Thursday 19 May 2011

To stay or go?

OK all you garden buffS, I need opinions. I have a dilemma. Here in Melbourne we have had approximately 10 years of tough gardening conditions. Our summers have been somewhat hot and dry in the past, and keeping our gardens alive, let alone green and thriving, has certainly been a challenge.
My front garden is looking extremely lush at present, however because we have had so much rain the weeds are going crazy and the lawn keeps growing and growing. I want my garden to be somewhat a little more 'low maintenance', and at present I still need to mow the lawn at least once a week, twice if the sun comes out and makes it grow even quicker. My priority is to keep the veggies going, and I really would like to put more bulbs and flowers into the front garden area for colour.




The grass in the front area of the garden was originally a tall fescue. It had no runners, so was relatively low maintenance. However over the years the birds have dropped grass seeds and now there is a variety of grasses mixed in together. One of these being couch grass, which sends off runners everywhere. This means that in my box hedges I have grass runners popping up everywhere. Painfully high maintenance!
So here's my dilemma. Do I get rid of the two small grass areas by simply mulching over the areas? Or do I persevere and keep the constant maintenance going?
I do love the look of these lawn areas when they are all nice and neat, but the maintenance is driving me crazy.
What do you think? Stay or go? I think next week is 'D' day as far as making a decision as to what to do.
I'll let you know the outcome.

3 comments:

  1. Hmmm... getting rid of them might not look as nice but is it really worth the hassle of having to mow once or twice a week???
    If you get rid of it you'll have more time for your veggies I say, plus, if you change your mind and you want to lay turf again down the track it's no biggie.
    x

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  2. Yes I will miss the look of the grass there, but the runners that are popping up all through my box hedge look terrible. Thanks lovey I will contemplate it some more x

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  3. I think some ornamental gravel to replace the lawn would be better than mulch... Perhaps some crushed granite or quartz in an off white / grey would work well with the house colour or even a rich ochre like 'Tuscany Toppings'. For such a small area you wouldnt need much...

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