Lawn. I'm so over it.

[Kitsune]

I have mixed feelings about this. Neighbor passed away 5 years ago from ALS, and we take care of the 75 year old widow's lawn as well as our own. Honestly, sometimes it's hard to make time for both lawns. But she's a good friend, and we promised the (now-deceased) husband we would do this for them. On the other hand, it's sometimes the only exercise I get for the week, so I'm appreciative of the "requirement."  That said, I do wish we could get rid of (read: plant a garden there) one especially treacherous slope. Then things would be much easier.

We have that kind of slope at our place, in 2 spots. What we did:

- For the slope we have to walk on: plant creeping thyme. It can be stepped on (well, once it matures a bit, don't step on baby plants!) grows about 4 inches high as total groundcover, gets little pink/purple/white flowers, smells amazing when you step on it, and doesn't need mowing. Looks great, low-maintenance, not super expensive to put in. Also you can go filch some for cooking, as long as it hasn't been sprayed with something.

- For the place we don't have to walk on, that is also in near-total shade so the grass is continually scraggly and muddy: creeping jenny. The dark green kind. It is INVASIVE, so do NOT plant it outside a container garden or in a place where it can spread. WARNING. That said, mowing AROUND it seems to keep in in check, so we've got it against the house in the 5-foot patch where grass wouldn't grow, and then mow around the edges where the grass starts, and that's keeping it in check fine. Way better than muddy soil and half-dead grass...

[Chris22]

Attached are a couple images of the clover (banana for scale).  I really think it's choked out the grass, the only other thing there is dandelions (which are fine by us).  You can see it's leveled off at a few inches high.  Of course that depends on the variety, but this one seems very hardy.  Of course we had a late spring here in southern Ontario (Kingston) so it might grow a bit more but honestly I think this is about the height it maxed out at last year.

Sorry...that looks like shit.

[DeltaBond]

Attached are a couple images of the clover (banana for scale).  I really think it's choked out the grass, the only other thing there is dandelions (which are fine by us).  You can see it's leveled off at a few inches high.  Of course that depends on the variety, but this one seems very hardy.  Of course we had a late spring here in southern Ontario (Kingston) so it might grow a bit more but honestly I think this is about the height it maxed out at last year.

Not sure I like this - because I've learned that snakes like that type of area.  And it looks kinda unkept.

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

I have a 0.1 acre lot and I am always looking for ways to reduce the mowed area.

[bacchi]

Give less fucks. Xeriscape it and let it grow wild.

If you're in an HOA, you're outta luck.

[Digital Dogma]

I would love to have a lawn.  We live in base housing (so only renting) but my backyard is dominated by a very large tree, that casts shadows over the lawn for 75% of the day.  When we moved in, the entire back yard was just mud with a few patches of grass.  I have successfully brought back patchy thin grass but hoping that by the end of summer I will have a stable yard.  Really I just want my kids to be able to play back there without getting super muddy every single day.

You can put some compost down, then some grass seed if needed or even some grass plugs. That should jump start your grass, and don't forget to water it. When we moved in, the grass under our oak was very spotty. I just spread mulch, dead leaves, and compost, then made sure to water. It's pretty cohesive now, except for one area close to a garden bed. I have plans for that though.

In addition to that you can correct the pH issue by throwing down some lime (calcium hydroxide) on the lawn and any new soil you may add to it. Just beware it can get messy, lime dust sticks to everything when you're dispensing it, goggles may be appropriate if its a windy day.

[dougules]

Attached are a couple images of the clover (banana for scale).  I really think it's choked out the grass, the only other thing there is dandelions (which are fine by us).  You can see it's leveled off at a few inches high.  Of course that depends on the variety, but this one seems very hardy.  Of course we had a late spring here in southern Ontario (Kingston) so it might grow a bit more but honestly I think this is about the height it maxed out at last year.

Sorry...that looks like shit.

Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.  I personally think featureless green lawns look terrible. 

I like how the dandelions give it a pop of color. 

[Trudie]

Hmm, "Lawn Gone"... I need to look at that.  We have an acre, though, so its hard to just get rid of an acre of grass.

The author has a website too with great pictures.  Just google her name and you'll find her website.

I should add that in the summer when it's hot and dry we basically let our lawn go dormant.  I refuse to throw a shit-ton of water on it.  And we know it looks like crap but I refuse to spend money and time on making my turfgrass look like a Scott's ad.

[Carless]

Attached are a couple images of the clover (banana for scale).  I really think it's choked out the grass, the only other thing there is dandelions (which are fine by us).  You can see it's leveled off at a few inches high.  Of course that depends on the variety, but this one seems very hardy.  Of course we had a late spring here in southern Ontario (Kingston) so it might grow a bit more but honestly I think this is about the height it maxed out at last year.

Sorry...that looks like shit.

Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.  I personally think featureless green lawns look terrible. 

I like how the dandelions give it a pop of color.

The scraggly strip along the right is actually the 'flowerbed' - I've seeded it with wildflowers but the cold spring stalled most of the growth there.  There are also a number of berry bushes (gooseberry, currant, dwarf sour cherry) in there which should fill that patch up in a year or two.  So don't judge based on that part.  Either way, I quite like it.  It seems useful to me in a way that pure grass doesn't.  We went for a walk today and there were streets and streets of houses with nothing out front but lawn.  What a waste of good growing area!

[dougules]

Attached are a couple images of the clover (banana for scale).  I really think it's choked out the grass, the only other thing there is dandelions (which are fine by us).  You can see it's leveled off at a few inches high.  Of course that depends on the variety, but this one seems very hardy.  Of course we had a late spring here in southern Ontario (Kingston) so it might grow a bit more but honestly I think this is about the height it maxed out at last year.

Sorry...that looks like shit.

Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.  I personally think featureless green lawns look terrible. 

I like how the dandelions give it a pop of color.

The scraggly strip along the right is actually the 'flowerbed' - I've seeded it with wildflowers but the cold spring stalled most of the growth there.  There are also a number of berry bushes (gooseberry, currant, dwarf sour cherry) in there which should fill that patch up in a year or two.  So don't judge based on that part.  Either way, I quite like it.  It seems useful to me in a way that pure grass doesn't.  We went for a walk today and there were streets and streets of houses with nothing out front but lawn.  What a waste of good growing area!

I know.  I remember on a trip to Italy several years ago it seemed like any patch of spare ground was growing something like tomatoes or figs or herbs.  Also I lived in Oregon a few years back and one of the houses in my neighborhood was owned by Chinese immigrants.  They had the whole yard growing vegetables.   It seemed kind of weird at first, but when I think about it it sounds like Chinese and Italian culture are a bit ahead of us. 

[Kitsune]

Attached are a couple images of the clover (banana for scale).  I really think it's choked out the grass, the only other thing there is dandelions (which are fine by us).  You can see it's leveled off at a few inches high.  Of course that depends on the variety, but this one seems very hardy.  Of course we had a late spring here in southern Ontario (Kingston) so it might grow a bit more but honestly I think this is about the height it maxed out at last year.

Sorry...that looks like shit.

Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.  I personally think featureless green lawns look terrible. 

I like how the dandelions give it a pop of color.

The scraggly strip along the right is actually the 'flowerbed' - I've seeded it with wildflowers but the cold spring stalled most of the growth there.  There are also a number of berry bushes (gooseberry, currant, dwarf sour cherry) in there which should fill that patch up in a year or two.  So don't judge based on that part.  Either way, I quite like it.  It seems useful to me in a way that pure grass doesn't.  We went for a walk today and there were streets and streets of houses with nothing out front but lawn.  What a waste of good growing area!

I know.  I remember on a trip to Italy several years ago it seemed like any patch of spare ground was growing something like tomatoes or figs or herbs.  Also I lived in Oregon a few years back and one of the houses in my neighborhood was owned by Chinese immigrants.  They had the whole yard growing vegetables.   It seemed kind of weird at first, but when I think about it it sounds like Chinese and Italian culture are a bit ahead of us.

In Montreal, it's all little (scraggly, due to too little sunlight) lawns... until you get to Little Italy. Then it's tomatoes and grape vines EVERYWHERE. I love it.

[Metric Mouse]

Attached are a couple images of the clover (banana for scale).  I really think it's choked out the grass, the only other thing there is dandelions (which are fine by us).  You can see it's leveled off at a few inches high.  Of course that depends on the variety, but this one seems very hardy.  Of course we had a late spring here in southern Ontario (Kingston) so it might grow a bit more but honestly I think this is about the height it maxed out at last year.

Sorry...that looks like shit.

Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.  I personally think featureless green lawns look terrible. 

I like how the dandelions give it a pop of color.

The scraggly strip along the right is actually the 'flowerbed' - I've seeded it with wildflowers but the cold spring stalled most of the growth there.  There are also a number of berry bushes (gooseberry, currant, dwarf sour cherry) in there which should fill that patch up in a year or two.  So don't judge based on that part.  Either way, I quite like it.  It seems useful to me in a way that pure grass doesn't.  We went for a walk today and there were streets and streets of houses with nothing out front but lawn.  What a waste of good growing area!

I know.  I remember on a trip to Italy several years ago it seemed like any patch of spare ground was growing something like tomatoes or figs or herbs.  Also I lived in Oregon a few years back and one of the houses in my neighborhood was owned by Chinese immigrants.  They had the whole yard growing vegetables.   It seemed kind of weird at first, but when I think about it it sounds like Chinese and Italian culture are a bit ahead of us.

In Montreal, it's all little (scraggly, due to too little sunlight) lawns... until you get to Little Italy. Then it's tomatoes and grape vines EVERYWHERE. I love it.

This blows my mind. There's too little sun for grass, but they can grow grapes?

[MandyM]

I have a very small property with very little lawn to mow (part of the reason I bought the place; I hate yard work). My front yard is half landscaped and my back yard is completely landscaped. The back is...a weed jungle that is getting overhauled this summer. The front is lovely and I do VERY little to it. Other than mowing (which takes about 5 minutes), I've only spent about 2 hours messing with the landscaping this season. Yesterday I got a note from my city's Garden Club telling me that my front yard has been nominated for an award. HAHAHAHA. Everyone that knows me thinks this is HILARIOUS. My yard is lovely, sure, but not due to anything that I have done.

[Kitsune]

Attached are a couple images of the clover (banana for scale).  I really think it's choked out the grass, the only other thing there is dandelions (which are fine by us).  You can see it's leveled off at a few inches high.  Of course that depends on the variety, but this one seems very hardy.  Of course we had a late spring here in southern Ontario (Kingston) so it might grow a bit more but honestly I think this is about the height it maxed out at last year.

Sorry...that looks like shit.

Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.  I personally think featureless green lawns look terrible. 

I like how the dandelions give it a pop of color.

The scraggly strip along the right is actually the 'flowerbed' - I've seeded it with wildflowers but the cold spring stalled most of the growth there.  There are also a number of berry bushes (gooseberry, currant, dwarf sour cherry) in there which should fill that patch up in a year or two.  So don't judge based on that part.  Either way, I quite like it.  It seems useful to me in a way that pure grass doesn't.  We went for a walk today and there were streets and streets of houses with nothing out front but lawn.  What a waste of good growing area!

I know.  I remember on a trip to Italy several years ago it seemed like any patch of spare ground was growing something like tomatoes or figs or herbs.  Also I lived in Oregon a few years back and one of the houses in my neighborhood was owned by Chinese immigrants.  They had the whole yard growing vegetables.   It seemed kind of weird at first, but when I think about it it sounds like Chinese and Italian culture are a bit ahead of us.

In Montreal, it's all little (scraggly, due to too little sunlight) lawns... until you get to Little Italy. Then it's tomatoes and grape vines EVERYWHERE. I love it.

This blows my mind. There's too little sun for grass, but they can grow grapes?

Well, the buildings are close together and usually 2-3 stories, high, right? So sunlight doesn't make it to the actual ground all that much. HOWEVER, if you're growing vines, you can raise them up on a pergola that's like 10-12 feet high, and then you get the sunlight that would otherwise be hitting the building. (Also you get a nice place to set up a table and have amazing meals and wine under the lovely shade of the grape vines... ;))

[Metric Mouse]

Attached are a couple images of the clover (banana for scale).  I really think it's choked out the grass, the only other thing there is dandelions (which are fine by us).  You can see it's leveled off at a few inches high.  Of course that depends on the variety, but this one seems very hardy.  Of course we had a late spring here in southern Ontario (Kingston) so it might grow a bit more but honestly I think this is about the height it maxed out at last year.

Sorry...that looks like shit.

Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.  I personally think featureless green lawns look terrible. 

I like how the dandelions give it a pop of color.

The scraggly strip along the right is actually the 'flowerbed' - I've seeded it with wildflowers but the cold spring stalled most of the growth there.  There are also a number of berry bushes (gooseberry, currant, dwarf sour cherry) in there which should fill that patch up in a year or two.  So don't judge based on that part.  Either way, I quite like it.  It seems useful to me in a way that pure grass doesn't.  We went for a walk today and there were streets and streets of houses with nothing out front but lawn.  What a waste of good growing area!

I know.  I remember on a trip to Italy several years ago it seemed like any patch of spare ground was growing something like tomatoes or figs or herbs.  Also I lived in Oregon a few years back and one of the houses in my neighborhood was owned by Chinese immigrants.  They had the whole yard growing vegetables.   It seemed kind of weird at first, but when I think about it it sounds like Chinese and Italian culture are a bit ahead of us.

In Montreal, it's all little (scraggly, due to too little sunlight) lawns... until you get to Little Italy. Then it's tomatoes and grape vines EVERYWHERE. I love it.

This blows my mind. There's too little sun for grass, but they can grow grapes?

Well, the buildings are close together and usually 2-3 stories, high, right? So sunlight doesn't make it to the actual ground all that much. HOWEVER, if you're growing vines, you can raise them up on a pergola that's like 10-12 feet high, and then you get the sunlight that would otherwise be hitting the building. (Also you get a nice place to set up a table and have amazing meals and wine under the lovely shade of the grape vines... ;))

That does sound delightful.

[dougules]

Attached are a couple images of the clover (banana for scale).  I really think it's choked out the grass, the only other thing there is dandelions (which are fine by us).  You can see it's leveled off at a few inches high.  Of course that depends on the variety, but this one seems very hardy.  Of course we had a late spring here in southern Ontario (Kingston) so it might grow a bit more but honestly I think this is about the height it maxed out at last year.

Sorry...that looks like shit.

Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.  I personally think featureless green lawns look terrible. 

I like how the dandelions give it a pop of color.

The scraggly strip along the right is actually the 'flowerbed' - I've seeded it with wildflowers but the cold spring stalled most of the growth there.  There are also a number of berry bushes (gooseberry, currant, dwarf sour cherry) in there which should fill that patch up in a year or two.  So don't judge based on that part.  Either way, I quite like it.  It seems useful to me in a way that pure grass doesn't.  We went for a walk today and there were streets and streets of houses with nothing out front but lawn.  What a waste of good growing area!

I know.  I remember on a trip to Italy several years ago it seemed like any patch of spare ground was growing something like tomatoes or figs or herbs.  Also I lived in Oregon a few years back and one of the houses in my neighborhood was owned by Chinese immigrants.  They had the whole yard growing vegetables.   It seemed kind of weird at first, but when I think about it it sounds like Chinese and Italian culture are a bit ahead of us.

In Montreal, it's all little (scraggly, due to too little sunlight) lawns... until you get to Little Italy. Then it's tomatoes and grape vines EVERYWHERE. I love it.

This blows my mind. There's too little sun for grass, but they can grow grapes?

Well, the buildings are close together and usually 2-3 stories, high, right? So sunlight doesn't make it to the actual ground all that much. HOWEVER, if you're growing vines, you can raise them up on a pergola that's like 10-12 feet high, and then you get the sunlight that would otherwise be hitting the building. (Also you get a nice place to set up a table and have amazing meals and wine under the lovely shade of the grape vines... ;))

Wow.  That's a great idea for my patio.  Why didn't I think of that?

[Rightflyer]

Attached are a couple images of the clover (banana for scale).  I really think it's choked out the grass, the only other thing there is dandelions (which are fine by us).  You can see it's leveled off at a few inches high.  Of course that depends on the variety, but this one seems very hardy.  Of course we had a late spring here in southern Ontario (Kingston) so it might grow a bit more but honestly I think this is about the height it maxed out at last year.

Sorry...that looks like shit.

Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.  I personally think featureless green lawns look terrible. 

I like how the dandelions give it a pop of color.

The scraggly strip along the right is actually the 'flowerbed' - I've seeded it with wildflowers but the cold spring stalled most of the growth there.  There are also a number of berry bushes (gooseberry, currant, dwarf sour cherry) in there which should fill that patch up in a year or two.  So don't judge based on that part.  Either way, I quite like it.  It seems useful to me in a way that pure grass doesn't.  We went for a walk today and there were streets and streets of houses with nothing out front but lawn.  What a waste of good growing area!

I like it.

(It will look even better when the clover flowers.)

[Chris22]

Our yard had three large plant beds in the back that were installed by some previous owner.  He didn't do much work on them the previous year (last year he owned the house), and last summer we didn't do anything to them as all of our effort was spent on the inside of the house.  This past weekend we recut, dug out, and mulched two of the three beds, and then I powerwashed the patio (all muddy and nasty from the landscaping work.  One more bed to go.  But it just hammered home for me how easy grass is to maintain versus keeping plant beds weeded, edged, mulched, and cleaned out. 

[Freedom2016]

We just bought a SFH on 1.2 acres. It takes about 2 hours to mow the lawn with a push mower and I LOVE it. For one thing it's one of the only forms of exercise I get these days; for another, 2 hrs is nothing compared to the 6 hours it used to take me to mow my childhood home's lawn. I also get an "immediate gratification" thrill from seeing the fruits of my labor right away (unlike many other things in my life!). We can't wait to BBQ and enjoy drinkie drinks in the freshly cut back yard while the kids run around.

On the other hand, the previous owners did a LOT of landscaping and so we also have several hundred linear feet of planted areas that all need weeding/maintenance -- and it is so much more work! I have spent probably 12 hours weeding so far, across 3 weekends, and I am barely half done... and new weeds are already growing back in the areas I already pulled. Next year we will probably take out two large flower beds in the back yard and plant grass instead.

But yeah. Lawns? I love them. :)