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Bored with my grass

B3B3 Posts: 27,505
in Garden design
This is half of my garden. The other half is I'll  deal with it sometime.
It faces NNE/SSW . The grass is a pain  we don't sunbathe and there's  no one to play on it  top right there's  a corner pergola effort. 
Best will in the world, which I  haven't,  it's unlikely to get watered much.  I don't like spiky  things from new Zealand.
Happy to lay paths but they mustn't  be sterile  I like a weedy path.
Any ideas welcome even if it's  keep what you've  got 

PS  there's an overgrown  path  on the left
In London. Keen but lazy.
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  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904
    Why don't you like the grass? Maintenance? Look of it? Do you want height or a lawn replacement? Would border to border gravel be out of the question. It would seed in no time and be easy to weed out the surplus.
    I think it's lovely but then I don't mow it. 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    edited August 2023
    Neither do I😊. I suppose I'm more fed up with the borders than the grass. It's probably the time of year🙄
    I think I might just take a yomp off the end. If I keep nibbling there'll be no grass left anyway.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904
    Well I'll take all yer plants then and you buy new!
    I wish you'd said earlier before I ordered my seeds! 🤣

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    @B3 I can sympathise with you,  I feel like taking a bulldozer to mine and starting again. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • februarysgirlfebruarysgirl Posts: 835
    Got rid of the lawn in my back garden three years ago because I was tired of the weeds, the mowing and looking at large patches of dead grass for 6 months of the year. Replaced it with gravel although I'm currently adding some stepping stones to it. Out front I still have a lawn but that's going to be going as well. The plan (at the moment) is to make some random shaped stepping stones out of concrete, position them haphazardly and grow heath pearlwort in between them.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I keep thinking about replacing my front lawn with gravel and letting stuff self-seed into it. It's circular with a block paver edging so the gravel should more-or-less stay put. BUT this summer it's stayed green and looks nice, so it's still at the just thinking stage.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • plant pauperplant pauper Posts: 6,904

    Irish Moss is a fine-textured, ground hugging, slightly mounding perennial which resembles moss. Irish Moss is a terrific choice for filling in areas between flagstones. Or use in containers, or as small-scale ground cover.

    Irish Moss produces tiny white flowers in spring or summer. Plants need afternoon shade, and moist, well-drained soil.

    I found this pic on an American site because  it was the first one to come up. I recommended it to someone a couple of days ago who was looking for something similar.

    You could have as much or as little as you like.  


  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    It's beautiful but my grass patch is in full sun
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • februarysgirlfebruarysgirl Posts: 835
    @JennyJ Only thing that really put me off of gravel in the front garden is the thought of someone grabbing a handful and lobbing it at the windows and the car.

    @plant pauper That's exactly the look I'm going for. I bought 15 plug plants of it (aka heath pearlwort) about a month ago. I've potted them and am hoping that by next summer I'll be able to divide them
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Good point @februarysgirl . Mine wouldn't be reachable from the street (unless someone had very long arms indeed). There's a border of shrubs along the boundary.

    Pearlwort - it grows all on its own in paving cracks etc and I pull it out! Mine doesn't form mounds like the stuff in the picture, possibly because I don't leave it for long enough.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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