Comments on: Toward a Biodiverse Lawn

By: M Sinclair Stevens (Texas)

M Sinclair Stevens (Texas) — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 04:43:04 +0000

The lawn that came with my house is St. Augustine, a coarse leafed grass that grows by runners. Where it’s established nothing else grows. So I don’t have any suggestion on that front. Over the years, as patches of it died out, I replaced it with flower beds. But, you’re right! Flowers are much more work than grass. I’ll never get rid of all my grass because down here that patch of green is such a relief for our sun-drenched eyes.

Like Pam, I also put in buffalograss–in the area that was supposed to be my mini-meadow. However, over the years my yard has gotten shadier and shadier which buffalograss can’t stand at all. I have rainlilies and other small bulbs like fall crocuses planted among the clumps of buffalograss.

http://www.zanthan.com/gardens/plants/zephyranthes1.html

By: Pam/Digging

Pam/Digging — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 22:30:30 +0000

You’re right to point out that alternatives to lawn are often more work than a (less-than-perfect) lawn. Garden books advocating lawn removal promise the opposite.

I used to be in the no-lawn camp. Get rid of that water-wasting monoculture, I preached by example, removing every last blade of turf grass. It worked for me—up to a point.

But as a family with young kids, we’ve all missed having a patch of lawn, however scraggly, for slip-and-slide or kicking a ball. As a gardener, I’ve missed that cool, restful green space among busy perennial beds.

So I’m working right now on reinserting a lawn—a very small one—into my back garden. Since it will be small, I’ll probably try for a monoculture of our native buffalo grass, but I’ll see how it goes. If it’s too much work, I may try clover!

By: Michele Owens

Michele Owens — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 19:58:46 +0000

Lawns are a great subject. They’d be ridiculous, if they didn’t offer such a nice calm empty surface for a dynamic border to rise above.

My town has rotten soil for turf grasses, so there are two types of lawn: sod rolled out and maintained with poisons; and patchy, weedy messes.

Only the first kind looks good. My comfort is that the first kind is inevitably on its way to joining the second group.

By: Allison

Allison — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 18:05:20 +0000

I like Johnny-Jump-ups too (they are really violas). They are super hardy, spread like mad, and I don’t really think it’s possible to kill them (although I’m sure my dogs would try). When I was a kid, in Arkansas, I planted them in one of the raised, brick flowerbeds on the front of the house, and now they are scattered across my parents whole lawn, 20 years later. I haven’t a clue where you get them, though.