I hate grass

Did I mention that I hate grass? I'm on a mission to eradicate it from my yard. One of the first things I did to my yardscaping when I moved into my house was rip out the tiny patch of grass in the front yard so I wouldn't have to lug my lawnmower halfway around the block, since I live in a middle-of-group rowhouse. I didn't want to use Roundup, so I set about ripping the stuff out - a process during which I decided that a 5ft x 10ft patch of grass is not so tiny after all! About a week, one broken rake, and an aching back later, I thought I was done (and my new neighbors thought I was a nut). Unfortunately, I'd missed a few of the underground runners of what I now know is Bermuda grass, and it has come back to haunt my otherwise pretty patch of vinca (which I now know is an invasive... ack).

Lesson learned: to kill grass once and for all, dig deep and make sure you get all the roots! And then cover it and shade it like this gardener recommends on the University of Maryland's Grow It! Eat It! website. Friends don't let friends use Roundup.

I used the newspaper + mulch idea in my garden this year to make 3ft wide paths, remembering how difficult it had been to get between the tomato plants last year. So far so good, and no weeds!

While I'm on the subject of grass and lawns, did you know that it's better for the local watershed if you let your grass grow a little higher and leave the clippings down? "Mow high and let lie", as they say, is also known as grasscycling, and is a good way to recycle nutrients and conserve water.

The UMd Home & Garden center has lots of free online publications about lawn maintenance (among other gardening topics), including Landscapes that help the Chesapeake Bay.

By the way, have you heard that Google is mowing with goats these days?

Photo credit: CountryLiving.com
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