Like many home owners, I have a love-hate relationship with our lawn. Love the cool, crisp, green carpet meandering around my garden beds. Hate the work, the maintenance, the chemicals, the mystery of that elusive beautiful lawn that I see in pictures. Mine has never looked like that. I’ve never quite gotten the whole lawn formula down.
When we moved into this lake house, the existing lawn was pretty sad, having been neglected for a years. I needed help; it was more than I could attempt to fix.
Is there a (Lawn) Doctor in the house?
We hired someone to take over the entire lawn work: mowing, turf applications and anything else he felt was necessary to fix the grass. After four summers of weed-n-feed applications, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and who knows what else, it is worse. Some patches look better but then whole other areas are awful. Dead or dying; you can pick up the grass like a piece of carpet because the roots are so shallow. It is far from healthy. read the rest of this post…
Large lush lawns are beautiful, but the cost can be very high. Fertilizers, and pesticides, power mower emissions, noise pollution, water consumption, your time and energy. These are contribute to the cost of maintaining a turf grass lawn. By reducing the size of your lawn, you can benefit the environment while saving you time, energy and money.
You don’t have to sacrifice the beauty of your yard either. There are many options and different materials which you can use to reduce, or even eliminate your lawn.
Here are some ideas for alternatives to a lawn:
Ground Covers
Ground covers are a beautiful planting option that require little to no maintenance. They spread across the ground, keeping low to the ground, choking out weeds while at the same time enriching the soil. They can be used as an as mulch in your garden, instead of wood chips or pine straw.
Ground covers come in a wide variety of types: different textures, different foliage, some are flowering and some are even edible! Stick with perennial and evergreen ground covers so that once you plant them, you are done. You can use annuals, but they will require more work (and money) each spring. read the rest of this post…
Lady Bank's Rose
While looking at different vines and climbers for my new pergola, I keep coming back to Lady Banks Rose. I fell in love with this plant when I came across it at the nursery last year, even though I never do roses. Too high maintenance for me. But I went ahead and bought the Lady Bank’s Yellow Rose. Then went back and got another…
The front of our home is traditional: a typical southern brick house with those tall white columns on the porch. We added a formal fence around the yard. Brick posts and black vinyl clad-metal fence. The planting beds that I created for that area are more formal as well. Not my usual style, but they complement the architecture.
That large expanse of fencing needed some softening though. So there I was last summer, looking at climbing vines when I saw that Lady Banks Rose plant. Oh my. What a beauty. It is the epitome of old fashioned southern charm and has been in American gardens since the early 1800’s. I’m now considering using this climbing vine on new pergola. Maybe the white rose variety. Or maybe both, the white flowers mixed with the yellow. Now, that would be a stunner, wouldn’t it.
So if you are looking for a show-stopping vine that is long lived, easy care and sure to bring abundant blooms to your garden, read the rest of this post…
Javelin Grass
Javelin Grass (‘Juncus Pallidus’) is one of my newer favorite ornamental grasses. Well, new to me anyway – I discovered it just two years ago. It’s a tall and stately green grass that makes a dramatic statement in your garden. This plant can be grown in standing water, but also handles heat and drought well, so it’s suited for almost any garden area. I planted this grass in a few different parts of my garden last year to see how it would work out. It’s done well in every place I put it (all full sun, though). My favorite place so far is where I have the pairing of Javelin’s tall (4 ft.) spiky leaves with the airy ‘Whirling Butterfly’ Gaura* near it.
*note on the Guara: this is a very low maitenance, hardy plant, however, it does spread if you don’t watch it. I happen to love the little Whirling Butterflies flowers popping up in unexpected places in my beds. But if you have a more formal and manicured garden, stay clear of this one. For the more informal or cottage-type garden, it’s a beautiful winner that attracts butterflies.
'Whirling Butterflies' Guara
Javelin Grass Info
Scientific Name: Juncus pallidus
Common Name: Javelin Juncus
Hardiness Degree: 10°F (-12.2°C)
Plant Habit: Upright
Water: Medium
Spacing: 18 - 22″ (45.7 - 55.9cm)
Height: 48″ (121.9cm)
Width: 18 - 20″ (45.7 - 50.8cm)
Exposure: Sun
Characteristics: Colorful/Attractive Foliage, Drought Tolerant, Winter Interest (regional), Heat Tolerant, Low Maintenance
Vines in the Garden
