LogFAQs > #973239350

adjl posted...

Look into a clover lawn. Looks similar, flowers occasionally (and therefore benefits pollinators), never needs mowing unless you want to remove the flowers, outcompetes most weeds, uses less water, needs no fertilizer, and is still durable enough to stand up to most everyday use.

I asked about a steppable groundcover like vinca minor, creeping thyme (probably my favorite), Isotoma fluviatilis, or micro clover.
Unfortunately, I had to use my builder's landscaper, and they didn't really deal in that stuff and said anything they did have would cost many times what grass seed would. I even asked about just doing plugs spaced out (since creeping species will...you know...naturally spread over time) to save money, and was shot down. They were pretty much resistant to doing anything but grass.

I had a lot of things I wanted to do w/ building my house, and almost all of them met w/ the hard reality that local contractors are set in their ways and don't like to deviate from what they normally do, and I have little power in who my builder uses for subcontractors.

But yes, I was looking into that a lot. Probably a good long term solution to have take over my yard gradually (I just worry about controlling it from expanding into neighbors' lots). But in the short term, I have fucking grass springing up way faster than I had hoped and need to deal with it. And apparently getting someone to cut it for me costs so much that the damn lawn mover pays for itself within 3 months or less.