re: honest question…why do so many of you soak your yard with chemicals?

you are best served by starting slow

pick an area (preferably in the shade) where you can stockpile materials. Start dumping all your leaves, pine needles etc there and give them a year to rot. keep piling it up

now you have a fungi rich soil amendment that cost you nothing.

pick your planting areas in full sun. Don’t worry about them being symmetrical or square. Use the topography of your property and go all the way to boundary (house/sidewalk/driveway etc). Fill that area with your soil amendment and whatever other bulk material you can get your hands on. Dump all your potted soil in there. Dump your cardboard in there. Dump your coffee grounds, paper towels, vegetable scraps, toilet paper…anything compostable. Cover it up with much and wait a season. The fungi you got from your rotted leaves will do its thing.

in the fall, sow wildflowers. Go get or order whatever perennials are native to your area. Go nuts and choose a dozen different ones. Mix them all up in a bucket and sow them randomly. Water good and wait

after the spring/summer blooms once winter comes it will look like shite. Ignore it

when spring comes again, cut down the dead shite and throw it in your pile of leaves area to be recycled. Re-sow any bare areas in the spring. It will always change and never look the same two years in a row

the sheer diversity of insect and animal life that will immediately explode will astound you. And best part…no weeds.