No pictures of the golf course--geeeezzz!

Who wants to see a GOLF COURSE?!?!?
That's just a bunch of EVIL GRASS!!!!!

Ban the Grass!
Ban the Grass!
Ban the Grass!

OK, everybody, now!!!
:)

I have fantasies about grass like that. Sigh.......

Cindy

You have fantasisies about banned grass, Cindy?

Good girl!
:)

DH and I go to the Grove Park Inn every year, in April for the big air pollution conference (forgot the name). Anyway, while he makes boring speeches and goes around, I head off to do my thang. I rode up the parkway, two cameras and roll film (a med. format and a 35mm.) to shoot some stuff. Nothing that excited me too much, except some cool lichens on trees. I still have my film in the fridge, and need to go down to the darkroom and develop it and do some printing.

Anyway, what do you do for fun when you go there? I've done the Biltmore too many times. DH had a golf game lined up the year before last, and it snowed! They played anyway, when it stopped.

Now let me see if I have this straight, dirt_lover... Your husband goes to a conference to speak against air pollution in the middle of mountains already largely defoliated due to acid rain caused from coal-fired power plants in the Tennessee valley (I assume he's not speaking IN FAVOR of it), then goes out to play golf?

Lawnmower engines are 5-10 times as polluting per gallon of gas consumed as automobile engines, and NOWHERE are they used more, or more often, than on golf courses. Why I'm willing to bet as many golf courses as there are, if someone just decreed it illegal to mow THEM any more scientists could measure the decrease in air pollution.

Yeah, I'm DOWN on turfgrass and danged proud of it.

Death to mowing! If people want golf courses, they should cover them in Astroturf or something :)

I put the little smiley face there just to keep you golf folks from comin' after me with a tomahawk. I'm really pretty serious about this turfgrass business... I think it's playing a big part in our problems with both air and groundwater pollution on a national, if not global scale. We don't pay the TRUE COST when we buy grass seed, or fertilizer for the grass, or lawnmowers -- and especially all the herbicides and pesticides -- because the "true cost" will be paid for generations to come.

And we need to start thinking like that if any of us really care about the coming generations.

Slipping off my soapbox now :)
Jeff

Jeff,

My Dh would willingly let me get rid of all the grass and plant it all cottage style but........I would have no idea how to plan or finance a task that big. So if I could trade hot tub time for design time and then the plants to fill it I would be a willing convert to the no grass plan.

Cindy

Cindy, I'm working on it over here... let me get it fully figured out and I'll be more than happy to share... right now white clover is looking like one possibility, as some volunteered in one part of my front yard and has stayed pretty much evergreen and grows only about 6" high, or so...

It really also depends on what the yard is being used for... As much as I hate to admit it, turfgrass probably IS the best choice for "play areas" for children, as far as standing up to foot traffic goes, but I'm still working on that determination, as well. I've found you really CAN'T go by what you read about groundcovers so much as by personal experience, so I'm growing as many of the low-growing ones as I can to see which are good for what.

Time will tell,
Jeff

Jeff, my husb. is an env. enginr. and has spent 33 years in air and water pollution control, etc.

Do you drive a car? Do you fart? Well, I suppose you must do both to make it in this world. However, your doing those two things contributes much pollution to the air. It ain't just turf grasses.

Hmm, no kiddies (all grown), no doggies = no need for much grass.

On the other hand, I do have the means and a small amount of ability to start stuff by seed and to winter over in the greenhouse. Now I just need a plan. I have lots of ideas but not quite sure how to make them reality.

Cindy

The red/purple fine leaved plant is a form of Alternathera (alternatheria?) or Joseph's Coat. There are million different types of it. The ones with narrow leaves are often called 'needles' or 'threads' - this one goes by many names (depends on who's selling it), most often "Ruby Threads". There are some that are more narrow, and some that get very tall with normal leaves.

The second plant is a scaevola.

Do you drive a car?

As little as possible.

Do you fart?

As much as I can :) (free bubbles for your hot tub, Cindy :)

Not trying to start a WAR with ya dirt_lover... I gather I tickled a raw nerve or two. Seriously, though, I feel time will bear out my assertions about the longterm negative impact of so much unnatural turfgrass in our environment. For instance, all the herbicides that are "required" to control weeds in many turfgrasses would NOT be required at all were they allowed to grow like any other perennials we have in our gardens and not constantly mowed to a consistent height, as they'd naturally shade out the areas in which weeds take root and they'd naturally go to seed, thus continually renewing themselves and ensuring there was never free space for those weeds to get a foothold. But by mowing them, we not only pollute the environment with the emissions from our mowers, we also create the need for herbicides to control weeds that are allowed access due to our mowing. Of course very few people (if any), want a completely unmowed yard full of grass, so it goes pretty much without saying that as long as folks continue to have turfgrass it will continue to be mowed.

Cindy, if you don't have kids and lots of foot traffic, creeping thyme may be one solution. That's one of the things I tried starting from seed, but apparently when it was too cold (I think it was one that wanted temps at or near 70 even all night). I have SCADS of seed left, so I'm going to direct-sow a bunch more this afternoon, since we just got 2" of rain here yesterday, and see what happens.

This is Thymus serphyllum coccineum I'm talking about, or creeping red thyme, also called "mother of thyme," I believe. My understanding is that it will stand up to moderate, but not heavy foot traffic... The prostrate rosemary, I'm not sure that creates a really full groundcover like the thyme should. White clover does, though, and it's pretty and has sweet white flowers, never gets over about 8" high... attracts lots of bees when in bloom, so you have to watch for them, but then if you look at almost ALL honey you buy in the stores it says "clover honey," so it must be REALLY GOOD for that. I haven't planted any -- just have volunteer -- but the volunteer I have seems to be doing well and I may start trying to take transplants from it and move them around and see where else I can get it to grow.

The one I have that's doing best is in partial shade, and while it was really LUSH all winter, it got sort of ragged when hot weather set in, which is OK, because I have some pachysandra interplanted in it I got from a fellow forum member last summer and this is giving it more of a chance to grow, as it was just about covered up by clover for the previous few months... If the pachysandra really starts to get established there, I may try digging up the clover and moving it somewhere else.

I believe in some places -- Ireland in particular -- many people have large fields or "lawns" that are nothing but clover, rather than grass -- seems great to me!

Truce, dirt_lover? :)
Jeff

Hmm, I like clover, it's very nice. I would much rather have clover than weeds or those vile wild violets that want to take over the world.

Does the yard smell like thyme when you grow it as a ground cover? That would be awesome!

Cindy

Yes, Cindy, I believe it does... particularly when you step on it and release the vapors.

Personally, I think wild violets are a viable option, too, lol... They only grow so tall, too, and they bloom... But beauty IS in the eye of the beholder.

I'm in a long-term project of getting a wintergreen bed established in the shade in my front yard. It's a great groundcover, but slow-growing and barely tolerant in our zone (almost too warm here), and needs the right conditions. If you have a shady, moist area in your yard (moist, but not soggy), that's an option for at least part of your yard.

We'll figure this all out, eventually :)
Jeff

{{gwi:581903}}

I wouldn't mind the wild violets if the dang things would stay out of my flower beds.

Most of the back half of my backyard is under deep shade. It's nice moist soil back there. I have a lot of hostas, ferns, coral bells and hydrangeas there. It is shaded by crepe myrtles and a bunch of shrubs that are similar to forsythia but have little white flowers on them in late June and July. I inherited quite a few things when we bought the house and I don't know what they all are.

Cindy

I worked there for 6 yrs.

Tropicalfreak

Pretty pics.

I'm getting into other groundcovers. I am going to use a lot of Herniaria glabra when I work on my MIL's front yard in Wilmington. Her sand is almost pure sand. I wonder if you could golf on that stuff - very low and stepable.

I'll use dwarf mondo grass in any shady areas she has, some purple fountain grass on the sides, and I'll share some of my sedums. It will be a huge improvement over the sparse so-called grass she has now.

I meant to post this link. There are many, many options for ground covers. You can check out my Herniaria glabra at this site, but just call it Herniaria to do a search for it.

Just look at all the pretty shots of different groundcovers you can make designs with.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ground covers

I can remember when Mission style was an unknown term and when walking into a furniture store asking for Mission style furniture (was in the market for a mission style dining room suite) was responded to by the question "Why would you want that!".

Actually their grass looks good. I am only allowing husband some grass. LOL
Grove Park is beautiful

Thank you for the photos.

Carla

Well, I see this post is active again after almost two years. I go to the Inn every other year so I will be there again next month. I will take some more pics while I am there and see what has changed from two years ago...But I still see no reason to take pictures of grass on a golf course.....lol....they do have a Motercycle museum..Want a pic of a vintage Harley? Or a rub down in the Spa, or the $17.00 2 egg breakfast?