Hi,
My suggestions would be if you decided to go with stone, you will want it small so people can walk on it, but on bare feetit won't feel to good. Or you could do some other type of plant like a ground cover. Or you could do some natural pavers for a setting area in part of the area and do your ground cover in the other part of the area.

Brat

How about an outdoor seating area would be a nice spot to enjoy a book and adult beverage.

Hi
Check out Plantcreations .com. they have a huge section
for groundcovers . Will give you some ideas even if you don't buy. A benc h or table would certainly be nice but that wouldn't exclude ground covers . Hpw about some smaller palms or tree ferns in the background?? gary

Those are all good ideas-- I'm more worried about ground cover right now, because I'm thinking that space will be necessary for people to walk around on-- the pavers extend back in the other direction so people can sit there, but I'm not sure what to do about all this dirt. I will definitely check into Plantcreations... Any other ideas?

Zarbiya,

I have a backyard garden (BYG) with an unscientific experiment in a survival-of-the-fittest (on-going since late last fall/early winter) for groundcovers that maybe can help your situation.

So far the winner is something that I dug up from the previous late spring/early summer of last year at our lake edge, bare-rooted it, actually I just really cleaned the living heck out of it, then potted up into a 5" container, and then went on to see if it could withstand becoming a more drought tolerant/resistant sort of plant.

Well, that worked. So I went ahead and planted out in-ground very early this spring season (March, I think the month was) in the BYG, which is on a raised, sort of sloped area, pretty far up from the lake. It grew from about a 10" circular spread to about three feet wide as of now; height seems to be maxing out so far at 5", very thick, lush, layers back-n-forth over itself nicely. It is rich, rich green, soft stemmed, soft small leafed, and perky with mainly tiny white-ish (a hint of purple-y, blue-y), bright starry flowers.

It spreads and blooms as if very much happy. Haven't stepped on it a lot, but can tell you it is okay with it when I have. It takes full blast Florida sun; so far no diseases, no fungi, no bugs. I used Bayer Advanced garden products at reduced recommendation levels to aid establishment, and tweaked it with homemade foody organicy I-dunno-what-I'm-doing-here-please-don't-die experiments. One was three drops of the super duper hottest Tabasco sauce to a 32oz spritzer filled up with distilled water to keep back the bunnies and bushytailed screen rats, and the plant seemed to really green up during that spray. It's remained that intense color too, though I haven't been spraying it since the rainy season started. I do think it's getting too much rain, oddly enough. Or, maybe that's just only what happens when it goes from a moisture-filled lake edge to then endure drought-like conditions then gets dumped on with holey buckets of dogs and cats.

That's the thing about this groundcover----I have no real clue as to what it really is, or its best requirements, only know that wow it's accommodatingly adaptable. It looks a lot like Laurentia fluviatilis (Blue Star Creeper). That's really what it looks like, though I dunno that it is. FWIW, this guy (click and scroll down to its highlight) says it won't grow in south Florida. So if you're not in south Florida, lol, I guess maybe it might be worth further investigation. Look near a lake, or edge of the woodland, poke around that area, too.

Based on the way I use my pool I think I would put two lounge chairs and a table on the right. I would use a couple of stepping stones to make a path from the concrete deck going to the chairs. I would plant ground covers under the chairs and around the stepping stones. You can use the chairs to hold your towels and flip flops and the table for drinks. You would have a better chance of people staying off the dirt and baby ground covers if they have a path.

Check out Sunshine Mimosa.

Wow, sunshine mimosa AND bluestar creeper are both beautiful! Funny that bluestar creeper actually has white flowers... I also liked some of the groundcovers I saw at the plantcreations website...

I'm wondering something about grasses, though-- is there something else that's not st. augustine but it's still grass and does OK in our area, even in times of drought/full sun? I keep hearing people talk about mondo grass, but when I look at it at the nurseries, it's very expensive for one tiny little pot. anyone know more?

Hi
The Mondo grass comes in several different sizes from a couple of inches to around 8 or 12. There are varigated as well as a black form which is very striking. You can get the ordinary ones at WM or HD. gary

Can mondo grass handle florida's sun? Zarbiya, that spot looks like very good one to plant a bed of perennials.

Show us pictures of how it turns out, please

nami

Zarbiya,

Take a look at www.stepables.com I wouldn't go with Mondo grass if this is going to be an area where people will walk unless you go with the dwarf variety (it will tolerate being walked on and not look trampled) and that takes a LONG time to fill in. A REALLY long time. Trust me on that. You can avoid St. Augustine grass by going with Bahaia or Bermuda; according to my husband (the guy in charge of the lawn here at Casa ManyToes) both are drought tolerant, but they will turn brown in the winter. St. Aug will stay green in the winter but requires more water and care as you point out in your initial post.

Dichondra repens might be a good choice.
I bought some seeds on ebay but it's been too hot and dry for me to start a patch this summer.
It looks like it fulfills your needs-looks like grass, stays short and is soft to walk on.

Here is a link that might be useful: info about dichondra groundcover

Consider maintenance of the area and detritus working its way into the pool...

I would put three or five very large, flat rocks (for sitting) in the area with stepping stones to them. Fill in the spaces between the rocks with bromeliads, aloes, and agaves (no irrigation needed.) Perhaps a few small, self-cleaning palms on the outer edges as well.

These are all great ideas! The dichondra looks pretty... and I like the idea of using some big rocks and stepping stones... Maybe bahia grass in some areas... that might be the solution! I'll post back later with photos whenever we actually do something...

I'd make a raised bed out of that whole big corner and take out those palms that hate being so close to the fence anyway. What you need is to lower the dirt around the edges of the pavers so when it rains you don't get stuff going into the pool. That is what people would use the grass for, but there are so many other ways you can go, you just have to set it up right. The elevation of your materials makes a big difference. If you wanted to make the right side a walking area, then you can still mulch, or rock, the whole area just 4 to 5 inches lower than the elevation is right now. You leave that dirt in there as it is and you will be hating it forever. Even mulch at that level is a mistake. As an example, asparagus fern is a tough plant that can handle hot and wet and can be placed near the paver area and that can hold back and extra dirt that might get splashed into the paver area during a hard rain. Then inside of that barrier you can put your path for walking if you want, but I'd just take the extra dirt and pile it up in the corner and put smaller cycads, palms and whatever color plants you may want, and they would all be facing you while you are in the pool on the raised beds facing inward. With a curvy pool like that without a cage, it is just begging for a tropical paradise in the corner.
I wouldn't even think about sod, but with all that full sun, the mondo (you would want dwarf, green mondo)would probably take more water than a St. Augustine sod because it really can't stand the heat in full sun like that.

If you have any children using the pool, I'd opt out on ideas of small pebbles or rocks! (voice of experience here! arrrggh) A sitting area would be pretty and useful. The spousal unit here would opt for pavers or flat rocks underneath to help keep the debris out of the pool..grass clippings, sand/dirt. Also, you might want to think about some potted flowering plants?...maybe hibiscus or mandevilla? around the outside edges of the area...just nothing with sharp edges! ...depending on the tipsy levels of the folks using the pool! *smile* you know..like kids n wine, etc?? Post pictures! It's an opportunity for you to be creative!!!! FUN!

more great ideas! thanks to everyone, I'm getting a better idea not only for groundcovers but also for landscape suggestions in general... i'll post back soon...

I'm in the Tampa area and our lawn is a bermuda hybrid called "celebration turf." It stays green all year, even in winter. Very drought tolerant. It's also much finer and shorter (softer too!) than St. Augustine. It's what they use on a lot of the golf courses. Because it's kept so short (.5-1.5 inches) it's very easy to walk on. Only downside is that you have to use a reel mower on it, but for such a small area it won't be difficult.

Another option is to use crushed shells (coquina?) as a ground cover and add some stepping stones leading to a hammock in the shady spot.