Hello, all. I'm a newbie on this list. Just about to close on a house near Woodstock, NY, with about half an acre of sunny lawn in the back (much less, very shaded and somewhat wet, in the front). I don't like lawns, but I like the house. I want to convert the lawn into meadow, preferably native plants, something that's actually ecologically useful. I've heard "let the grass grow" as a first step, but also "kill everything." Advice? I have visited Catskills Native Plants Nursery and plan to work with them, but I'd also like a variety of opinions.

I have successfully turned a rather plain 50x50 foot city lot with 2 good trees into a woodsy place (although with lots of aliens and even weeds), and I know it takes time, but do I have to have a moonscape for 2-3 years? I'm pretty laissez-faire about weeds, with intermittent flurries of weeding. Thanks.