Use Gravel, Mulch, & Bark Chippings
Your no-grass yard doesn't need to have something growing. Using versitile landscaping features like gravel, mulch, and bark can provide a textured look or enhance other aspect of your yard.
If you want a low-maintenance grass for the cooler climates, fine fescue and tall fescue are popular choices. Warmer climates have more choices, including such warm-season grasses as zoysia and Bermuda grass. Buffalo grass is suited to a wider range of climates than most grasses.
Installation: A hand-seeded lawn is the cheapest type of lawn to install, and can often be done by the homeowner. While a hand-seeded lawn will need to have the soil prepared with topsoil and compost, as well as a sprinkler system and edging installed, the actual cost of seed and the labor to sow it is minimal.
No more than one-third of the grass blades should be cut at a time. Cutting off one-third of the blade at a time removes just enough to keep your lawn healthy and not too much to stunt the growth.
Vinca minor, commonly referred to as periwinkle, is a popular trailing groundcover plant. It will choke out weeds while gracing a garden with dainty, periwinkle blooms in the spring and a mat of shiny, ivy-like foliage all season long.
Ornamental grasses are a great low maintenance landscaping option. You can find a variety of grass that are native to your area and don't have to be a landscaping expert to find ways to incorporate them into your yard.
However, this can lead to root girdling because of how groundcover plants cover up the root flare of the tree. Root girdling can lead to poor tree health and even tree death. Additionally, groundcover plants might also contribute to tree rot caused by the build up of moisture, debris, and plant material underneath.
If you don't need a tough playing surface for kids and dogs, grass can be replaced with just about anything—trees, shrubs, perennials, edibles, patios, gazebos—but I chose to simply copy the look of a lawn using plants more to my liking.
xeri·scape ˈzir-ə-ˌskāp ˈzer- often capitalized. : a landscaping method developed especially for arid and semiarid climates that utilizes water-conserving techniques (such as the use of drought-tolerant plants, mulch, and efficient irrigation)
One of the biggest downsides of creeping thyme as a lawn alternative is that it doesn't stand up to heavy foot traffic like turf does. "Thyme can be used as a visual replacement for turf, but it cannot withstand regular foot traffic like a conventional lawn," says Bunting.
Although estimates of longevity vary due to many factors, you can expect an artificial turf lawn to last at least 8-10 years. With high-quality turf and a little regular upkeep (raking and rinsing), you can easily expect your ever-green yard to withstand 15 to 20 years.
Fine fescues, including Slender Creeping Red Fescue, Strong Creeping Red Fescue, Chewings Fescue, Hard Fescue, and Sheep Fescue, are the key to achieving a low-maintenance lawn. These five fescue varieties are highly suitable for low-maintenance lawns due to their various advantages.
The obvious choices are stone, mulch and attractive ground cover plants that tolerate the conditions grass can't handle. Kill any weeds with a nonselective herbicide (re-treat survivors after 10 days). The herbicide will break down within two weeks and the ground will be safe for new plants.
Pros of sedum include the fact that it is low maintenance, very heat and drought tolerant, relatively inexpensive, and is resistant to pests and disease. Cons include the inability to handle heavy foot traffic (the small stems are fragile and the shallow root systems can easily be broken by birds and rodents).
The mowing 1/3 rule, also referred to as the golden rule of mowing, instructs you to never cut more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time. This rule is necessary because if you remove more than 1/3 of your grass blades while mowing, it could potentially kill your grass and allow weeds to grow too easily.
The calculation of the 150 rule during the summer months is quite simple. Add the air temperature and the humidity together. If the total is at or above 150, the lawn is considered to be in the danger zone. Close to but under 150 is considered the caution area.
1. Good Soil. Building healthy soil is at the heart of organic lawn care. Just as a healthy person is less susceptible to colds, healthy plants are less susceptible to insects and diseases.