Re: Lawn replacement ideas

I would second the notion that most any Bermuda grass,
even hybrids are incredibly invasive, always growing
its rhizomes into adjacent planting areas where it is
nearly impossible to eliminate if it intwines amongst
plants.  If you don't already have it in the garden,
don't plant it!

The Phyla nodiflora is very drought tolerant, but also
heavily attracts bees, which may not be desireable
next to the pool.  The Aptenia is certainly fast, easy
and fairly drought tolerant, but as mentioned, only
takes light foot traffic, and also attracts bees in
abundance.

The Bulbine frutescens; either yellow form or
orange/yellow 'Hallmark' form, is a very easy to grow
mass groundcover for sun or light shade.  I often use
this succulent for mass plantings as filler until
other slower growing plants can fill in.  It looks
best with some regular grooming to remove old flower
stalks, and in my opinion, needs to be replanted at
least every 3~4 years from cuttings to keep it from
looking straggly and overgrown.  Very easy to do, just
break off fresh stems and stick in the ground at the
start of the rainy season.  You might also seek out a
related species, B. latifolia, a larger leafed and
showier flowered species that is quite dramatic in the
garden.

If you are considering succulents as groundcovers, the
Lampranthus spectabilis is also very showy in bloom. 
Drosanthemum works equally well, and a personal
favorite is the Blue Chalk Sticks/Senecio
mandraliscae, which I also often use as a mass
groundcover, often along with the equally easy to grow
South African Plectranthus neochilus, a succulent
everblooming low growing groundcover.  Similar to the
Plectranthus, another mint family groundcover worth
looking for, is the succulent Coleus lanuginosa from
the highlands of Eithiopa.  This is just coming into
bloom now in northern California, and will continue in
bloom into February in a sunny spot with good
drainage.  It is simply covered with deep blue flowers
typical of Coleus, and is very tough and drought
tolerant once established, as well as vigorous enough
to smother weeds.  I first saw this one January at the
UC Berkeley Botanic Garden, on the African Hill
section in combination with winter blooming Aloes, and
it is also now available through Annie's Annuals
Nursery in Richmond,(which also does mail order for
those outside the area).

Of course, there are many true Mediterraneans that
work well as trouble free low groundcovers, such as
Santolina, dwarf Lavenders, Yellow Horned
Poppy/Glaucium flavum(with fabulous foliage even when
not in bloom, and also at Annie's).  Some of the
Australian plants such as the various Scaevola
species, or Hibbertia pedunculata are also quite nice
for small areas of Groundcover.  Correas are also
quite useful as low groundcovers for cooler sun areas
or light shade.  As well, you might consider some of
the dwarf, clump growing Aloes, or fast clumping
Echevrias such as E. x imbricata.  If you are planting
into some bordering shade, Aeoniums such as A.
canariensis subplanum is superb as a mass groundcover.
 Other Aeoniums such as A. simsii or A. haworthii are
also excellent, as are the various Cotyledons such as
C. orbiculata or C. macrantha.

At the most recent Mediterranean plants symposium at
Strybing Arboretum, the idea of lawns replaced by
meadows was also a topic of great interest.  Some of
the more commonly used species for this in California
include various Carex species such as C. pansa, C.
tumicola, C. glauca, and Deschampsia caespitosa.  All
of these can also be mowed several times a year to
keep a more lawn like appearance, and will certainly
survive here in coastal California on twice a month
watering in the hottest driest months, as opposed to 3
times a week for even the most drought tolerant
subtropical grasses used here for turf.

If you were interested in using more sculptural
plantings as accents amongst lower growing
groundcovers, you might consider accents such as the
gorgeous Agave bracteata or A. attenuata, or the
beautiful yet spiny A. parryii or Golden Barrel Cactus
or Dasylirion wheeleri or D. longissima.  Salvia
clevelandii or Salvia leucophylla 'Pt Sal' is a
whitish foliaged spreading low shrubby groundcover
that is both fragrant and beautiful, and native to the
coastal bluffs of Santa Barbara.

I would guess that many of these are already easily
available and common in your part of Spain, others
less so. This is a topic that is always popular here,
and I am always more interested in working for clients
who wish minimal lawn areas and more plantings.  The
key has been to find those plantings that will
tolerate our summers without additional summer
irrigation yet still look good.  I've found that even
in cool foggy San Francisco gardens, plantings need at
least monthly deep soaks to keep a good year round
apprearance and avoid total dormancy, and the
succulents in particular will readily bounce back with
the first fall rains if they fail to get any
supplemental irrigation.  They tend not to work as
well more inland, where cold below freezing tends to
limit their usefulness.


		
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