Outgrowing the Traditional Grass Lawn

[Tussiemussies]

Great article:



http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/brainwaves/2013/07/29/outgrowing-the-traditional-grass-lawn/

[try2bfrugal]

Getting rid of the lawn is on our to to do list. We went on a native plant tour last year. The yards in the tour all looked better than ours and the home owners didn't spend any time or money on mowing or watering.

[Tussiemussies]

Getting rid of the lawn is on our to to do list. We went on a native plant tour last year. The yards in the tour all looked better than ours and the home owners didn't spend any time or money on mowing or watering.


Hi frugal,

Interesting tour, do you know what they used for lawn material? Wondering if all the grass would have to be taken up before planting. Was thinking about Zoya grass but wondering about the same issue....chris

[try2bfrugal]

Hi frugal,

Interesting tour, do you know what they used for lawn material? Wondering if all the grass would have to be taken up before planting. Was thinking about Zoya grass but wondering about the same issue....chris

A lot of people in our neighborhood just put mulch for the front yard and plant a bunch of native plants here and there for color and interest. Black mulch seems to be in style now.

I think there are techniques for killing off the existing lawn just by smothering it with newspapers or a similar material instead of ripping it out. In California many of the water utilities will pay rebates of $500+ to get rid of your lawn because of water shortages. Plus they have free classes on how to get rid of a lawn.

The houses we looked at on the tours all had these great native plants, trees, fountains, sitting areas, walkways, patios, gardens, ponds and rock streams. The tour houses were all done by people really into gardening so they had thee amazing and very creative designs. We'd probably do something more basic like the mulch with native plants and maybe a rock stream.

[goldensmom]

Good article, I’m bookmarking it. I’d like to get rid of all or part of our 7 acre lawn. The time, labor, cost of maintaining equipment and $$ of gas is overwhelming. We mow, fertilize and water most of it and it is just becoming too much even though it looks really nice in my ‘pre-conditioned-what-a-lawn-should-be’ mind. When I walk through a wooded section of the property, I notice how pretty the foliage and flowers are on the plants that would be considered a ‘weed’ if in a different location, i.e., in the lawn. Time to change my mindset, relax and consider how God created nature and not how society set the standard.

[Rogar]

My lawn is slowly going away. My project this year was to replace a smaller section with native plants and mulch. It was actually fun to try to find plants sort of native to the region. Here in the arid west, the perennials need some water and time to get established, but it has already been a time saver. I put down cardboard and cover it with mulch to remove the old grass. I'm not sure exactly how long it takes for the grass to die, but let mine go over winter and in the springtime it a nice mat or organic material.

My project next year is to plant buffalo grass in another section. I have a traditional 50's era house on a larger lot and am at a loss for something to replace all the lawn. I am not a big fan of rock and parts of my lot are shaded by trees. Seems like the options for plants or native grasses goes down for shaded areas and to be honest, I like the look of grass for small areas.

I actually just ordered a cordless electric lawnmower. I don't know what the numbers are, but am pretty sure gas lawnmowers spew out all sorts of bad things.

[SteveinMN]

My lawn is slowly going away. My project this year was to replace a smaller section with native plants and mulch.
I don't know why this never occurred to me before. I've long thought of replacing our backyard lawn with native plants. I even got the OK from the neighbors (because it looks pretty ragged for a few years before it's established). But I never got to it, in part because I was thinking too big. Maybe if I think in smaller chunks, it may happen....


I have a traditional 50's era house on a larger lot and am at a loss for something to replace all the lawn. I am not a big fan of rock and parts of my lot are shaded by trees. Seems like the options for plants or native grasses goes down for shaded areas and to be honest, I like the look of grass for small areas.
Hosta do really well in shade, though I don't know if they'd do well in an arid area. There also should be some groundcover plants which do well in areas hotter and drier than where I live. We overseeded a really poor lawn at my mom's place with white clover, which has required much less maintenance than grass, and which has done almost too well. We're considering replacing it with a moss because the clover grows high enough to hide things we'd rather be able to find.


I actually just ordered a cordless electric lawnmower. I don't know what the numbers are, but am pretty sure gas lawnmowers spew out all sorts of bad things.
The old two-cycle lawnmowers were horrible in terms of pollutants. The newer four-cycle engines are better. But they're still nowhere near the engines in cars, which almost emit air cleaner than what goes in. :)

I used a non-motorized reel mower for a few years until I had more than one property to mow and the restrictions of reel mowing made it impractical. I went with a corded electric, since cordless items I use either have to be in constant use (laptop, mobile phone) or always need a charge whenever I want to use them. >:( I know most of the electricity around here comes from coal-fired plants. But I suspect their emissions are more tightly-regulated than a two-cycle lawnmower that likely has been tweaked in the name of reliability.

[goldensmom]

But I never got to it, in part because I was thinking too big. Maybe if I think in smaller chunks, it may happen....
That might work for me too. Doing the whole yard boggles my mind so maybe if I think and work in sections I might succeed.

[pinkytoe]

Great article! I too have a 50s rancher on a large lot. Piece by piece, I have been eliminating lawn in those places where it doesn't make sense - blazing sun areas, hell strip, etc. A year ago, I removed the drought-killed lawn from the area next to the driveway and filled it in with native plants, grasses and cacti. It is amazing to watch the transformation as birds, butterflies and bees now visit the area constantly. The health of the surrounding trees has improved too. One thing I have learned which should be obvious is that lots of rock and crushed granite just makes things hotter so I am heading the other way - dense plantings to create shade and habitat. I have elderly neighbors on either side with expansive green lawns supported with fertilizer, weekly mowing and weed killer - that paradigm seems stupid to me now. And when did irrigation sprinklers become a necessity? I think the conversion will be generational; I note the younger people moving in here are also eliminating lawns. Yea!

[Rogar]

I don't know why this never occurred to me before. I've long thought of replacing our backyard lawn with native plants. I even got the OK from the neighbors (because it looks pretty ragged for a few years before it's established). But I never got to it, in part because I was thinking too big. Maybe if I think in smaller chunks, it may happen....

It was helpful for me to sketch up a drawing of the area I was going to plant. I made a few copies and then penciled in possibilities of plants and locations for them. In the past I've not anticipated how perennials fill in and things got overcrowded, so the planning helped. There are actually a few templates floating around on the web for planting ideas for various regions. Maybe that would seem obvious to others, but it helped me. Might be a good time right now to put down some cardboard or newspaper and cover it with a little mulch for a nice organic mat come springtime.

[creaker]

My lawn is - green. I have no idea how much of it is actually grass - at least that all thin blades thickly together, no weeds look real lawn people seem to go for. I just mow it once in a while, never water much less anything else, and it stays green.

[try2bfrugal]

We have had some people in our neighborhood put in edible front yards and some of the older neighbors, the ones with traditional grass, lawn mowers, and chemical weed killers, are all bent out of shape over over the non-traditional landscaping.

When I went on the native garden tour, I just thought this is a great idea. If people want to grow food in their front yards even better, though I'm too lazy to do that.

[bae]

My lawn is sort of unkempt.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-RH4K6TlQxfI/UIcir1k-YuI/AAAAAAAAGgo/qjzcXfeixOU/s720/Awesomized.jpg

[goldensmom]

My lawn is sort of unkempt.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-RH4K6TlQxfI/UIcir1k-YuI/AAAAAAAAGgo/qjzcXfeixOU/s720/Awesomized.jpg
I think your lawn looks very nicely kempt.

[Tussiemussies]

My lawn is sort of unkempt.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-RH4K6TlQxfI/UIcir1k-YuI/AAAAAAAAGgo/qjzcXfeixOU/s720/Awesomized.jpg


Just love you lawn....

[Gardenarian]

Some people here were going to try one of those micro-clover mixes last year - anyone get around to it?
I've totally ignored the lawn, just let it dry up all summer.
It went completely brown. With one rainfall it is starting to come back.
I'm just trying to keep it neat and put pots in plants in attractive arrangements.

[SteveinMN]

Gardenarian, we tried regular white clover. It worked okay. It was a bit leggier than we expected it to be and had a tendency to hide things (dog droppings, snakes) that we would prefer to see and deal with. I don't know as we can find a shorter clover; at this point I'm more tempted to go with "Elfin" thyme or a more-prolific moss.

[Gardenarian]

I tried regular white clover too - very patchy performance. Most of my lawn area is under pine trees that drop a lot of needles; that might be the problem.

[SteveinMN]

Most of my lawn area is under pine trees that drop a lot of needles; that might be the problem.
There is not one tree in my mom's backyard, so I don't think that's the problem -- unless the shade the trees provide is the issue. My mom does have a dog, but one reason we chose clover is that dog urine didn't burn up clover like it does regular lawn grasses -- and it didn't.

[Spartana]

In my city in coastal SoCal you must have a grass front yard. It's actually in the city zoning laws. Otherwise I'd rip it out. But instead I am required by law to water and maintain it even during severe drought. Crazy.

[artist]

I tried clover. It did very well... too well. Bees like it a bit too much. Wondering if I should try to get rid of it.

[Tussiemussies]

Hi Steve did your type of Clover attract a lot of bees? Also did you just put in plugs and they spread out? How long di it take before it really took over? TIA chris

[SteveinMN]

Chris, we planted the clover from seed. Which, actually, might account for some of the patchiness. It did not attract an undue number of bees. The reason we went after groundcover was because the lawn in that backyard was in horrible shape and some landscaping left us with new patches of dirt to cover. We wanted something which would be easy to maintain while handling dog pee and not attracting bees or other insects. It met those requirements. But then we discovered some others... :~)

[pinkytoe]

I don't know if it grows in cooler climates, but horseherb makes a great "lawn".

[JaneV2.0]

I'm slowly allowing various ground covers to take hold in the front yard. It's taken years, though I faithfully planted plugs that somehow disappeared. Native plants (sword ferns) fill in here and there. There are grass-like lawn covers I covet, but those will have to wait for my next house.
http://www.stepables.com/scripts/prodlist-plants.asp?idLookUp=31
http://www.lesslawn.com/

[iris lilies]

One of our properties has a tiny postage stamp yard in front. I planted green ivy as the ground cover and edged it in monkey grass. It's very much low care.

But I do like strips of grass to set off flower beds. Each year I take more and more of the grass, though, for iris 'n lily plantings.

[IshbelRobertson]

We visit Cornwall often and a house called Broom Parc was used in a television version of the Camomile Lawn. The Beed planted a camomile lawn and it was wonderful to walk on.. The smell was great! Have to admit, we tend to drive past nowadays, so I don't know if it is still there... i doubt it :)

http://broomparc.co.uk

[Gregg]

This was our year to get the house itself done and just the basics for the outdoor space (veggie garden in, general grading and shaping). Wanted to get it all done, but just ran out of time. Go figure...

What little grass is left comes out next spring and gets replaced by flower and herb beds, gravel paths and a big shade tree in front. The back gets all that plus a deck, gravel patio, fire pit, garden shed and water feature. We've done quite a bit of planting on a steeply sloping site behind the garage. It is a permaculture work in progress. Lots of native plants combined with flowering perennials and hostas (shaded by a huge oak tree). It was a little rough looking in the spring, but came in nicely by late summer/fall. There was no shortage of birds and bees in the area so I think that part was a success. I did have to keep the lawn mower for one more year since I wasn't able to complete the whole project, but getting rid of that obnoxious tool is something I'm really looking forward to.

[Tussiemussies]

Thanks Steve for the information....great that you were able to plant it from seed...and another good feature for us would be the dog pee...have to bring this up to DH. I wonder if you don't mow it if it would grow taller than what I usually see?

Hi Iris, we had considered ivy too but snakes do like it, I don't think you would have that problem where you live, but I could see us having that problem here. What does monkey grass look like? I am going to ogle it...

Ishbel, your description about the chamomile grass almost sounds romantic to me...Was it high growing? I looked at the site you posted of the house and they do talk about the chamomile lawn so they must still have it. A very pretty home, inside is absolutely beautiful. Thanks!


Gregg, your yard sounds like it is filled with so many great things. Sounds like you have your landscaping plan all laid out. It sounds really nice...and glad that it filled in during the summer. Next year should be even better...

Well we will see what happens to the slope in the yard. We don't have a landscaping plan yet so I think we should do that first before making any changes so it will all be cohesive...looking forward to it.

[Tussiemussies]

Hi again Iris, the monkey grass is very pretty, sure that it looks great with the ivy. I think at our new house we have monkey grass on part of the one side. I didn't know what it was called...