Re: Blue fescue lawn?

Hi Judy -

I agree with David - blue fescue on it's own is seldom satisfactory, and die out is common. But I have used it in combination with other plants to good effect. I once planted a similar 'lawn replacement' with the following, used in undulating drifts and occasional specimens:
Festuca glauca
Agave parryi (artichoke-like rosettes with dark red thorns)
Senecio vira-vira (very white-gray with creamy yellow flowers)
Cotyledon orbiculata (powdery gray rounded leaves with reddish edges)
Echeveria 'Blue Bedder' (blue with rose-pink suffused edges, spreading nicely)
Helictotrichon sempervirens (like a giant, bluer, blue fescue)
Stachys lanata (fuzzy lamb's ears)
Pelargonium (scented) 'Gray Lady Plymouth' (a variegated rose geranium with gray-green, cream edged leaves)
Pelargonium sidoides x reniforme (gray-green leaves with tiny dark magenta flowers on airy stems)
Narcissus 'Ice Follies' (white with ice-yellow frined cup)
(more than I can't recall at the moment)

The main foliage palette was gray-blue and gray-green, but each foliage was a different shade and texture, plus there were incidental and seasonal colors (mostly pale yellow and rich magenta - the client's choice) to spice it up.

SeÃn O.
http://about.me/seanaohara


On Thu, Apr 14, 2011 at 10:41 PM, david feix <d*@yahoo.com> wrote:
Judy, glad you enjoyed the photos. ÂI would suggest that my only reservation
with using Festuca glauca as a lawn substitute is that it just doesn't last long
enough, and in my experience by year 3 or 4, it needs either division and
replanting, or rip it all out and start with new. ÂI would have a hard time
justifying that amount of labor expense to a design client. ÂPlus, it also seems
to need a good trim by hand at least once a year to keep it looking neat and
groomed. ÂI have used it for small substitute lawn areas myself, but I warned my
friends that it would need more maintenance down the road than the other ground
cover plants in the garden.



----- Original Message ----
From: Donald Person <d*@comcast.net>
To: medit plants forum <m*@ucdavis.edu>
Cc: Donald Person <d*@comcast.net>
Sent: Thu, April 14, 2011 8:20:06 PM
Subject: Blue fescue lawn?

David,

Your garden show is stunning, just like the Cal Hort tour of your gardens last
summer.

Folks, I have a question: ÂI want to replace our small lawn with Festuca glauca
starts I've grown Âfrom seed. This is in Pleasanton, which is hot in the summer,
being halfway between San Francisco Bay and the hot San Joaquin valley. I've
done a small courtyard with good results. Any thoughts, please? I layer with
cardboard/newpapers and compost first. Thanks.

Judy Person
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