Thursday, March 03, 2011

A Lawn Attempt

When we rebuilt our home, we decided not to bother replanting the lawn. That choice has worked very well for us in the area where the lawn used to be, but we are on almost an acre of property, and with the loss of so many trees, the weeds had become rampant. Last year I tried a wildflower meadow, but the weeds took over and it looked worse. This winter I decided to create a "lawn-thing" in the area we can see from the house.
It's not a real lawn. I tossed annual rye grass and clover seed around the area. The grass will die by mid-summer, and hopefully the clover will survive, along with native grasses and other green things.
We don't own a lawnmower. We have one of those DR Trimmers for the rough stuff, but nothing that can handle this soft grass. So my poor husband has to trim it with his weed-whacker.
Meanwhile, squirrels have taken over the bird feeders.

4 comments:

Shyrlene said...

Deb - this is a topic that is near and dear to my heart! Last year my neighbor called over the fence, asking how my "field of dreams" was coming? I'd like to think she has "plant envy"... as I carve out my new gardens. ;) The bunnies like the clover in the grass, and if it keeps them away from the 'good stuff', then it's ALL good!

Susan said...

Grass is one of those irritating things in the garden. When it looks and performs well it looks great, but after an infestation of chinch bugs or too much shade...it becomes a real problem. We have a large lot, too and I can't see not having some grass...even though I plan to eliminate as much as possible. Good luck with your clover.

Deborah Verhoeven said...

LOL, Shyrlene! We do live by the same philosophy. We make sure everyone on our property is well fed. We used to feed the raccoons to keep them out of our trash cans.

Susan, most of our lot is just sand with weeds that struggle to survive. The wetland areas are full of trees and vines. We've never been able to irrigate the entire lot to maintain a lawn (or flower beds). Probably, if we didn't have such an odd-shaped lot with a creek cutting through it, we'd have done it differently. Hopefully, though, I will be in tall clover this summer. :-)

Unknown said...

Congratulations to you on breaking the lawn habit! We have covered the entire back yard with mulch, and are thinking about what to do about the front yard in suburbia.