Today starts Travel and Escapes month here across the Apartment Therapy sites, and for most of us, Friday is the start of the long Fourth of July weekend. While the current economic challenges may have cut into your travel budget, you can still relax at home with a staycation. It's not only good for your bank account, it's also good for the planet; less traveling means less pollution. But what good is staying at home if your time is spent doing chores? That's why we advocate a "no mow" lawn for now and for later...
Staycation: Plant a No-Mow Lawn for More Time to Relax
Especially here in Los Angeles, where water restrictions have become serious business, a no mow lawn is not only a easy on you but it's easy on the environment too. No mow lawns use less water, don't need chemical fertilizers, help reduce the effects of pollution and they can trap windborne allergens. And, when you do need to water the lawn, consider collecting rainwater or graywater with which to do it.
Some No Mow options include:
- No Mow Grass
- Hobbs & Hopkins Ltd ProTime blends
- Encouraging some of those plants you normally classify as weeds to take root
- Developing a rock, cacti and succulent garden.
[image from Dwell on Design: Eastside Home Tours, Part 1
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No mow does not equate to easy.
This environmental choice entails more effort for the homeowner. What you don't spend mowing, you spend weeding. I have had a 3000 sq ft prairie for 6 years and it started looking good in its 5th year. I have spent a lot more time on this project then I would have spent mowing. I would never have done this knowing the kind of commitment required, but I am glad I did!
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One thing is the KIND of grass that you plant. We have a house in San Diego, and we're about to solicit landscape bids to redo our front & back yards with UC Verde Buffalograss, an adaptation of buffalograss that uses way less water, has deeper roots, and is drought-resistant. Oh, and it only grows to about 6 inches where we are. Which makes it a great solution to the hill behind our house, which is pretty much just a mess right now. It's just too hard to maintain plants up there, but too steep to mow. But this grass not only needs almost 80 percent less water, but stays short enough that the hill will just look fluffy and green, rather than overgrown and ratty!
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