Anyone know of a low maintenance alternative to a lawn? (other than concrete or patio).

I have heard of native decorative grasses and found a resource for them. It is called Ohio Prairie Nursery and they sell seeds online.

We are looking for something that is a ground cover that doesn't need a lot of water or weed killer and preferably doesn't need much mowing.  Also, we don't want to get a ticket.  I've looked into Myrtle but someone told me that it is inavasive and it might go into our neighbors yard.  We don't need to walk on the grass much since we have a deck.  With energy prices going up and the benefits of native plants, I'd like to find something that would work on  a small sunny lawn.  I am hoping to find out other's experiences with it before investing in a lawn alternative. I don't want high wildflowers because I know people who do that and they get lots of complaints from their neighbors.

Hey Justine, ever watch the Brady Bunch?

:wave:

 

Just kidding. Actually I'm glad you asked this and hope somebody on here has some good advice.

Hey Justine, ever watch the Brady Bunch?

:wave:

 

Love it. That was my first thought as well.

I forgot about this thread.  I meant to post this awhile ago.

 

It's just a commercial site, but you might find it interesting, if you haven't already seen it: http://www.stepables.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachysandra

 

Pachysandra is a ground cover that does well here in this climate.  It spreads well, but is not as invasive as English Ivy and some other ground covers.  It is much easier to control.

 

Other upsides is that it flowers and you really only have to mow over it once a year.  The downside is, to do a whole yard (depending on the size), will be costly and a lot of work (most people use it in smaller patches like around a tree or in a shrub bed).  But I think the end result should be worth it.

Thanks for the website JRC. I think that's just what we are looking for. Also, Heights 121, the ground cover you suggested looks like a good alternative to grass. I'm not sure about using a nonnative plant though.  I have been told that it's important for the environment to find native plants since they do better in this climate and need mimimal watering and care.

 

www.ohioprairienursery.com 

is a website recommended for seeds and seems to have a lot of native grasses.  Lawns are a  big drag on the environment with all the chemicals, fertilizer, watering, cutting, etc.

 

What about pebbles and stones?  Has anyone used these for part of their yard? Is there any downside to using pebbles and stones? I've noticed some people replacing their tree lawn with pebbles and I wonder how they remove the leaves in the fall or maybe they just leave them there.

 

Is anyone familiar with the Brooklyn Center naturalists group?  They are redoing their yards to attract animals, birds, etc.  I don't really want to take on that big a project though.

 

How about fences?  We are on a corner and it is pretty busy. Is there any good, inexpensive fencing around?

 

 

You would probably have to spray a stone/pebble yard with RoundUp or something similar a few times a year to keep it looking neat and not let the weeds take hold.  Not sure how good for the environment that would be.

 

While pachysandra may not be 'native', a lot of people have it around here so it works.  Its best aspect is that it is low maintenance.

 

This yard looks more like English Ivy, but it gives a general idea of what using ground cover would look like....

 

 

 

You could also opt for a large shrub bed with smaller section of grass/stone/pebbles...

 

 

Justine, what's the size of the area you want to cover?

You would probably have to spray a stone/pebble yard with RoundUp or something similar a few times a year to keep it looking neat and not let the weeds take hold.  Not sure how good for the environment that would be.

 

While pachysandra may not be 'native', a lot of people have it around here so it works.  Its best aspect is that it is low maintenance.

 

This yard looks more like English Ivy, but it gives a general idea of what using ground cover would look like....

 

 

 

You could also opt for a large shrub bed with smaller section of grass/stone/pebbles...

 

 

OMG...all that grass has made my allergies flare up!

You can do stones/pebbles without a ton of chemicals if you put down a good barrier beneath them first, but you'll still have occasional weeds to pull. So it won't really help reduce the amount of work you do (which is the reason most of us get rid of grass.)

 

I've let some English Ivy take over most of my backyard (it's well shaded), but haven't figured out something that works well in my front (full sun) that won't break the bank, be hard for the kids to play on, or require more work than the lawn. I've got some flower beds that are getting a little bigger each year, and I assume they'll eventually take over the whole front.

The size of the yard (front and back is really small, maybe 30 feet by 30 feet for each. Since it's on a corner, there is two tree lawns to maintain. All areas are very sunny so I don't think Ivy would work for us either. 

 

I can see for kids to play on it probably is best to leave some areas as grass since it is so soft.  We seem to have a lot of clover growing wild among the grass. 

 

Thanks for the tip about the pebbles. Our neighbor who did it on the tree lawn did put plastic down first.

I've been doing  a little more research on this topic. I talked to a naturalist at Cleveland Metro parks who told me about two upcoming native plant sales. Both are next Saturday. One is at Shaker Lakes Nature Center and the other is at South Chagrin Metropark.  Both are wonderful places to visit also.

 

One of the recommendations I've seen for a sunny yard is Wild Geranium. It is also native which has many benefits for the environment - no fertilizer or pesticide needed, non-invasive.

I've seen that used as a ground cover in limited areas, it's very pretty. A bit tall though?

I grow pachysandra and I'm not sure it would be the best bet for a larger area.  Intend to use it in transitional areas or in tree beds.  I've seen it do best in areas that don't get too much sun.  Plus it can get 6-8" tall.  Periwinkle maybe?