I have come across a dilemma. Grass. Having had a lawn of my own for around 6 months, I have seen first hand that lawns are as evil as environmentalists crack them out to be. It was doing great at first, but unbeknown to me, it was being automatically watered 7 minutes every single night of the week. Now it's being watered once a week for 20 minutes and looks terrible. I could go on a long rant about how horrible it is to waste all this water but I won't. I looking for a solution and having a hard time doing it. As dreadful as grass is, I'm having a hard time finding a replacement. Little compared with grass for its "stompability." Ice plant can be gorgeous but would be crushed by even the most dainty of feet. So far dymondia margaretae seems fairly promising. Here is a link to an article:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://freshdirt.sunset.com/images/2008/06/11/dymondia_04.jpg&imgrefurl=http://freshdirt.sunset.com/2008/06/dymondia-margar.html&usg=__pCqDZr_Me1FgKc2R3OigoKy6xUc=&h=308&w=465&sz=34&hl=en&start=13&tbnid=VxDK_OXB3AqlJM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddymondia%2Bmargaretae%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
Wow; that was a lot longer than I was expecting! Anyway, I'm seriously considering this ground cover, but will have to seed it rather than plant it as I saw it at a nursery for around $15 for an 18"x18" box. That would add up quite quickly! Tiles/hardscape with planters and mini gardens also seems promising, yet potentially quite expensive...
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Have you thought about Buffalo Grass or a specifically heat resistant grass type? I remember you mentioning that you can train grass to only be watered once a week, but I think that's only certain strains...
ReplyDeleteAlso, I can do a basic pattern out of removeable concrete tiles (so we can remove them and plant later) for cheap, so let me know.
And by cheap I mean $50 (?), more if we buy a wheelbarrow (which we probably should).
I looked into the Buffalo Grass and it seems like a pretty good option as far as grass goes. I think I will work on the front yard first as there are a lot more options when it comes to plants that don't need to withstand foot traffic.
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