Sedum is one of the easiest perennials EVER. You can literally pinch off the tops, plunk those tops into the ground, and they'll root.

I've never had to eradicate bishop's weed, but I'll bet there will be horror stories coming. There's a good reason that your neighbor had "many bags" to share.

DO NOT PLANT THAT STUFF!

DO NOT PLANT BISHOP'S WEEDsize = 36>color = red>

I have spent the last three years continuing to apply round up to bits of this stuff that keep popping up. It is very pretty but I hate it. It is probably the most invasive plant I have ever been stupid enough to put in my flower beds.

Nobody can eat that much pesto. I'm amazed your neighbor had to GIVE you bags of bishop's weed - that it didn't find its way into your yard by itself! It's the wire coat hanger of the plant world.

Some it traveled to my yard from a neighbor's quite a distance away. In seven years I've managed to eradicate it save for a few little stragglers that are quite persistent. Her gardener is secretly eradicating hers too - with a shovel and screen to capture the root pieces.

Your invisioned nice landscaping down the road will not be easy to accomplish if you plant this.

Found this article on the web: apparently it escaped from the Romans and conquered England (probably faster than they did.)

There's an interesting quote from someone who battled it in 1633 as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: About Bishop's Weed

I have it around my house in the front yard, in an application very similar to what you describe. It is a noxious weed outside of it's territory, I have to keep pulling it out. It hasn't become the bane of my existence though. The bed I have it in is not connected to other beds where I am trying to keep it out though. Make sure to clip it down with a weed whacker after it has flowered, otherwise it gets yellow and leggy in late summer. Yes it spreads rapidly and is robust, that's what makes it an ideal groundcover. But the downside is it is some work to keep it within bounds.

Okay, I'll bite: WHY do you want to "eradicate" your front lawn and what do you expect to be doing instead of mowing?

Probably you got the right answer re: bishop's weed itself, but before just moving on to a "better" groundcover, the real question is what is the landscaping problem/goal and what is the best solution? At this point, I'm not seeing enough information.

Here's a tip---anytime someone offers you bags off something...it's invasive. Bishops's Weed is a horrible, invasive weed. I shall add my voice to the chorus:

Do. not. plant. Bishop's. Weed.

(Another hint--anything with "weed" in it's common name is probably a bad idea as well.) ;^)

melanie

Thank you, thank you. Your responses were informative and entertaining too! I shall not plant bishop's weed where I might not want it the rest of my or anyone's else's lifetime. I will go for the sedum.

And as for your good question, frankie, the motivation to get rid of the grass is that I have always only grown what I don't need to water except in an extreme drought. I don't do delicate anything. Watering a lawn and then cutting a lawn are two tasks we do not want to add to our lives. We're new homeowners and would prefer a low, hardy groundcover in front. The back lawn doesn't dry out so fast and is plenty for us.

Thanks again, everyone.

I was offered the varigated kind and I killed it. Never thrives in my yard. Neither do Black eyed susans. Not complaining, just don't get it. Now the non varigated biships weed has shown up in my shade garden and I keep it in somewhat control. An established lawn is way less maintenance that a newly planted ground cover. Which requires much hand weeding for the first two years. And I have found that in my family lawn mowing is a manly job but weeding is woman's work. Probably because it does not require any power tools. No problem, I don't mind weeding and don't like gas powered tools.

This is what I know as Bishops weed. ITA, Its very hard to get rid of.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:40574}}

And as far as replacing lawn with some other groundcover--not a lot of options in zones 4/5, unless you go for something like groundcover junipers, microbiota, or arctostaphylos uva-ursi, none of which can be walked on at all.

Dont water your lawn. It may get a bit yellow or brown, but it is not dead, and you don't have to mow it. Once it starts raining again it will green up. Lawn is lower maintenance than any planting I can think of. Weeding between all those sedums will be a lot of work, much more than a quick mow.

That's what I meant about not enough information --may lead to a host of recommendations, which could be appropriate and inappropriate.

Arugula, I suppose I don't know for sure whether your desire to replace lawn is enthusiastic but somewhat naive (at this point) or that of someone who really knows his site, climate, size and condition of space to be planted, f/u maintenance, and can end up with a marvelous lawn alternative (along with that, need to know the various lawn grasses for your area, in that lawn grasses can't all be lumped as higher maintenance, as noted by gottagarden). But your posts sound more like you're just starting to learn about groundcovers and growth habits. So I'd just be cautious about jumping in with a lawn-eradication plan based on what you learn from a few posts here.

BTW, replacing lawn with groundcover or other plantings in not naive or wrong in itself at all--it's just that it can be a lot harder to "get it right" than a simple lawn, and so need to go at it--planning, installing, and maintaining-- with more knowledge than a grass-owner may need to know.

Plus, there is a lot of "hype" out there currently--magazines go blah blah blah--about how John or Susie replaced all their awful front grass "so we don't have to mow". Most of these spreads are extremely high maintenance. Some of the western/desert xeriscaping, however, is really cool and low-maintenance.

Anyway, the hype has led to a lot of posts from beginning gardeners about how they want to go do that tomorrow, all by themselves--hence my being a bit on the alert.

So without photos of the area you have in mind, or hearing more experience in your posts, I just think that you may either need some professional on-site input about what are the best options, or may need to do some more legwork yourself.

Typical actions that can help are: reading up more on growing conditions, groundcovers, xeriscaping; driving around your area to see if anyone has planted anything remotely like what you're contemplating (obviously, sometimes you can't find it because no one else is brave enough to do something different, but sometimes it's because it isn't that practical), look on the internet and in books for info and photos on groundcovers, lawn-free yards, and so on.

If I've misread the situation and/or made things sound overcomplicated (I do tend to be cautious and detailed), then please forgive.