Reading between the lines of your request for an alternative to lawn, it sounds like you just don't like doing garden maintenance, period. It may be useful to remember that mowing and caring for a lawn is relatively less work than keeping weeds and invading seedling trees out of large areas of ground cover, and that weeding and uprooting tree and shrub seedlings requires both more skill and diligence than mowing a lawn. Given that you live in a wooded area that probably also has year round rains that encourage rapid regrowth of a forest, you may be setting yourself up for a big mess, or more work than your lawn currently requires. You need to look around your neighborhood and see what works in your climate, as well as get more informed about the maintenance requirements for various planting styles. Talk to your neighbors, get input from neighbors who actually do garden, visit local nurseries and engage them in questions about lower maintenance garden options. I'd be very reluctant to give you more specific advise until you were more up to speed on the relative work that different garden styles require. The first thing you need to face is that gardens don't take care of themselves, and any garden requires a certain minimum amount of care. If you don't want to do the maintenance yourself, or are unwilling to pay others to do it for you, maybe you should reconsider whether condo living with maintenance provided by the HOA isn't a better option for your lifestyle.

DZ, I hate it when people take contradiction personally- such a waste of time- my only aim is to get the facts straight as I believe them- this is simply not a personal medium and my response has nothing to do with trying to lord over you. But if you are looking for enemies I'm happy to provide you with that gratification, however much I consider your hostility misplaced- better an imaginary person than a real one, I guess. I am, in fact, a fruit tree expert, and would have to be an absolute idiot not to be, given my 25 years making them my entire business and about 45 years of them being my living at least part time. I am extremely passionate about them and continue to try to get my own facts straight. I welcome contradiction as a potential learning opportunity even if it irritates me as a first reaction. I decapitate pears and apples sometimes if I want to change them to another variety as it encourages a very vigorous response and shoots I can easily graft. I don't get the same results from peaches.

Yes, mine are in a less than optimal spot and that is the reason they are still there..lol. I heard how difficult they were to move and I didn't want to lose a season of bloom because I waited three years actually to see bloom. I would advice anyone considering placing these in the garden to consider doing the best you can to site them right the first time and be willing to leave them there for a long time. They do really want full sun. I have them in afternoon sun from 11:30pm until about 4pm and the blooming has been less than what I am sure it can do. One plant in the same border, evidently gets a little less sun due to trees shading it a little sooner than 4pm and it didn't bloom at all. They also get pretty large and I have had to use support for mine or it is all over the surrounding plants. Maybe due to not enough sun as well? It is very pretty when in bloom and is up against my cream colored siding and that makes it pop too. Maybe next year after it blooms I will move it. [g]

I join mnwsgal in reassuring you that SAC is a tough gal & will be fine - pruning was just a bit early & diminished her beauty. Mine was taken down by a late tornado on her 2nd season ~ just when I was just getting ready to prune her down at the suggestion of a SAC owner in MI. Reason for the Fall pruning is to avoid the very disaster that happened (Blizzardy winds). I've posted this older album before just to show how resilient SAC is! Thanks for viewing! Here is a link that might be useful: SAC pruned by Tornado