Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've considered this, getting rid of grass. What an expensive and thankless task taking care of it. I was thinking of replacing it all with ground cover, but the initial investment in that is pretty high. I'd consider a rock garden too.
I've considered this, getting rid of grass. What an expensive and thankless task taking care of it. I was thinking of replacing it all with ground cover, but the initial investment in that is pretty high. I'd consider a rock garden too.
Find creeping Charlie if it's in your area on someone else's lawn, pull some sprigs of it. Once it takes root, it'll eventually take over your entire lawn and you'll only have to mow a few times per season. Your next door neighbors might not be ecstatic about it, but oh well.
We had a vast expanse of curb lawn (10x120) that was just weeds, it was a huge undertaking but we covered it with big moving boxes that we hosed down and then dumped a dumptruck load of mulch on it. Still looks much better than weeds even though nothing is planted in it, almost no weeds have ever come up and it has been 10years. We could have done the same thing with gravel but it would have been much heavier for us to move around and people would have thought they could park on it. Being mulch says "this is my yard."
Depending on the size of your yard, maybe covering it with some decorative
gravel would help? It would block the sun from the grass to help it die out, and
be a bit more aesthetically-pleasing to the eye in the process. I don't know.
I hate mowing as well, and decided to hire a lawn-mowing service for just this
year. It will likely be my last year as a homeowner anyway (I'm so ready to
rent!!), so I figure I should probably get used to letting someone else have fun
with the landscaping.
-
Careful not to rent a SFH; in most cases, the tenant is responsible for the upkeep of the lawn (former landlord). I'm looking forward to condo living, myself! Give me a potted plant on a balcony, and I'm happy. If I want to see fields of grass, I'll walk to the local park.
We had a vast expanse of curb lawn (10x120) that was just weeds, it was a huge undertaking but we covered it with big moving boxes that we hosed down and then dumped a dumptruck load of mulch on it. Still looks much better than weeds even though nothing is planted in it, almost no weeds have ever come up and it has been 10years. We could have done the same thing with gravel but it would have been much heavier for us to move around and people would have thought they could park on it. Being mulch says "this is my yard."
That's pretty much was I was planning for next year, if I can just get through this year. We even have a place that offers free wood chips! But watch me get termites from that... Penny-wise, pound-foolish!
Anything you can cover it with so that it doesn't get sun will work--cardboard and mulch as described above will work and will degrade. If you cover it with black plastic it won't degrade and if anyone ever wants to plant there later they'll have an environmental and aesthetic mess. If you live in a hot climate, you can cover it with clear plastic for a few months and that will kill everything.
Whatever you do, you need a plan for afterwards, because weeds will take it over if you don't. It has to be stay covered or planted with something low-maintenance that you like.
Anything you can cover it with so that it doesn't get sun will work--cardboard and mulch as described above will work and will degrade. If you cover it with black plastic it won't degrade and if anyone ever wants to plant there later they'll have an environmental and aesthetic mess. If you live in a hot climate, you can cover it with clear plastic for a few months and that will kill everything.
Whatever you do, you need a plan for afterwards, because weeds will take it over if you don't. It has to be stay covered or planted with something low-maintenance that you like.
Weeds have already taken over. Weeds and small trees.
That's pretty much was I was planning for next year, if I can just get through this year. We even have a place that offers free wood chips! But watch me get termites from that... Penny-wise, pound-foolish!
Please think twice about mulching in your yard. I just came across some older Google pics of my house when I had the "bright" idea to mulch in all of the yard next to the street and a large part of the back as well. I must have been daft; it looked horrible even when it was new and weed-free. Just an expanse of brown shredded wood with shrubs dotted in it. Ugh. I am going to kill off a small portion of the street-side lawn starting tonight, but I am replacing the grass with multiples of woody shrubs, bulbs, and perennials. I also have some nice stepping-stones to accent the foliage and flowers. I've already gotten compliments on the existing roses and crape myrtles, so the new additions should just add to the colorful effect. Believe me, a flat expanse of mulch looks bad, and you will spend your time either pulling weeds from it or spraying them with RoundUp. BTDT.
You mention "environmentally friendly" in your OP - I would suggest talking to someone in your town's environmental office or something like that. There could be differences in the amount of run-off coming off your property into the towns storm system that could cause problems (not the least of which could be additional siltation causing clogging in the system).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
