth features on a dozen inspiring curbside gardens from around the United States.
Shrink Your Lawn
Design ideas for any landscape
This award-winning, photo-packed book showcases ideas for shrinking a lawn based on five different strategies: easy first projects, functional landscaping, garden rooms, groundcovers for alternative lawns, and lawnless garden design. It was produced as a take-home to complement Evelyn Hadden's presentations.