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I want to kill.............

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Alicia, I totally relate! I hate mowing! One thing I did before - raised beds of herbs, flowers, veggies - and surrounded them with a big area of mulch (couldn't afford hardscaping) --- it did cut down on the amount of mowing. Plus, I do love my herbs! Another plant I have used as a groundcover is Sweet Potato Vine "Blackie" - it is purple, pretty, and grows and flowers even in terrible heat and humidity. It does die down with frost, but comes back. Do you have the Southern Living Garden Book? There are some good ideas for ground covers there. English Ivy does grow really well in DFS, but be prepared for it to become "Ivy Land of the Lost" if it gets out of control! :)
 
Goddessgal said:
Alicia, I totally relate! I hate mowing! One thing I did before - raised beds of herbs, flowers, veggies - and surrounded them with a big area of mulch (couldn't afford hardscaping) --- it did cut down on the amount of mowing. Plus, I do love my herbs! Another plant I have used as a groundcover is Sweet Potato Vine "Blackie" - it is purple, pretty, and grows and flowers even in terrible heat and humidity. It does die down with frost, but comes back. Do you have the Southern Living Garden Book? There are some good ideas for ground covers there. English Ivy does grow really well in DFS, but be prepared for it to become "Ivy Land of the Lost" if it gets out of control! :)
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Gull, everyday of my life is a fight against one vine:: Kudzu. I need some vines to fight it. THx!:wave:
 
I have just a little grass in my yard. I have pines so there's lots of sandy places that i keep covered up with pine straw. I've often thought i should rake it up every year and plant some grass, but grass is so high maintenance, so i just leave it. I do love the pink grass though....the kind you don't have to cut.
 
Goddessgal said:
Alicia, I totally relate! I hate mowing! One thing I did before - raised beds of herbs, flowers, veggies - and surrounded them with a big area of mulch (couldn't afford hardscaping) --- it did cut down on the amount of mowing. Plus, I do love my herbs! Another plant I have used as a groundcover is Sweet Potato Vine "Blackie" - it is purple, pretty, and grows and flowers even in terrible heat and humidity. It does die down with frost, but comes back. Do you have the Southern Living Garden Book? There are some good ideas for ground covers there. English Ivy does grow really well in DFS, but be prepared for it to become "Ivy Land of the Lost" if it gets out of control! :)
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Alicia, I agree, don't do ivy. It is too hard to keep weeded. We finally killed ours out with Roundup. Much easier to maintain the area now.

On one of our trips to Arizona, we stayed at a resort where the surrounding homes all had rocks for their "lawns" instead of grass. At the time I thought it was weird. I get it now.
 
Man it's hot outside. Here's a pic of under construction, and done inside the front fence. Lots of shade, so different plants than my full sun areas will be.
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I doubt you will miss your lawn and all its headaches (I sure don't), but if you do try it and decide you want a small patch of it there are some non-mow native options.

Considering the economic and environmental impacts of a "lawn" and all its maintenance, watering, and chemicals, this is a great idea for many, many, reasons.
 
If you know of a good landscape architect, ask him/her to swing by and give you some suggestions. We did that years ago. We got some great suggestions, and removed nearly all non native plants such as Oleander.
 
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