Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / July 2008

suggestion 1 is tell folks where you are

I would think that grass would have better sales value that some other
ground cover.  Ask some local realtors for their opinion.  If I were
buying and saw something other than grass I'd wonder about upkeep or
the cost of removing it and replacing it with something else.

You might try overseeding it with some grass mix selected to do well
in your area, water it well and mow often.

rdadams@panix.com (Dick Adams) wrote in news:g5u77s$9r0$1
@reader1.panix.com:

how big an area? groundcovers can take awhile to spread.
my preference would be for thyme, or chamomile. my yard has a
lot of wild strawberry, bugle (both green & purple), & um,
plantain. most people think plantain is really ugly, but the
honeybees love it & the chickens can't destroy it (ok, most
people don't have chicken-proof as a groundcover criteria).
have you looked at Steppables.com?
lee

My front lawn was planted with pink clover (Persicaria capitata, not
really a clover but with clover-like flowers).  This was done about 8-9
months ago on 18-inch centers; rooted plants -- not plugs -- were used.
Now, the ground cover is thick enough to crowd out most weeds.  It took
a lot of water to reach this state, but I can start to cut back on the
water since the pink clover totally shades the soil.

Note, however, my climate.  Pink clover is hardy only to about 15F.  As
an evergreen ground cover, it likely will not tolerate a persistent
cover of snow.  (Actually, when we get frost, it turns red; it then
reverts to green when the weather warms in the spring.)  I suspect that,
if the past winter here had 15F temperatures, my pink clover might not
have spread as quickly as it did.  "kzin" is quite correct; you really
need to tell us where you are so that we know what your climate is.