Can we talk lawns please?

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Rob_s_Wife

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**we love, love, love our new home
BUT there are lots of shade trees, which means no grass.
fescu (sp!) just does not hold up under 24+ feet trampling it daily! All of the constantly watered always pretty to LOOK at fescu is long dead after just 4 months.

So. A friend told us to use astroturf???
She said this is what her cousin does for the same reasons. Not the whole yard, just the 75% where grass simply is never going to grow.

I know nothing about astroturf.

Thoughts? Expense is always an issue of course? What about with pets? (Hoenstly the dog isn’t has bad as the turtles, squirrels, lizzards (or are they salamanders?), and rabbits, but I don’t want to get rid of ANY of them!**
 
Astroturf just screams out “cheap”- why not look into some other alternative, like mosses.

See: landscaping.about.com/cs/groundcovervines1/p/moss.htm

Scotch moss feels GREAT under bare feet, ah yeah, even better than grass. And it grows like, well, a weed because people used to think it was a weed, now people are buying the stuff to plant as lawn alternatives.
 
mschrank said:
Astroturf just screams out “cheap”- why not look into some other alternative, like mosses.

See: landscaping.about.com/cs/groundcovervines1/p/moss.htm

Scotch moss feels GREAT under bare feet, ah yeah, even better than grass. And it grows like, well, a weed because people used to think it was a weed, now people are buying the stuff to plant as lawn alternatives.
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moss ususally requires lots of water too though doesn’t it?
And astroturf is NOT cheap and how bad or good it looks is like everything else, it depends on what kind and how it’s done.
http://www.astrolawn.com/
 
Rob_s_Wife said:
moss ususally requires lots of water too though doesn’t it?
And astroturf is NOT cheap and how bad or good it looks is like everything else, it depends on what kind and how it’s done.
http://www.astrolawn.com/
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No, not this moss. It grows almost anywhere, it’s like a weed.

And by cheap I didn’t mean monetarily inexpensive, what I meant was classless, like wearing a clip-on windsor knot tie.
 
mschrank said:
No, not this moss. It grows almost anywhere, it’s like a weed.

And by cheap I didn’t mean monetarily inexpensive, what I meant was classless, like wearing a clip-on windsor knot tie.
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**I knew exactly what you meant that’s what I disagree with. Hense the references to some very nice, by no means tacky looking examples. :coffeeread: **
**I think it’s classless to base “class” on ties and grass.:rolleyes: **
**People with such an attitude make me want to by a dozen pink flamingos for my front yard.😛 **
 
Rob_s_Wife said:
**People with such an attitude make me want to by a dozen pink flamingos for my front yard.😛 **
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👍 I’m sure your kids would love them!

Anyone remember the original Sims game where you could kick the pink flamingo on the lawn to relieve stress? 😃
 
Rob_s_Wife said:
**I know nothing about astroturf. **
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You asked for suggestions and were given one - don’t be so offended by the person’s opinion. I think astroturf is tacky too. 🤷

I would look for some low growing walkable ground covers - I am sure that I saw a line called Barefoot Groundcovers at the nursery before. Go to a really good nursery and ask them for suggestions, I’m sure they can show you a lot of good ideas that you can actually feel and touch and ask professionals about.

~Liza
 
It depends on the climate, or even microclimate, where you live.
Some turfs thrive in shade. Some don’t, as you have already discovered.
In warmer climates, I’ve found that St. Augustine works well for a family lawn and does pretty well in shade, too.
I’ve had little experience with it in shade, but once established Excalibur (Paspalum vaginatum) is a real water miser because it can sometimes put roots 12 feet deep and can be mowed short or not so short. It will take quite a beating, for example it is used in some of the major foodtball and baseball stadia across the country.
Keep in mind, almost all grasses with take a “vacation” in the wintertime.
Then of course, there’s Devil Grass (or more politely, the various strains of Bermuda grass), that will grow almost anywhere, especially where you don’t want it:D .
 
Rob_s_Wife said:
**I knew exactly what you meant that’s what I disagree with. Hense the references to some very nice, by no means tacky looking examples. :coffeeread: **
**I think it’s classless to base “class” on ties and grass.:rolleyes: **
**People with such an attitude make me want to by a dozen pink flamingos for my front yard.😛 **
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Then why do you need the grass? 😉
 
lizaanne said:
You asked for suggestions and were given one - don’t be so offended by the person’s opinion. I think astroturf is tacky too. 🤷

**A person can usually offer an opinion with about being rude or classless about it.🤷 **
I asked for opinions about the use of astroturf. IOW, what is the perspective on how practical it might be.
Although it can be visually unappealing, (see nothing tacky about saying it that way?) it can also be VERY nice.
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St. Bruno - I have already had fine fescue and St Augustine planted. The fine fescue was okay for the family before us that basicly just looked at the yard, but it simply can’t handle the constant traffic of my family!
The area I’m referenceing gets almost zero direct sun. There’s 3 variety of magnolia and one HUGE maple in the back. We’ve trimmed as much as we can already and we’d like to keep them anyhow because that’s the south side of the property.
 
Rob_s_Wife said:
**we love, love, love our new home
BUT there are lots of shade trees, which means no grass.
fescu (sp!) just does not hold up under 24+ feet trampling it daily! All of the constantly watered always pretty to LOOK at fescu is long dead after just 4 months.

So. A friend told us to use astroturf???
She said this is what her cousin does for the same reasons. Not the whole yard, just the 75% where grass simply is never going to grow.

I know nothing about astroturf.

Thoughts? Expense is always an issue of course? What about with pets? (Hoenstly the dog isn’t has bad as the turtles, squirrels, lizzards (or are they salamanders?), and rabbits, but I don’t want to get rid of ANY of them!**
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I have the same problem…So, I am having some trees removed. Not near as expensive as astro turf. And the 2 trees are especially messy ones which make the back yard a mess of twigs, branches and tiny leaves everywhere all year round. I can’t wait til they are GONE! 👍

Next year I will have nice shade from the Oak, but lots of sunshine to grow grass.
 
DVM_Love said:
I have the same problem…So, I am having some trees removed. Not near as expensive as astro turf. And the 2 trees are especially messy ones which make the back yard a mess of twigs, branches and tiny leaves everywhere all year round. I can’t wait til they are GONE! 👍

Next year I will have nice shade from the Oak, but lots of sunshine to grow grass.
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We have SEVEN trees and 2 are taller than our 2 story house and provide most of the shade. For our size yard, we could get moderately expensive turf for cheapr than losing the trees and the energy saving shade on that side of the house.
I don’t care about twigs and leaves. The kids love to play in it and what they don’t play in, they stuff in the compost heap for me.
 
Rob_s_Wife said:
We have SEVEN trees and 2 are taller than our 2 story house and provide most of the shade. For our size yard, we could get moderately expensive turf for cheapr than losing the trees and the energy saving shade on that side of the house.
I don’t care about twigs and leaves. The kids love to play in it and what they don’t play in, they stuff in the compost heap for me.
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Well, you could always make a rock garden out of your yard. 😃 Or concrete it and paint it green.😉
 
Ok, take my suggestion but I stand by my idea that decorum is important. I like it. Ask anyone who knows me its one of the things that make me myself.
 
I don’t know what part of the country you’re in, Martha, but do you have any golf courses nearby? They might be able to give you some tips on real AND fake grass.

My parents have 4 dogs, and they considered fake grass because the real stuff was being, um, “over fertilized.” 😃 Not to mention, when they ran around the yard like crazies (the way only dogs and children can), nothing would have time to grow.

Most of the fake grass sold in the Phoenix area is good to use for pets (it lets urine pass through, I think), and is pretty soft. My Mom has a friend who installed it in her backyard (in a really upscale neighborhood 😉 ) to save on water, and everyone who walks barefoot on it can’t tell that it’s not real. I’ll ask Mom next week what her friend used, and get back to you.
 
Very much depends on where you live, climate and all that. My neighbor is the Greens Manager for the Country Club, has a degree in Agronomy - he can answer any grass questions known to man. Thanks to him, I know more about bent grass than most golfers 🙂

I’d bet your local golf course has a similar expert (and these guys LOVE to talk grass).
 
DVM_Love said:
Well, you could always make a rock garden out of your yard. 😃 Or concrete it and paint it green.😉
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Got one already! One is enough. Rocks are heavy and expensive and hard on the feet!
mschrank said:
Ok, take my suggestion but I stand by my idea that decorum is important. I like it. Ask anyone who knows me its one of the things that make me myself.
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There’s decorum and then there’s snooty.
It’s one thing to admit a difference in style/taste.
It’s another to refer to someone as of a lower class.
Although I’ll give you kudos for honesty.
Most people like to pretend america doesn’t have a class system.
kage_ar said:
I’d bet your local golf course has a similar expert (and these guys LOVE to talk grass).
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:doh2: **My fil just finished working at the PGA and was showing off his pics of golfing with some guys named Nicole? Nickel? Woody and Tiger? and some other guy? 🤷 I can’t remember who all was on the team, but fil was sure happy. Most conversation I’ve heard from him all year. **He’s a golf nut and rather psychotic about his yard.
 
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