On a cool, drizzling morning in May, I check in with the ever-changing mosaic of groundcovers and think:  Me likey!  Especially compared to the thoroughly boring turfgrass it replaced.  Much prettier, more interesting, and it even offers up blossoms to the local pollinators.

Just don’t let anyone tell you it’s less work because it most definitely is not.  Lawn care in this little oval meant a five-minute mowing about 10 times a year, and that’s all.  Now I weed and I fiddle and if I’m adding anything new, I water.   But you know, it’s gardening -  hands-on and creative – and I love doing it.  Lawn care?  Not so much.

Here’s lots more more about this lawn-to-garden makeover.  The dominant groundcovers in this video are Creeping Jenny, Creeping cinquefoil (Potentilla), Sedum spurium ‘Dragon’s Flood’, Sedum acre, assorted creeping thymes and some Alyssum self-seeded from last year.  The main shrubs on view are the low Euonymus ‘Emerald Gaity’ and filling out the corner, Spirea nipponica ‘Snowmound’ blooming in white.

The Takoma House and  Garden Tour is one of my favorites, partly because I know so many people either touring or proudly exhibiting their house and garden, it’s actually a social event.  For many years I also enjoyed getting ideas for renovating and decorating my home but these days, I really don’t care.  (Is this a bad sign?  I DO worry.)  Honestly, the houses on this year’s tour were nice but I kept wondering, “Where’s the garden?”  Yep, not much to see in the garden department.

Except for this one, the home and garden of an outstanding contractor I hired years ago to do the renovations I used to care about (only because my 1925 house really needed them).  And though not a garden designer himself, Neil Mozer had the good sense to consult with one (Colleen Bugler), and it paid off.  And best of all, it’s a lawnless beauty that’s right up my alley.

Seating in the Front Yard!

In the front (above and right) Neil solved the slope problem with some stunning stone walls, and created a central seating area in the now-level, shady spot.  It looks so natural and inviting, it didn’t occur to me til later that we hardly ever see this done but man, what a great idea.   With the help of the existing trees and some modest shrubs, it feels pretty darn private.

Then in the back yard most of the space is taken up with a large out-building (Neil’s studio) but connecting everything is an interesting mix of fieldstone paths and well designed pocket gardens.  Plenty of evergreens, I see.

When last I reported on my garden’s evolution away from lawn, the lawn replacement looked great but designwise, there was too much of it.  Or so my landscape architect friend thought, and I had to agree.   So I’ve enlarged the borders on both sides and added a large pot, ornamental grasses, spare perennials, two new ‘Ogon’ spireas and five new Flower Carpet roses -  the variety ‘Amber’.

But here’s the question:  How do you distinguish between the border and the “lawn” when the “lawn” is the same groundcovers you’re using in the border?  I fear the answer is:  You can’t.  So on the left you see that I’ve removed all the sedum acre and clover from the enlarged border and instead you see lamb’s ears and lots of mulch.

Then on the right side I started removing all the groundcover but changed my mind when I saw how much bare ground there would be as a result, with no budget to cover it up fast.  So instead of creating an edge or visual change from lawn to border, I’m simply plunking plants IN the groundcover, so black-eyed susans and purple coneflowers will emerge, but will it look unruly?  Because something that keeps even an alternative garden from looking disorderly is, of course, the neat edges I recommend to all my clients.  (“Just edge, apply fresh mulch, and you’ll be amazed at how great it’ll look.”)

And there’s another question that arises when you veer from the basic design principle of borders-around-lawn:  How tall can the lawn replacement be before it again looks unruly?  Some homeowners may want meadows just outside their door but most do not; they like the security and neatness of a short lawn or lawn substitute.  You know, one you can walk on without disturbing actual snakes and other wildlife we’d rather not step on or near.  So there I’ve admitted it – I’m one of those who doesn’t want grassland in my back yard, just a tidy, open expanse, thank you very much.  Something 4 inches tall or shorter.  No mowing and hopefully, no snakes.  Pollinating bees?  Bring ‘em on.

Designers and gardeners alike, help me think outside the box here – but not too far outside.

Thanks to Urban Farm Magazine for their nice coverage of Lawn Reform – the Coalition and the concept.  They quote me blaming lawn care, not lawn itself (at least in the East) and sadly, some other quotes that may just teach me to write out my answers before ever giving another interview.  Seriously:  “What this coalition is about is individuality.  That’s where it’s happening.”  WTF? And later I seem to be contrasting turfgrasses with plants, no matter that they ARE plants.  Cringe.

But hey, at least I sounded stupid for a good cause, right?  Check out the article and really, this whole magazine, which I raved about upon their launch last October and continue to be impressed with.  Hope this publication makes it!

Jeez, I just noticed it’s been over a week since I’ve posted here – bad blogger!  Well, my article in Fine Gardening finally arrived, so here’s a teaser photo.

In the article, I cover a bunch of options for replacing turfgrass with similar-but-easier short groundcovers.  Like?  Thyme, mazus, creeping Jenny (where it can be contained), dwarf cinquefoil, Sedum acre, and good old Dutch white clover.

I posted an overview of the backyard transformation to Sedum acre and clover here, with before, during and after shots, and wide views from the deck.  And on the right is another view of the same garden, just how it’ll look in a couple of months when 3 feet of snow is a distant memory.  Cannot come soon enough.

Simone Fary lives just 3 blocks from the newly-bustling downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, with its shops, night life and subway station to greater DC.  So, a great location.  Plus plenty of sun, y'all!  But like every other front yard in the neighborhood, hers was devoted to the care and feeding of turfgrass and some foundation shrubs.  That bit of conformity ended when Simone got the urge to grow some food, dammit, but to grow it in a gorgeous, gardeny way.  No need to go whole-farm and get the neighbors all nervous about property values.   No need to deny herself a beautiful garden.  The gardener with sun can have everything!

There's no real plan or formula for mixing edibles with ornamentals, just lots of experimentation.  Lots of gardening.  (Get that?  It's not what you'd call low-maintenance, and it isn't intended to be.) Here are the plants that have done well for Simone in her sunny city lot.

Fruits and vegetables
Highbush blueberry, Egyptian walking onions, Calendula, Egyptian spinach (self-seeding), Peas, Purple bush and pole beans against the fence, Chard, 'Hard neck' garlic she plants in October, Collonade apple (of which the squirrels eat ALL), Red currents (very pretty in the spring),  Pepper, Pawpaws (which are fly-pollinated, so Simone does that by hand with a paintbrush, Asian persimmons.

Herbs
Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Pineapple sage, Chives (blossoms are great on salads), Bronze fennel, Sorrel, and Dill (gorgeous the day I visited in late summer).

Strictly ornamental or for wildlife
Sunflower, Purple sage (or its looks, not for cooking),  Creeping phlox, Sedum, Asters, Dayliles (though you can eat daylily flowers), Mums, Lamb's ear, Ajuga, Liatris, Monarda (though flower petals can be used in salads), Hydrangea, Sunberries (for foliage only – because the bugs eat the fruit).

What she does not recommend

• Passionflower or purple coneflower because they seed too freely.
• Strawberry also reseeded too freely, and they're great in jellies and syrup.  So, maybe in hanging baskets.
• Nanking bush cherry – little red lines, tart.  Simone says it takes up too much space for what it yields.