Going grass-free?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hope you all get some type of plant fungus that kills all your mulch and weeds. Get grass like everyone else cause it kills the property value of your neighborhood.#Facts

Wait. Who's the a hole?

[Anonymous]

OP you don't have to pull out all your grass to have a more environmentally friendly lawn. We had a very small lot at our old house. We put in ground covers around the trees and curved it around some other parts of the yard, leaving a small central area of lawn. DH bought a push mower (no motor) at a hardware store, and cut the lawn in about 10 minutes once a week. The ground cover (can't remember the name, pachysandra?) looked great and stayed put as long as the grass was mowed regularly. No pesticides or fertilizers required. I'm sure you can find a good ground cover/s that will suit the shade/sun conditions in your yard. Just keep a bit of grass (for the neighbors!) and cover the rest with no-care groundcover. Easy-peazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you don't have to pull out all your grass to have a more environmentally friendly lawn. We had a very small lot at our old house. We put in ground covers around the trees and curved it around some other parts of the yard, leaving a small central area of lawn. DH bought a push mower (no motor) at a hardware store, and cut the lawn in about 10 minutes once a week. The ground cover (can't remember the name, pachysandra?) looked great and stayed put as long as the grass was mowed regularly. No pesticides or fertilizers required. I'm sure you can find a good ground cover/s that will suit the shade/sun conditions in your yard. Just keep a bit of grass (for the neighbors!) and cover the rest with no-care groundcover. Easy-peazy.

We did something like this, too, kind of compromise between what we wanted and what neighborhood expectations were. Worked well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could remember what gardening magazine did a test of supposedly no-maintenance plants. They planted groups of three of plants that supposedly require no care like sedum and black eyed susans. The author watered them for a couple months and then left them to fend for themselves. Only one plant out of the original 9 was alive by the end of the trial.

Really? I have planted shasta daisies, coneflower, black-eyed susan, daylilies, and sedum in my yard, watered them for a few days, and done nothing else, and they've come back the next year fine. I don't fertilize them or anything, but bunnies eat them. The trick I think was that I planted them at the end of the growing season when it was cooler and wetter.

[Anonymous]

The black-eyed susans will take over my whole yard if I don't weed them out. They are short-lived perennials. The original plants will die after a couple of seasons but they reseed like crazy.
Sedums are also reliable,as long as they are not waterlogged.
All plants do better with some care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could remember what gardening magazine did a test of supposedly no-maintenance plants. They planted groups of three of plants that supposedly require no care like sedum and black eyed susans. The author watered them for a couple months and then left them to fend for themselves. Only one plant out of the original 9 was alive by the end of the trial.

Really? I have planted shasta daisies, coneflower, black-eyed susan, daylilies, and sedum in my yard, watered them for a few days, and done nothing else, and they've come back the next year fine. I don't fertilize them or anything, but bunnies eat them. The trick I think was that I planted them at the end of the growing season when it was cooler and wetter.

In addition to planting in the fall, you probably water them as needed in the summer, because that's what gardeners do. Non-gardeners are tricked by marketing plants as no-maintenance and then are disappointed when they don't do well because they assumed that no-maintenance meant don't have to do anything, even water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

"We live in DC and participated in the RiverSmart Homes program, in which the city subsidizes a certain amount of landscaping in order to achieve a more ecologically friendly yard. They did our front, and it entailed removing all our grass and replacing it with mulch and plants that are native to the Chesapeake Bay area.

I (mostly) love it, but I was shocked at how much upkeep it has actually been. We were kind of led to believe it would be less maintenance (no mowing!) but oh my gosh, the weeds! So many weeds. All the time. Everywhere. I would much rather push a mower than weed in mulch. FWIW, I am not a gardener. Working in the yard does not make me go to my happy place."

+2 My experience as well. Plus, it costs about $500 to mulch my front and back yard every year. I'm considering ripping out my beds and putting in sod.

+3 I said that on page 1. Why do you think so many people have grass -- b/c it is the easiest overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you don't have to pull out all your grass to have a more environmentally friendly lawn. We had a very small lot at our old house. We put in ground covers around the trees and curved it around some other parts of the yard, leaving a small central area of lawn. DH bought a push mower (no motor) at a hardware store, and cut the lawn in about 10 minutes once a week. The ground cover (can't remember the name, pachysandra?) looked great and stayed put as long as the grass was mowed regularly. No pesticides or fertilizers required. I'm sure you can find a good ground cover/s that will suit the shade/sun conditions in your yard. Just keep a bit of grass (for the neighbors!) and cover the rest with no-care groundcover. Easy-peazy.

we have this also. Freshen up the mulch every 2 years.

[Anonymous]

http://www.plna.com/?page=AlternativesToLawns

It's easier and prettier than people think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could remember what gardening magazine did a test of supposedly no-maintenance plants. They planted groups of three of plants that supposedly require no care like sedum and black eyed susans. The author watered them for a couple months and then left them to fend for themselves. Only one plant out of the original 9 was alive by the end of the trial.

Really? I have planted shasta daisies, coneflower, black-eyed susan, daylilies, and sedum in my yard, watered them for a few days, and done nothing else, and they've come back the next year fine. I don't fertilize them or anything, but bunnies eat them. The trick I think was that I planted them at the end of the growing season when it was cooler and wetter.

In addition to planting in the fall, you probably water them as needed in the summer, because that's what gardeners do. Non-gardeners are tricked by marketing plants as no-maintenance and then are disappointed when they don't do well because they assumed that no-maintenance meant don't have to do anything, even water.

The only things I water are

1. shrubs, in their first year, it the weather is hot and dry.
2. the blueberries
3. the camellia (but nobody needs to have a camellia)
4. the plants in containers

I agree that "low-maintenance" doesn't mean "you don't ever have to do anything and it will look great!" But there are plenty of plants for this area that will fend for themselves almost completely, once they're established.

[Anonymous]

We were trying to reduce grass too. We hired Merrifield last fall to come out and plan the landscape for us. $150. We Dug up 1/3 of the front lawn. (Not sure the size, but we have .28 acre total, so it's not small). We've planted half of it now and looks amazing. Nandians, mini crape mertyl, cotoneaster, sedum, knock out roses. Junipers, mondo grass, and 2 stone paths between.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

+3 I said that on page 1. Why do you think so many people have grass -- b/c it is the easiest overall.

Sorry, but you're just brainwashed. Sedge and many ground covers are easier than grass--water guzzling monoculture.

[Anonymous]

The trick is to figure out what will flourish in your yard.
Some ideas for around here:
sun--daylilies, daffodils, lamb's ear
shade--hostas, ferns