We've been considering getting rid of our lawn since we moved here 3 years ago... for just a circle of 700 square feet, it uses an incredible amount of water, and I just do not seem to have a green thumb when it comes to lawns so it always looks vaguely crappy (probably because I refuse to water it for 15 minutes twice a day, as people in my neighborhood say they do!). Plus I'm pretty allergic to grass. It's surrounded by bushes (mostly juniper) on all sides.
What would you recommend? We have a dog that loves to run circles on it, and a baby that would need a child-appropriate substrate in a couple of years. It's surrounded by bushes on all sides. It must look nice during the transition since we live in a HOA.
Option 1: Take advantage of our water district's rebate plan, get $700 to work with.
They give you a free 2-hour landscaping consultation, and pay you $1 per square foot to remove your lawn. They drive by and check for a few years that you haven't re-introduced lawn.
The downside is that you have to jump through their hoops... you can only choose from their list of drought-resistant plants, and must install a drip system (and remove sprinklers), and 50% of the area must be covered with plants once they are mature. The money gained would definitely help with the cost of the drip system, plants, mulch, etc.
Option 2: Edible lawn. Combine with Option 1?
Here I'm picturing perennial herbs that wouldn't take more effort than mowing/trimming, a kind of edible lawn. Maybe stepping stones in a spiral or some other pattern across the circle of space, with a groundcover of creeping thyme around the stones. We could leave the sprinkler system in place, or thyme (creeping, wooly, or carpet creeping) counts for Option 1.
It'd take a year or two to cover the entire space if we planted the groundcover every 8-12 inches... so do we mulch in between to keep it looking nice? If I started some pots of it early, then I could take tons of cuttings to make this process cheaper.
Option 3: Herb garden
Similar to Option 2, but with a lot more variety and more garden-like. Maybe lots of different varieties (colors of flowers and heights) of creeping thyme to cover the ground, but then bushes of rosemary, mints, sage, thyme, lavender, etc.
Taller herbs could go in a circle in the middle that is divided up into different areas for each perennial herb. Or they could go in a ring around the outside of the thyme-lawn to leave a larger play area inside. We could separate the areas with retaining walls or stone borders, or not.
I do know that oregano grows well here (needs to be chopped down once a year but mostly stays green), and rosemary grows well here too and flowers for a very long time.
Option 4: Non-edible non-lawn.
Is there a plant like creeping thyme that is easy to step on and can be mowed but requires little water?
Option 5: No plants.
This would be the lowest-maintenance option. Maybe do a decorative pattern with larger rocks and gravel, maybe spread mulch. Gravel might be too hot for a kid to play on, and mulch might risk splinters? Hmm. But a nice rock garden, maybe with a giant basalt column, could look pretty cool.
I could add interest in areas with pots, and remove/add pots as the plants become attractive or die out.
Option 6: The tree. Combine with Option 1?
We could put a single tree in the center of the circle, and mulch around it. If we used a pomegranate tree, it would count for Option 1's rebate. So would the common hackberry which has edible fruit.
Option 7: Scorched earth. Combine with Option 1?
We could get rid of the lawn AND the bushes. Put in tiers on the main-street side that slopes using retaining wall bricks and add something interesting like small rose bushes or tufts of tall grasses or small irises, as a few neighbors have done when they've gone lawnless. Then use one of the above methods for the rest of the area. This would essentially double (or triple?) the play space, but it would also get rid of the protective feeling that the thick junipers give to the play area (they keep Stormy on the lawn, and would protect the house/lawn area from a drunken driver).
Thoughts? Ideas?
What would you recommend? We have a dog that loves to run circles on it, and a baby that would need a child-appropriate substrate in a couple of years. It's surrounded by bushes on all sides. It must look nice during the transition since we live in a HOA.
Option 1: Take advantage of our water district's rebate plan, get $700 to work with.
They give you a free 2-hour landscaping consultation, and pay you $1 per square foot to remove your lawn. They drive by and check for a few years that you haven't re-introduced lawn.
The downside is that you have to jump through their hoops... you can only choose from their list of drought-resistant plants, and must install a drip system (and remove sprinklers), and 50% of the area must be covered with plants once they are mature. The money gained would definitely help with the cost of the drip system, plants, mulch, etc.
Option 2: Edible lawn. Combine with Option 1?
Here I'm picturing perennial herbs that wouldn't take more effort than mowing/trimming, a kind of edible lawn. Maybe stepping stones in a spiral or some other pattern across the circle of space, with a groundcover of creeping thyme around the stones. We could leave the sprinkler system in place, or thyme (creeping, wooly, or carpet creeping) counts for Option 1.
It'd take a year or two to cover the entire space if we planted the groundcover every 8-12 inches... so do we mulch in between to keep it looking nice? If I started some pots of it early, then I could take tons of cuttings to make this process cheaper.
Option 3: Herb garden
Similar to Option 2, but with a lot more variety and more garden-like. Maybe lots of different varieties (colors of flowers and heights) of creeping thyme to cover the ground, but then bushes of rosemary, mints, sage, thyme, lavender, etc.
Taller herbs could go in a circle in the middle that is divided up into different areas for each perennial herb. Or they could go in a ring around the outside of the thyme-lawn to leave a larger play area inside. We could separate the areas with retaining walls or stone borders, or not.
I do know that oregano grows well here (needs to be chopped down once a year but mostly stays green), and rosemary grows well here too and flowers for a very long time.
Option 4: Non-edible non-lawn.
Is there a plant like creeping thyme that is easy to step on and can be mowed but requires little water?
Option 5: No plants.
This would be the lowest-maintenance option. Maybe do a decorative pattern with larger rocks and gravel, maybe spread mulch. Gravel might be too hot for a kid to play on, and mulch might risk splinters? Hmm. But a nice rock garden, maybe with a giant basalt column, could look pretty cool.
I could add interest in areas with pots, and remove/add pots as the plants become attractive or die out.
Option 6: The tree. Combine with Option 1?
We could put a single tree in the center of the circle, and mulch around it. If we used a pomegranate tree, it would count for Option 1's rebate. So would the common hackberry which has edible fruit.
Option 7: Scorched earth. Combine with Option 1?
We could get rid of the lawn AND the bushes. Put in tiers on the main-street side that slopes using retaining wall bricks and add something interesting like small rose bushes or tufts of tall grasses or small irises, as a few neighbors have done when they've gone lawnless. Then use one of the above methods for the rest of the area. This would essentially double (or triple?) the play space, but it would also get rid of the protective feeling that the thick junipers give to the play area (they keep Stormy on the lawn, and would protect the house/lawn area from a drunken driver).
Thoughts? Ideas?
