# Grassless Project



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I said grassless, not weedless, LOL.

Last year we did a little landscaping in the rear most corner of our little property. It was was until then the ugliest corner in the lot, overgrown with weeds, and debris.

Using a few basic materials, namely landscaping fabric and 3/8" pea gravel, we transformed that little corner into a nice little garden with a little pond and a few chairs.

It has now been more than a year and it has been awesome, almost no maintenance and a very nice place to sit.

So, based on that experience I'm now considering expanding the area covered by gravel to a much larger portion of the yard.

Frankly I don't really enjoy pushing a lawn mower around on hot days.

I'm thinking almost half of the area you see in the picture below.

Done last year









Next area to be done would encompass the two lounge chairs and love seat / swing. Also thinking about adding a little river (waterfall with a recirculating pump at the pond end. A little pathway, et cetera.)










Anyone else moving towards a low maintenance yard?


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## ZeroGravity (Mar 25, 2016)

Two areas of our yard are grass-less and low maintenance. We have a huge Norway Maple in our front yard with which I have a love-hate relationship. Beautiful tree but it is always dropping something, it is a prolific leaf producer and more to the topic just soaks up every last drop of water in 2/3 of the front yard making it difficult to have grass grow underneath. Did the same type of landscape, river stone initially then some shade/dry tolerant plants. Long-term maintenance is a bit challenging as there weeds popping up now, the edges are difficult to keep tidy (can't get edging down because of the tree roots) and cleaning the dropped stuff out of the river stone.

In the back we had landscaping done after the pool installation from the pool to the back of the yard with patio and deck between house and pool. Mostly ground cover (Japanese Spurge) with some Hydrangeas, day lilies, ornamental grasses, and a couple of climbing plants (Clematis and Mandevilla) for colour and variety. Needs some weeding from time to time and watering if it doesn't rain, but that's about it. What's left of the lawn in the back I am letting the clover take over because it is green, dry-tolerant, low-growing and doesn't need cutting and the flower are good for the bees.


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## polyslax (May 15, 2020)

Milkman said:


> Anyone else moving towards a low maintenance yard?


Yes! Over the last 10 years I've been moving away from grass. Life is too short, and it's a roll of the dice if you put down new sod... white grubs, moles, voles, weeds. We've been replacing with river rock of various sizes, mulch, alternative ground covers (ivy, succulents, clover), plants, shrubs and trees. I cleared an area at the side/front this summer and put in river rock and a few plants/mulch. I now only have the back yard to mow, and I seeded a combination of grass and clover there which has worked better than straight grass for us. The clover is drought-resistant, looks and feels great and encourages pollinators.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

polyslax said:


> Yes! Over the last 10 years I've been moving away from grass. Life is too short, and it's a roll of the dice if you put down new sod... white grubs, moles, voles, weeds. We've been replacing with river rock of various sizes, mulch, alternative ground covers (ivy, succulents, clover), plants, shrubs and trees. I cleared an area at the side/front this summer and put in river rock and a few plants/mulch. I now only have the back yard to mow, and I seeded a combination of grass and clover there which has worked better than straight grass for us. The clover is drought-resistant, looks and feels great and encourages pollinators.



That's very encouraging thank you!

There's a difference between just letting things go wild (fallow) and controlling what you allow / encourage to grow.

I have an image in my mind and I hear the tape measure calling my name.

I'm in between guitar builds today, LOL.


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

There's a section at the back of our home that had become pretty sketch due to patchy grass, out of control weeds, etc. Earlier this summer we decided to "clean it up" by creating a border with edging along the property line, laying down _industrial_ _grade_ landscape fabric over the entire area, and then simply covering it with several loads of pea gravel. I wish I had a before picture for comparison but it created a much cleaner look in that area and drainage off the eaves improved as well. Other than occasional raking (which you can see I haven't done recently ;^) nothing is required and less is _definitely_ more when it comes to yard maintenance IMO.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

StevieMac said:


> There's a section at the back of our home that had become pretty sketch due to patchy grass, out of control weeds, etc. Earlier this summer we decided to "clean it up" by creating a border with edging along the property line, laying down _industrial_ _grade_ landscape fabric over the entire area, and then simply covering it with several loads of pea gravel. I wish I had a before picture for comparison but it created a much cleaner look in that area and drainage off the eaves improved as well. Other than occasional raking (which you can see I haven't done recently ;^) nothing is required and less is _definitely_ more when it comes to yard maintenance IMO.
> 
> View attachment 376064



That's a great look in my opinion and similar to what I have in mind. I'll get some advice from the company I intend to use to supply the materials. They have a lot of nice river rocks, and an assortment of other landscaping materials.

I don't intend on slugging that much gravel around. I assume they'll drop it in place with a bobcat or similar.


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## BobChuck (Jan 16, 2012)

I've been thinking about this. I have so many three in the back of my backyard, there is not much to do. We could build something pretty but would be a PITA to clean (too many leaves/acorns/etc). No sun either.

On one side, I don't mind the raw/grassless aspect but on the other side, I would prefer if the ground could stay clean/maintenance free.


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

FWIW, I picked up the lawn edging and landscaping fabric (both are super heavy duty) from Costco for around $100. The Ecoborder edging from Costco is wonderful stuff to work with (see pic) and looks terrific IMO. Three yards of pea gravel was sourced locally for $150 delivered. I needed the exercise so I spread the gravel myself. Most of what I invested in what you see then was good old "sweat equity". 🙂


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

BobChuck said:


> I've been thinking about this. I have so many three in the back of my backyard, there is not much to do. We could build something pretty but would be a PITA to clean (too many leaves/acorns/etc). No sun either.
> 
> On one side, I don't mind the raw/grassless aspect but on the other side, I would prefer if the ground could stay clean/maintenance free.
> 
> View attachment 376074


Well my goal is to reduce maintenance and create a more practical space, so in your case that wouldn't work.

Grass is nice right after it's feshly mowed. The rest of the time it's a hot sweaty job on my list.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

StevieMac said:


> FWIW, I picked up both the lawn edging and (super heavy duty) landscaping fabric from Costco for around $100 total and 3 yards of pea gravel from a local outfit was $150 delivered. I needed the exercise so spread the gravel myself. Most of what was invested in what you see then was "sweat equity". 🙂



I'm not against raking some gravel around. I know there will be some work involved, but doing the little corner we did last spring was more than sixty 30 kg bags of gravel. That's a lot of hand bombing.

The portion I plan to do is much larger. Mechanical advantage is warranted for this.

I could use some excercise myself.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

Be careful if your working outside MILKMAN! Stay hydrated. I usually soak my clothes with the garden hose when I am working outside on a hot day. It keeps me cool and I can really invest some effort in what I am doing!


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

Lola said:


> Be careful if your working outside MILKMAN! Stay hydrated. I usually soak my clothes with the garden hose when I am working outside on a hot day. It keeps me cool and I can really invest some effort in what I am doing!


CAUTION! Good idea but not necessarily an image that men (especially middle-aged like myself) are prepared to gift to the rest of the world 😄


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

If I end up in a new subdivision, I’m converting the property into a compound. I will pave the whole lot if I’m able to. I don’t want neighbours or a city employee having any say over the biodiversity of my property.

I would just as soon out down stones and build planters on top of them or convert the entire backyard into a farm in order to justify having to tend to it.

I think the backyard looks awesome and I support your quest for less maintenance and more living.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Every year my wife wants to rip out lawn to extend the garden.
No complaints here. Less to mow.


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

This is our backyard. Thanks to my lovely wife and my sister in law. Its pretty much grassless except for the small spot in the middle. Takes me a whole 2 minutes to mow with my manual lawn mower.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

Pfft, this implies that one has a lawn, as opposed to weed beds.

Our grass looks lousy due to a grub infestation last year. We will sacrifice a tiny bit of grass when replacing out interlock patio, but I want to have a lawn for the kids to run around on.

Some more of the lawn may be displaced by a hot tub too. Because hot tub!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

We'll keep a little grass, but not much. Just enough space for a pool. The rest will be stone and/or patio stones.

It's not cheap. I need about 11 yards of pea gravel delivered.

But, it will be done.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

marcos said:


> This is our backyard. Thanks to my lovely wife and my sister in law. Its pretty much grassless except for the small spot in the middle. Takes me a whole 2 minutes to mow with my manual lawn mower.
> View attachment 376116


That's really lovely,Marcos. A bit of "English garden" in Quebec. Do you get many butterflies or hummingbirds?


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

mhammer said:


> That's really lovely,Marcos. A bit of "English garden" in Quebec. Do you get many butterflies or hummingbirds?


Yes a fair amount of hummingbirds and butterflies. She totally is into English gardens. So even with a small lot like ours, its possible.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

We have a fire pit in the backyard and I got tired of moving all of the chairs and side tables every time I cut the lawn, so I picked up some heavy duty landscape fabric and a bunch of mulch and made a 16' diameter circle around the fire bowl. Made cutting the lawn much easier. (Though mulch probably wasn't the best choice for putting around a fire pit... I give the mulch a good soaking every time I put out the fire.)

Generally speaking, I like having a lawn but they can be a lot of work. I recently tried planting clover so I won't have to fertilize - the clover never came up in the front where the grass is pretty healthy but seems to be doing well in the back where the grass is sparser and we have more weeds. For the sake of the neighbours, I put much more effort into the front lawn than the back. All of our gardens are perennials, so that makes yard maintenance much easier too.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

At least once a week we have to mow and weed whack, otherwise the place looks like shit. It's way more work than it's worth to keep a lawn looking like you care. Mine was never and would never be a lawn many would be proud of (some people _are _proud of lawns), but we really try to keep it prentable.

That's an hour of hot sweaty exertion I can live without. Add to that the fact that you can only do that when it's not raining....

Gravel just sits there.

We have lots of perrenials and Linda plants tons of annuals. I plant two, LOL.

Just waiting for the final quote from the landscaping supplier. Borders will be stone. We'll add a little pathway and maybe a larger water feature.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

bw66 said:


> We have a fire pit in the backyard and I got tired of moving all of the chairs and side tables every time I cut the lawn, so I picked up some heavy duty landscape fabric and a bunch of mulch and made a 16' diameter circle around the fire bowl. Made cutting the lawn much easier. (Though mulch probably wasn't the best choice for putting around a fire pit... I give the mulch a good soaking every time I put out the fire.)
> 
> Generally speaking, I like having a lawn but they can be a lot of work. I recently tried planting clover so I won't have to fertilize - the clover never came up in the front where the grass is pretty healthy but seems to be doing well in the back where the grass is sparser and we have more weeds. For the sake of the neighbours, I put much more effort into the front lawn than the back. All of our gardens are perennials, so that makes yard maintenance much easier too.


I want grass, but don't like maintenance either. And the neighbours all have nice gardens.

I might get my mother-in-law -- who loves to garden, but now lives in a condo -- to help us to get some pretty perennials out front of the house. I love the look of plants, but don't really like keeping them up.

The kids want each of us to plant gardens next year, so I'll have to look into that.

I would leave it at a decent lawn, but then I read how George Harrison was an avid gardener because he wanted to put beauty into the world, and dammit, that got me thinking about flowers.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

I cut probably an acre of grass. It helps to have a zero turn rider though. Can cut it in about and hour and a half so not so bad. This is just one piece of it. The house, driveway and row of trees is behind it. I don't mind. . . . Pea gravel? . . . . . Nah.  Update: I should add that cutting the grass is easy compared to cutting around my pond which has to be done with a hand mower. I don't look forward to that chore which I do about every 3 weeks.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Guitar101 said:


> I cut probably an acre of grass. It helps to have a zero turn rider though. Can cut it in about and hour and a half so not so bad. This is just one piece of it. The house, driveway and row of trees is behind it. I don't mind. Pea gravel . . . . . Nah.
> 
> View attachment 376156
> 
> ...



To each their own.

In that hour and a half I'll do something else. Enjoy the ride.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Ready for the truck.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Too darned hot to spread this out right now.
Three shirts already today, LOL.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

laristotle said:


> Every year my wife wants to rip out lawn to extend the garden.
> No complaints here. Less to mow.


I’d rather mow grass than do all the weeding gardens require.
cutting grass is easy, i enjoy the me-time it gives me.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Diablo said:


> I’d rather mow grass than do all the weeding gardens require.
> cutting grass is easy, i enjoy the me-time it gives me.


Well, ok, but in our case that's not really true.

If you do it right there's almost no weeding required at all, and what IS required is much easier.

We did a section last spring. When a weed does pop up (rare) it's much more visible and easy to spot.

The corner of pur property that we converted last spring is far and away the lowest maintenence in our yard.

The membrain all but stops any plant life from emerging.

I figure I'll be adding a considerable amount of "me time" to my agenda by not having to mow that section.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

This WAS the weediest part of our yard. I would have to go in there with a weed whacker every week or two and spend ten minutes or more hacking back the folliage, and frankly, it still looked like shit and was pretty much unusable.

After a year, I'm pretty much convinced.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I just realized that tomorrow is Friday the 13th.

On Friday the 13th of September, 2019, a man held my heart in his hand while he made repairs / modifications needed to save my life.

Tomorrow I will be shovelling gravel.

I'm grateful.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Diablo said:


> I’d rather mow grass than do all the weeding gardens require.
> cutting grass is easy, i enjoy the me-time it gives me.


I built a couple of chest-height raised planter beds last year. I probably needed to fill them up with soil a little higher, and space out the plants a little better, but it has been an absolute pleasure to maintain this summer. No bending over to weed, and easy to see produce growing under the leaves. The height also keeps many of the critters away.

I planted corn-stalks in three locations around the yard, and all have been taken out by wildlife. I thought that the first two were simply victims to one of the wild storms the past 3 months, but last week I was dismayed to see that the tassles I see springing out from the remaining stalks, indicating burgeoning cobs inside, had been savaged, with abundant teethmarks. I'm guessing by the height and location, it was either raccoons or skunks.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

We have a lot of skunks and raccoons. Neither really bother me much, but the missus is terrified of the skunks.

They like to feed on the grubs in the lawn. I used grub killer but I'm hoping the elimination of the lawn in that part of the yard will also eliminate their main food source and reduce the traffic.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)




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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

We have a mix of ground cover. Pea-gravel at the side of the house, river rock under our second deck tier, concrete and stamp-crete out to the pool area, timberlite in the front and side gardens, granite stones in the back gardens, and a bit of grass for the dogs.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Getting there.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Milkman said:


> Getting there.
> 
> View attachment 376315


Looking good. Where are you going to put the pool. I think you had one that was leaking a bit. (I pay attention)


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Thank you,


Yeah we chased leaks on that pool for several weeks. We'd fix one and a few days later a new leak would appear in a different location. We decided that the liner was too badly damaged, presumably by UV light and chlorine and these are disposable pools, so maybe we'll try again next year.

There's still space on the remaining grassed area big enough for a pool.

About half of what is still grass will ultimately be a patio of some description (pavers or patio stones most likely).

As for this little project, we're hoping to get somewhere closer to finished over the weekend.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)




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## Paul M (Mar 27, 2015)

Milkman said:


> I just realized that tomorrow is Friday the 13th.
> 
> On Friday the 13th of September, 2019, a man held my heart in his hand while he made repairs / modifications needed to save my life.
> 
> ...


How long is the warranty?


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Paul M said:


> How long is the warranty?


I'm making payments. 

I'm hoping for forty years.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Post #35 - who pee'd on your new gravel?!


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## polyslax (May 15, 2020)

Milkman said:


> Getting there.
> 
> View attachment 376315


Looking good!

One thing I meant to mention earlier, if you have large stone/gravel areas and you get leaves on your property in the fall you'll probably want a leaf blower... no fun raking that stuff.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

polyslax said:


> Looking good!
> 
> One thing I meant to mention earlier, if you have large stone/gravel areas and you get leaves on your property in the fall you'll probably want a leaf blower... no fun raking that stuff.


Yes that crossed my mind. We’ll get one that vacuums and mulches into a bag.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Budda said:


> Post #35 - who pee'd on your new gravel?!


Probably squirrels, but it rained in the morning so as I was moving gravel around I was exposing the wet stuff beneath the surface.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Almost flat. We’ll grab another yard or so of gravel to fill in a few thin areas, and then look around for a nice fountain.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

When we moved into our little house 28 years ago the yard was just grass and a few old trees and a row of younger cedars. The soil wasn't very fertile. Over the years we've gardened a lot, mostly veggies. Three times our gardens have been destroyed, the first when a cyclone flattened everything that wasn't a root crop, the second when we thought we'd be moving and so didn't plant (didn't end up moving either), and the third when a tornado nailed everything 10 years ago this month. The house sits in the north-east corner of its little town lot, just inches from the front property line, so the back yard feels pretty spacious for what it is. The latest rebuild started nine years ago with new trees, re-established veggie beds, some flower beds, etc. Now, there are two 4x10 raised veggie beds, and a 9x50 ground level veggie bed. Chicken wire is our friend. We grow a little of this and that, cucumber, lettuce, zucchini, beans, peas, radish, carrot, tomato, corn, broccoli, raspberries, rhubarb, currents, and some herbs. We plan to get a couple of fruit trees as we miss the ones we had pre tornado. We eat decently fresh for a few months and freeze some for later.

Regardless, it still takes me an hour plus to cut and trim the grass. It's good exercise, which I need. The dogs need a place to play and poop anyway.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Mooh said:


> When we moved into our little house 28 years ago the yard was just grass and a few old trees and a row of younger cedars. The soil wasn't very fertile. Over the years we've gardened a lot, mostly veggies. Three times our gardens have been destroyed, the first when a cyclone flattened everything that wasn't a root crop, the second when we thought we'd be moving and so didn't plant (didn't end up moving either), and the third when a tornado nailed everything 10 years ago this month. The house sits in the north-east corner of its little town lot, just inches from the front property line, so the back yard feels pretty spacious for what it is. The latest rebuild started nine years ago with new trees, re-established veggie beds, some flower beds, etc. Now, there are two 4x10 raised veggie beds, and a 9x50 ground level veggie bed. Chicken wire is our friend. We grow a little of this and that, cucumber, lettuce, zucchini, beans, peas, radish, carrot, tomato, corn, broccoli, raspberries, rhubarb, currents, and some herbs. We plan to get a couple of fruit trees as we miss the ones we had pre tornado. We eat decently fresh for a few months and freeze some for later.
> 
> Regardless, it still takes me an hour plus to cut and trim the grass. It's good exercise, which I need. The dogs need a place to play and poop anyway.
> 
> ...



I guess it's all how you look at it.

For me, mowing on a hot day is an unhealthy form of excercise. I'm much better off riding a bike or just walking.

We have no dogs, just indoor cats and lots and lots of squirrels.

So, what we need out of our back yard, is low maintenence and tranquility, a calming environment.

I'm still only 60 years old, but I'm actively planning for the next (hopefully) 20 years or more.

Part of that was moving our master bedroom from the attic loft (now a guitar cave) to the main floor, adjacent to the bathroom. No more stairs half a dozen times a night.

This is another part. The remaining lawn (for now, LOL) is square and will have no obstacles or furniture to move.

I don't know, maybe we'll hate not having green grass, but somehow, I doubt it. The part of the yard we spend most of our time over the past year, has been the little corner we converted last spring.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Milkman said:


> I guess it's all how you look at it.
> 
> For me, mowing on a hot day is an unhealthy form of excercise. I'm much better off riding a bike or just walking.
> 
> ...


I get that, it has its appeal, even though I wouldn't choose it for myself. Everyone has different needs and preferences, tastes and expectations, dislikes and comforts. Maybe I'm compensating because I was never able to acquire the hobby farm and woodland I dreamed of when I was younger, or because I lived in a dozen places before settling down. I don't know. My wife shares my lifestyle and there's security in that...not sure I could do it on my own.


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## polyslax (May 15, 2020)

StevieMac said:


> FWIW, I picked up the lawn edging and landscaping fabric (both are super heavy duty) from Costco for around $100. The Ecoborder edging from Costco is wonderful stuff to work with (see pic) and looks terrific IMO. Three yards of pea gravel was sourced locally for $150 delivered. I needed the exercise so I spread the gravel myself. Most of what I invested in what you see then was good old "sweat equity". 🙂


I really like the look of this border, but I'm not clear about the pricing you mentioned ($100 for edging and weed barrier). The Costco site shows 4 feet of edging for either $80 or $140, but I'm assuming from your earlier pics you were edging way more than 4 feet, yes?

I want to edge about 60 feet, but that's gonna cost a bundle at either $80 or $140 / 4 feet.

Am I completely misunderstanding something?


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

It looks like the pricing is for 6 and 12 packs. It's cheaper if your lucky enough to find it in the warehouse stores.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)




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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

polyslax said:


> I really like the look of this border, but I'm not clear about the pricing you mentioned ($100 for edging and weed barrier). The Costco site shows 4 feet of edging for either $80 or $140, but I'm assuming from your earlier pics you were edging way more than 4 feet, yes?
> 
> I want to edge about 60 feet, but that's gonna cost a bundle at either $80 or $140 / 4 feet.
> 
> Am I completely misunderstanding something?





Guitar101 said:


> It looks like the pricing is for 6 and 12 packs. It's cheaper if your lucky enough to find it in the warehouse stores.


^^^This^^^ Likely because no shipping is involved, a 4 pk of 4-ft lengths (16 ft coverage) from the warehouse is less than $40 and I needed 2 packs. I used ~1/2 the $40 roll of commercial grade landscape fabric, hence the $100 total.


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## polyslax (May 15, 2020)

StevieMac said:


> ^^^This^^^ Likely because no shipping is involved, a 4 pk of 4-ft lengths (16 ft coverage) from the warehouse is less than $40 and I needed 2 packs. I used ~1/2 the $40 roll of commercial grade landscape fabric, hence the $100 total.


Aaah, ok, understood, thanks!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

A few perrenials


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

Milkman said:


> A few perrenials
> 
> View attachment 376508


Noice! Makes me wonder if you could have also gone with sand (reminds me of a beach getaway).


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

StevieMac said:


> Noice! Makes me wonder if you could have also gone with sand (reminds me of a beach getaway).


Too many ferile cats in the neighborhood.

Would end up being a litterbox.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

StevieMac said:


> Noice! Makes me wonder if you could have also gone with sand (reminds me of a beach getaway).


And he could have rented it out to the local girls for beach volleyball.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)




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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I found a cool tree I really think would look right in the space, but holy McShit Batman!!!

$560?

I'm hopinig they may sharpen their pencil if it doesn't sell.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Milkman said:


> I found a cool tree I really think would look right in the space, but holy McShit Batman!!!
> 
> $560?
> 
> ...


Cool, but I'm guessing that you would be trading lawn cutting for tree trimming.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

bw66 said:


> Cool, but I'm guessing that you would be trading lawn cutting for tree trimming.


LOL, yup, ten minutes a month with these:









or an hour a WEEK with this:









I’m ok with that.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I found another example of the same tree at a much more reasonable price.
We planted everything and dropped a few big rocks around.

Pretty much done now.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)




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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

You need some stepping stones to get to your seating areas. I am a backyard bare-footer and your pictures hurt my soles 😖

My idea of ground cover:


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

Milkman said:


> Too many ferile cats in the neighborhood.
> 
> Would end up being a litterbox.



You got it easy. We have bears.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

allthumbs56 said:


> You need some stepping stones to get to your seating areas. I am a backyard bare-footer and your pictures hurt my soles 😖
> 
> My idea of ground cover:
> 
> View attachment 376702


I've considered putting a pathway to the back seating area and may do so later.

Nobody here walks around barefoot, but it would look nice.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Jim DaddyO said:


> You got it easy. We have bears.


My son lives in Squamish. They get them there too.

We get mostly these weird striped cats. Friendly enough but they dig up the lawn.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)




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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

allthumbs56 said:


> You need some stepping stones to get to your seating areas. I am a backyard bare-footer and your pictures hurt my soles 😖
> 
> My idea of ground cover:
> 
> View attachment 376702


No can barefoot in my yard, mostly jagged further back and the round ones in the foreground aren't lovely either.


allthumbs56 said:


> You need some stepping stones to get to your seating areas. I am a backyard bare-footer and your pictures hurt my soles 😖
> 
> My idea of ground cover:
> 
> View attachment 376702


No can barefoot in my yard, the round ones in the foreground are nasty and the jagged ones further back worse!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

WCGill said:


> No can barefoot in my yard, mostly jagged further back and the round ones in the foreground aren't lovely either.
> 
> No can barefoot in my yard, the round ones in the foreground are nasty and the jagged ones further back worse!
> View attachment 376813



I like your view.

My gravel is rounded, so it's not sharp on the feet, but it's still gravel not beach sand.

But as I've said, we're back there to sit, not walk around. Still, I may add a pathway of some sort.


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