There is this company in Portland Or that is working on this hybrid lawn type thing. I saw it on the news one night. Its a mixture of a bunch of things. As long as you don't mind letting your lawn get a few inches high it's not supposed to need a whole lot. Here's a link with the report I saw. It's called Fleur de Lawn.
my nans garden lawn was all moss, i cut it twice a year with the mower... It was perfect for playing WWF with the lads in the summer, in the early 90's! also looked Stunning! I might think about doing it to my own yard now! good stuff!
The island I live on is really challenging to have lawn growing on...I guess it's due to the poor ground and salt content so it doesn't have anything else growing besides what established itself over the years...or is grown in pots!
I'd love to find someone, with a passion for growing vegetables, who has inexpensive water, that I could semi-permanently give my rototiller, fertilizer, and whatever else they need, to grow a garden, in exchange for fresh vegetables; I think we all, at least in CA, should be looking at recapturing water. we are waiting for our first rain in a loooonnng time. I'd love to have an underground tank to capture the roof drainage, for use during the rest of the year.
i totally dig the stepables.com stuff. I want to do a native lawn replacement plant that I don't have to mow that I can still sit on and enjoy. Maybe even blend a few together to make a sweat pattern. I bet it would impress some ladies if they came back to your place and the lawn looked like something straight out of a fairy tale.
SeniorBuzz, you could check out some gardening or permaculture sites in your area. There are folks who do that.
Most people around here have gravel instead of lawns. maybe some fake desert landscaping with a palm tree. I don't like decorative gravel. Or fake desert landscaping.
I like grass. it would be great for my dogs. Keep them from getting so dirty.
If i had farm irrigation, I'd have a big lawn. But I can't afford that much water.
So i have a dirt lawn. Natural desert floor. Natural desert plants. cactus, mesquite greasewood, and such
we (Northern CA) are getting rain. first rain of this season...water that CA is so much in need of, like many other areas of our United States.
thanks for the reply hazy. I did hear about a community garden somewhere. I have great soil (adobe mixed with lots of tlc over the years) but like you, it's the cost of the water.
my fruit trees didn't like it at all when I went off septic a few years ago, and finally hooked into the sewer line. thinking about it, it was really unnecessary, and a mistake.
Med Breeder..I grow acres of wildflowers. There is some matinance..they need mowing in the fall-- but some require very little water. I purchase mine at wildseedfarms.com by the 1/2lb. They make an excelent cover for weed as well! DD
if you want an invasive plant that will take everything over, try mint [smells good when you mow it too] but its like kudzu or horseradish in that it cant really be stopped unless you pull every last root [tilling horseradish propagates it]
I think that they should require people to devote a certain percentage of their yard to growing food for themselves... Lawns are such a waste of resources.
Look into xeriscaping.
There are many herbs that can be used as groundcover. They smell glorious as you walk over them. Many types of thyme and mints can be used. I personally like chocolate mint quite a lot, and lemon thyme.
Plant a garden, there are lots of plants that are extremely easy to deal with, and will provide you with food. Corn, many peppers, peas and beans, and pineapple sage (very easy, and very awesome) all come to mind.