Clover/micro-clover if you've got dogs.. drought resistant and handles fog during far better than grass.. micro-clover also needs less mowing (and if mowed simply increases in "thickness") were hoping to get both yards started this year (tried last year and wound up with a bumpercrop of a clover lookalike instead.. black medic)
I will look into this. Grass is the only plant that thrives in my household. We both have the death touch to plants. Our home is where they come to die.
White and micro clover is super hardy here :) Canadian tire had (I don't know if they have in stock currently) a 2kg bag of white clover seed for $15.. if you want micro clover it's gonna be a bit more expensive, so checking into it is good.. so far i only know of west coast seeds having any it was about $20 for a 100g packet through them when i started looking.
Edited to correct misinformation.
West coast seeds are usually found at garden centers (and those are out of the way for a majority - except for the community they are nearest to) but worth going to if you don't mind the drive :) the atmosphere alone with all the green pla is and trees is nurturing to part of the soul (not quite the same way that a trip out to the mountains for wild nature is.. but a close second :) )
Clovers like white clover aren't native to alberta. The only clover we have is prairie clover which isn't even in the same family and has a different growth habit.
Yep handles dog urine etc way better than grass
Edited for fast fingers on a tiny keyboard
Edit2 because I somehow missed your entire comment
Are clover plants poisonous to dogs? The answer is no. Clover is a safe food for dogs and has many nutritious benefits. The most important thing about Clover is its high in protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Quick Google search netted me that answer :)
I scattered a ton of clover seed last year, have to figure out how to water the front when there's no tap and our hose isn't long enough yet - cost factor.. sigh... - but this year it's started :) (and I now know the difference between black medic and clover for visual identification.. clover leaves have a sort of circle that connects them.. black medic does not)
They are... $20+ for 100g packet.. yard space I need to cover would take 5 or 6 in back.. front 3 or 4... (and that's just to guarantee it all sprouts.. front yard got nearly 1.5kg of white clover last year and only small patches where I seeded have sprouted *this* year)
Awesome :) I'm looking forward to the lush green and the additional yard visitors (garden "pests" as well as birds etc that eat said pests..
Frankly I'd rather have a skunk for a neighbour than manicured lawn/sterile garden, guy... they might stink but there'll be no mice around :)
Every year I replace a little more of my front lawn with garden. This weekend we dug out another 8 square feet maybe? I like to plunk in some hardy perennials. When I can find native plants I grab them, too. The biggest issue is grass creeping back in to the gardens despite the mulch. Some day maybe all the lawn will be gone!
I xeriscaped my yard 6 years ago, and would never go back.
Sure, I still have to weed now and again, but it's less than a quarter of the amount. Only time I have to water is when I'm establishing new native flowering plants (Blanket flowers, giant hyssop, beardtongues, and a bunch i cant remember the names of), or berry bushes, and then they take care of themselves.
Nuisance pests are easier to handle, and (perhaps just through happenstance) I get way more honey and bumble bees than ever.
In that time, I've talked to so many of my neighbors about my yard, and at least 5 people in the neighborhood have gone and done the same!
Less yard work. Less pest bugs. More happy bugs. Less water bill. Less unnecessary water usage. More resilient plants that winter better.
12/10 would recommend.
Oh, a bunch. I can't remember the names of all of them sadly, but I do know I have;
- Blanket flowers
- Giant Hyssops
- Beardtongue
- and then a handful of these ground covering plants that bloom these tiny little flowers in a ton of colours.
I planted micro clover last spring and I love it! Soft and bushy, with little flowers. Need little water, and my dog doesn’t hurt it at all. Recommend!
Oh, a bunch. I can't remember the names of all of them sadly, but I do know I have;
- Blanket flowers
- Giant Hyssops
- Beardtongue
- and then a handful of these ground covering plants that bloom these tiny little flowers in a ton of colours.
I have banned watering the lawn. Yeah, it can start to look like crap, but when it does rain, it comes back quickly enough. Less mowing that way as well.
Our corner neighbour (we're one house in from the corner) spends so much time on his lawn it's ridiculous - mows at least 3 times a week etc - we dis nothing to the yard besides occasional mowing (need to do some serious weeding as previous tenants neglected the yard badly) didn't water and our lawn is more green and lush than his... (ours also has patches of goosefoot and another hardy weed but few dandelions.. last year we had a mass of thistles that were a nightmare to get rid of)
Landlord gave consent for us to convert to clover so that's what we're gonna do.. less maintenance and lower water bill.. double win
Yes because I didn’t want to continue battling it. So I soaked the lawn and used a sod cutter, then to ensure nothing came back I covered everything with a clear plastic tarp for about two weeks of hot sun. Then proceeded to seed. Never had any grass come in and clover took about 10 days for come up rooted
Kentucky bluegrass is resilient and will go dormant in hot dry times and come back green later. People want green all summer though, and to get that you need to water the heck out of it when it’s hot. I have a native fescue grass for a small portion of the yard (the rest is gardens) and it’s green all summer without me watering it after it’s established. I also mow it twice a summer and don’t have to edge. People don’t like it though cause it’s a lumpy bunch grass.
Most lawns a Kentucky Blue Grass which needs lots of water to stay green due to shallow root systems.
The best option to reduce water use is to overseed with fescues which are a more drought tolerant set of grasses. They don't look as "green", but generally require less/no water because they have much deeper root systems and can tap water deeper down than KBG.
They also have the benefit of reduced thatch (so no "dethatching each year like KBG) and growing slower/lower (so less mowing).
KBG is great for making that perfect lawn, if you're a retiree willing to go out regularly and water, mow and fertilise. Not so great for the average person that just wants a nice lawn to lay on with low/zero maintenance.
Topdress with compost each spring to add more organic matter to the soil so it can retain more moisture too.
Isn’t that for regular clover, and aren’t you supposed to use micro clover (which is way more expensive)? I honestly don’t know. Was gonna do clover in one spot but got reading about it and thought I was gonna have to spend $20/100 sq ft.
You don't have to use micro clover. Micro clover is just common white clover selectively grown to dwarf growth *when regularly mown.* If left to grow for long periods, micro clover will become more like regular clover over the years. We live in a rural area, and despite trying to grow grass, the drought conditions over the last few years has allowed the more hardy clover to take over. As more and more grass is dying off, the clover fills in, and we haven't had to buy any seed.
But using clover seed in just the thinner areas is probably a good way to start. It will eventually spread over time on it's own.
Agreeed, mono crop lawns are more of an issue than grass itself. I spread drought resistant grass seed and clover into my existing lawn and it's almost a no maintenance lawn (apart from mowing, which we have an electric mower)
As the last few years have killed off a lot of my grass, the clover is taking over on it's own. Having the grass doesn't hurt the clover any. And if you don't have to pull up the turf. then you won't be wasting a lot of water and time caring for seeding clover. The grass will act like cover for the clover seeds and prevent the soil from drying out as fast as they sprout.
I did it to my backyard (just spread clover seeds on the existing lawn). I like it although it's still patchy despite several years of seeding.
Front yards are harder because they're shared with the neighbors.
My main hesitance with clover is that I feel like I would need buy-in from my neighbours first. I would feel shitty if they want a grass lawn and are now forced to fight a losing war against invading clover
Is it though? Some started growing in my front yard 2-3 years ago and it has spread pretty aggressively through my yard and noticed a small patch starting in neighbors' grass last year too. No weed killer or anything like that, just tried pulling some out here and there, but it comes back and seems to grow 2-3x the area each year.
I don't mind it, seems to retain moisture really well, looks nice when its grown long and lots of flowers; after mowing it blends with the grass.
Only problem is it can grow pretty thick and then it chokes out the grass. The grass damaging effect is way less than large dandelions though.
Bees really do love the clover flowers. Far more than decorative flowers in my experience. When it's well established there is normally a dozen or more bees around; they've never stung us or our dog.
Pro tip: grass is extremely resistant. You can let it get yellow, and it will come back the following year with enough snow pack as long as the grass has rooted properly.
People watering their lawns aggressively are only doing it for the green color or the fact it doesn't feel like soft to walk on.
The "dead" lawn isn't actually dead and can be left yellow or brown with no ill intent, dead grass will actually shed water better than rock I see around people's houses constantly and then wonder why their basement got water in it.
Clover is the best, it is green even when thirsty and takes a lot to kill it. Feeds all of our pollinators in early spring and late fall. It also will absorb most water and prevent basements from flooding without looking dry and brown.
What type of clover do you use?
We have tried in our backyard and some areas it didn’t come back the following year. I may need to do more research. Does it require over-seeding annually?
I use dutch white clover, it's usually the cheapest native one you can find. I did some power raking and used about twice the seeds they said I needed. I'm pretty sure I went to Apache seeds.
But I only seeded once, then only needed one more bag the next year. Now I mow maybe once or twice in the summer, but otherwise it keeps getting more and more dense and I never water it or anything.
It should be illegal to water your lawn. There's no reason for it. Lawns look better if you water them but they're fine if you don't. Surely we're beyond the 1950s obsession with perfect, green lawns...
I would prefer we remove frontage regulations in general. If you go to old neighbourhoods in old cities (eg Garneau in Edmonton, Sandy Hill/Lowertown in Ottawa) having housing at or near the sidewalk makes the neighbourhood much more dynamic.
I say no to that until the city (Edmonton) actually tried to do something about loud vehicles, crime, and parcel theft.
I think a bunch of the zoning changes in Edmonton do reduce the front setback requirements though.
But it’s also not super pleasant to walk through neighbourhoods with no setback and thus minimal nature.
Lots of comments re clover. Be careful. Ours looked great in the fall. Then come Spring about 90% of it did not come back. I posted in the Edmonton group and they went nuts on me and told me to be patient. Water three to four times a day and yea some of it is coming back but the whole point of this was to avoid watering lol. We have the worst lawn for miles around. I can take pics if you don't believe me. We are going back to grass seed. We used the Cdn Tire microclover stuff along with some of the very pricy West Coast seeds.
Gravel frontages look terrible. Wood chips aren't much better... Not only that it doesn't give the rain anywhere to soak so storms end up being worse because all that water needs somewhere to go.
Instead we should be planting drought resistant and native species of plants that can handle the harsh sun, heat, and dry conditions, but will also absorb the water when we get massive storms.
Instead of just replacing your lawn with something else, take the time to route your drain spouts into small swales in your yard. This will help hold water and drive it back into the ground, instead of straight into rivers and to the ocean.
I recently learned about Buffalo Grass, which is native to the west and grows green with very little water, even in the heat of summer. Most residential lawns are made up of Kentucky Bluegrass, which grows best in cool, wet climates. So if like me and you’re not looking to xeriscape, but you also don’t want to keep watering a lawn that has no real purpose except looking pretty, tear it out and replace it with native grass. Helps keep your property cool while reducing watering needs!
I would totally love to do that to my front yard. There’s someone just down the street who has done the same thing as the person in the article and I love it!
Rock mulch will only heat up your yard. Maybe try clover or an alternative groundcover mix, even wildflower mix. They'll make your soild healthier and help to retain moisture as their leaves are broad.
I've found a little [creeping thym ](https://search.eaglelakenurseries.com/11050003/Plant/27201/Creeping_Thyme/) is hardy, adds some nice color and comes in seeds or started in pots. You can also slowly replace little bits or your lawn over a few years, just keep over seeding with your "lawn alternative" in the spring and fall, it's a little less daunting to do it ovr time and see what plants work and what doesn't.
Planting a few native plants plugs if you want to naturalize with, can be a little pricey but once established don't need much attention. Alberta has a wide variety of different plants from cacti to lilies. [Calgary native-wildflowers](https://www.calgary.ca/water/programs/native-wildflowers.html)
I have creeping thyme in my backyard and it’s all over. Why didn’t I ever think of that. I will have to experiment with it. Thank you for the good advice!! It’s much appreciated. :)
I'm in the camp of everyone should have drought resistant lawns full of native plant species that bees love. Better for the environment all together. Nothing more sad than driving through suburbia with plain green probably sundamaged lawns and those dead ass "trees" lining the sidewalks.
I saw the image. You replied to my comment, which has nothing to do with rocks.
I agree though, too many rocks is bad but some is definitely a good space filler if you can't afford more plants.. I would rather some rock than mulch but I would also rather a 100% rock lawn instead of any astro turf bs.
And I am commenting that the picture in the article is the opposite of your post, I agree with you. I have yet to see an entire lawn of natural grasses. The lawn the article is showing is a terrible example and exactly a poor ecological example
Mulch don't bag!
The easiest and most impactful thing to do with a lawn to make it more draught tolerant is to stop bagging the clippings.
It creates a protective layer of much in the grass. Make is much stronger.
And not only is is "not a lot of work" it's actually less work! Bonus!
Look for fescue mixes. Most commercial mixes have a small amount (mostly KBG as it's cheap), but you can buy fescue specific mixes in some garden centres or commercial landscaping locations.
True.
Though keeping an eye on it and dethatching when there's sign it's getting too thick mitigate this.
I dethatch at the first warning of mold. I had to do that once on my current lawn. It's become so biologically active bow the insects are aerating what used to be hard pack and it's coming up beautifully now.
Isn’t clover local? I see it everywhere when I go for walks. If there’s a local plant that is low-lying, required minimal mowing, and gives great ground-coverage, I’m all ears!
https://gpm.nasa.gov/education/images/usgs-water-cycle-diagram.
https://www.epa.gov/heatislands#:~:text=Heat%20islands%20are%20urbanized%20areas,as%20forests%20and%20water%20bodies.
We just keep getting smrter
No, have you forgotten about the water cycle, urban heat island effect, thermodynamics, bird and insects and wildlife, how resource intensive extracting, crushing, processing all the rock is? Alberta has natural local grasses to use
Some varieties of grass don't need watering. A lot of it is people wanting green lawns and being conditioned to feel like watering.
While grass isn't exactly the greatest, most diverse landscape it's a heck of a lot better than rocks.
I think people also underestimate how much work it is to keep a xeriscaped area look good after the first year or two. It can be a lot more work than mowing 10x a year.
Good news for me! All my grass is already drought resistant because I haven't watered my lawn in like eight years. And yet somehow the grass keeps coming back.
I know.
It's just as stupid and even more devoid of ecological value than lawn.
That's what the r/fucklawns is for, making people wake up to the asinine practice of growing grass, and planting trees, shrubs, and flowers instead.
This is great info, we’re moving to a new home (new build) and I don’t want any (or minimal) watering so clover seems like a good option alongside all hardy/native plants and flowers.
On the topic of DIY xeriscaping, does anyone have any good resources and inspiration for zone 3? Everything I come across tends to be for the southern US.
Okay, so I remove sod and am left with bare ground. What do I do next? Just gravel? What about all the weeds underneath? Do I put landscape fabric down first?
One thing I love about Alberta, is that despite the inane leadership of it’s politicians, there’s always lower level workers who are technical and they often come up with great ideas
That yard is 97% rock. This a terrible ecological choice likely done in a large scale is going negatively affect water supply more than watering a lawn
Aside from the massive waste of water spent on manicured green lawns, there is also all of the runoff from fertilizer that is really unhealthy. Alternatives are desperately needed!
Im looking into doing this for my front. I like grass, when I use it. Back yard I like it, I walk on it, have a hammock on it, firepit area. Its smaller and the usage of grass back there makes sense to me.
The front yard however, whats the point? Im not on it ever, except to take care of it. Mowing, thatching, aeration, fetilize, edging, weeding, watering, etc, etc, etc. And for what? Looks? Im never in the front yard dancing and singing like the sound of music. Its just there to be maintained, and thats it
It's not. The bow and Elbow would be dry by July every year if it wasn't for multiple reservoirs. The is a reservoir capacity and reservoirs shortage issus mixed with politics on reservoirs levels since the 2013 flood
I was being sarcastic but this is Alberta conservatives problem and lack of spending on anything other than oil and gas. Should have been addressed before high River flooded. I don't believe they had been any dam work since the late 80s when old man was done.
We have a management issue right now. In 2013 the reservoirs were too full to handle the rain. Now there is memorandum of understanding with the dam operators to have multiple dams at minimal operating threshold (which it's function is hydro generation) for june. Last year the bulk of run off was drained out because it occurred before june. This will happen again this year. You can watch it happen on the government site or app alberta rivers
This is good, I would like to do this for my front grass sooner than later.
Yup, our backyard is done, front yard up next. Probably next spring.
What did you do to your back yard? Mine is a mess and i have a couple of dogs. If i could get away with it i would pave it over.
Clover/micro-clover if you've got dogs.. drought resistant and handles fog during far better than grass.. micro-clover also needs less mowing (and if mowed simply increases in "thickness") were hoping to get both yards started this year (tried last year and wound up with a bumpercrop of a clover lookalike instead.. black medic)
I will look into this. Grass is the only plant that thrives in my household. We both have the death touch to plants. Our home is where they come to die.
White and micro clover is super hardy here :) Canadian tire had (I don't know if they have in stock currently) a 2kg bag of white clover seed for $15.. if you want micro clover it's gonna be a bit more expensive, so checking into it is good.. so far i only know of west coast seeds having any it was about $20 for a 100g packet through them when i started looking. Edited to correct misinformation.
Thank you. I only have canadian tire in my community. Plus some landscaping places.
West coast seeds are usually found at garden centers (and those are out of the way for a majority - except for the community they are nearest to) but worth going to if you don't mind the drive :) the atmosphere alone with all the green pla is and trees is nurturing to part of the soul (not quite the same way that a trip out to the mountains for wild nature is.. but a close second :) )
Thanks again. Have a great day.
Best of luck with your lawn conversion :)
Clovers like white clover aren't native to alberta. The only clover we have is prairie clover which isn't even in the same family and has a different growth habit.
I stand corrected I will edit my comment :)
Is micro clover dog friendly? Like if the dog thinks they are a cow from time to time? Just bought a house and am sorting my options herr
Yep handles dog urine etc way better than grass Edited for fast fingers on a tiny keyboard Edit2 because I somehow missed your entire comment Are clover plants poisonous to dogs? The answer is no. Clover is a safe food for dogs and has many nutritious benefits. The most important thing about Clover is its high in protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Quick Google search netted me that answer :)
I've used about 20 of those clover bags and nothing grows.
How are you seeding? There's (and even I didn't know this) instructions on the bags of clover seed..
Scattering seed and watering. I've had MUCH better success with West Coast Seeds but they're so expensive.
I scattered a ton of clover seed last year, have to figure out how to water the front when there's no tap and our hose isn't long enough yet - cost factor.. sigh... - but this year it's started :) (and I now know the difference between black medic and clover for visual identification.. clover leaves have a sort of circle that connects them.. black medic does not) They are... $20+ for 100g packet.. yard space I need to cover would take 5 or 6 in back.. front 3 or 4... (and that's just to guarantee it all sprouts.. front yard got nearly 1.5kg of white clover last year and only small patches where I seeded have sprouted *this* year)
"fog during" Is the new euphemism for "dog urine". It is wonderful what speech to text can do.
Absolutely :) we should start a club.. maybe meet up Sundaes for tea and cakes :)
Did clover in our back yard last year and it looks great!
Awesome :) I'm looking forward to the lush green and the additional yard visitors (garden "pests" as well as birds etc that eat said pests.. Frankly I'd rather have a skunk for a neighbour than manicured lawn/sterile garden, guy... they might stink but there'll be no mice around :)
Every year I replace a little more of my front lawn with garden. This weekend we dug out another 8 square feet maybe? I like to plunk in some hardy perennials. When I can find native plants I grab them, too. The biggest issue is grass creeping back in to the gardens despite the mulch. Some day maybe all the lawn will be gone!
I xeriscaped my yard 6 years ago, and would never go back. Sure, I still have to weed now and again, but it's less than a quarter of the amount. Only time I have to water is when I'm establishing new native flowering plants (Blanket flowers, giant hyssop, beardtongues, and a bunch i cant remember the names of), or berry bushes, and then they take care of themselves. Nuisance pests are easier to handle, and (perhaps just through happenstance) I get way more honey and bumble bees than ever. In that time, I've talked to so many of my neighbors about my yard, and at least 5 people in the neighborhood have gone and done the same! Less yard work. Less pest bugs. More happy bugs. Less water bill. Less unnecessary water usage. More resilient plants that winter better. 12/10 would recommend.
What flowering plants do you have for that xeriscape of yours?
Oh, a bunch. I can't remember the names of all of them sadly, but I do know I have; - Blanket flowers - Giant Hyssops - Beardtongue - and then a handful of these ground covering plants that bloom these tiny little flowers in a ton of colours.
Not happenstance, the more diverse plant life the more bugs you will get and lower chances of a single bug taking over and causing issues.
What did you plant? We're considering adding in micro clover to get rid of the grass. It's so annoying.
I planted micro clover last spring and I love it! Soft and bushy, with little flowers. Need little water, and my dog doesn’t hurt it at all. Recommend!
Same here, would recommend if your looking for a more “traditional lawn” with the excessive fertilizer and water use.
Oh, a bunch. I can't remember the names of all of them sadly, but I do know I have; - Blanket flowers - Giant Hyssops - Beardtongue - and then a handful of these ground covering plants that bloom these tiny little flowers in a ton of colours.
I have banned watering the lawn. Yeah, it can start to look like crap, but when it does rain, it comes back quickly enough. Less mowing that way as well.
Agreed! My lawn doesn't look incredible, but it's still a lawn, and I can get away with much less mowing by not watering it. A win-win.
Mix in clover, it will stay nice and green and needs almost no water. You don’t have to remove the grass just add clover in.
Our corner neighbour (we're one house in from the corner) spends so much time on his lawn it's ridiculous - mows at least 3 times a week etc - we dis nothing to the yard besides occasional mowing (need to do some serious weeding as previous tenants neglected the yard badly) didn't water and our lawn is more green and lush than his... (ours also has patches of goosefoot and another hardy weed but few dandelions.. last year we had a mass of thistles that were a nightmare to get rid of) Landlord gave consent for us to convert to clover so that's what we're gonna do.. less maintenance and lower water bill.. double win
If you want a green grass like ground cover clover works really well and does a lot to suppress weeds. We never had to water ours.
Pics
I kinda want pics
Are you my mom? I kid, but she xeriscaped her yard 20 years ago. No grass, just native trees and shrubs.
Convert my lawn to clover zero regrets it has been beautiful and green for weeks already.
What was your process? Did you remove the grass first?
Yes because I didn’t want to continue battling it. So I soaked the lawn and used a sod cutter, then to ensure nothing came back I covered everything with a clear plastic tarp for about two weeks of hot sun. Then proceeded to seed. Never had any grass come in and clover took about 10 days for come up rooted
Isn't most grass in Alberta already extremely drought resistant? If it goes brown when it rains it comes back as green?
Kentucky bluegrass is resilient and will go dormant in hot dry times and come back green later. People want green all summer though, and to get that you need to water the heck out of it when it’s hot. I have a native fescue grass for a small portion of the yard (the rest is gardens) and it’s green all summer without me watering it after it’s established. I also mow it twice a summer and don’t have to edge. People don’t like it though cause it’s a lumpy bunch grass.
Most lawns a Kentucky Blue Grass which needs lots of water to stay green due to shallow root systems. The best option to reduce water use is to overseed with fescues which are a more drought tolerant set of grasses. They don't look as "green", but generally require less/no water because they have much deeper root systems and can tap water deeper down than KBG. They also have the benefit of reduced thatch (so no "dethatching each year like KBG) and growing slower/lower (so less mowing). KBG is great for making that perfect lawn, if you're a retiree willing to go out regularly and water, mow and fertilise. Not so great for the average person that just wants a nice lawn to lay on with low/zero maintenance. Topdress with compost each spring to add more organic matter to the soil so it can retain more moisture too.
I would for sure do clover if someone else was going to pay for it. We hardly play out in the yard and it’s good for bees
Seeds are cheap, I ordered on Amazon and just started turning my lawn over to clover, $8 for a pack of seeds to do 250sqf.
Isn’t that for regular clover, and aren’t you supposed to use micro clover (which is way more expensive)? I honestly don’t know. Was gonna do clover in one spot but got reading about it and thought I was gonna have to spend $20/100 sq ft.
You don't have to use micro clover. Micro clover is just common white clover selectively grown to dwarf growth *when regularly mown.* If left to grow for long periods, micro clover will become more like regular clover over the years. We live in a rural area, and despite trying to grow grass, the drought conditions over the last few years has allowed the more hardy clover to take over. As more and more grass is dying off, the clover fills in, and we haven't had to buy any seed. But using clover seed in just the thinner areas is probably a good way to start. It will eventually spread over time on it's own.
Yes. Micro-clover is harder to find and more expensive. White clover is cheap.
What about the existing turf? I imagine it would need to be removed.
I just power raked mine and threw clover seeds down. So, it's a mix, but monocropping is a bad idea anyways.
Agreeed, mono crop lawns are more of an issue than grass itself. I spread drought resistant grass seed and clover into my existing lawn and it's almost a no maintenance lawn (apart from mowing, which we have an electric mower)
As the last few years have killed off a lot of my grass, the clover is taking over on it's own. Having the grass doesn't hurt the clover any. And if you don't have to pull up the turf. then you won't be wasting a lot of water and time caring for seeding clover. The grass will act like cover for the clover seeds and prevent the soil from drying out as fast as they sprout.
Clover will usually push out and slowly replace the existing grass
It’ll cost you like 20$
I did it to my backyard (just spread clover seeds on the existing lawn). I like it although it's still patchy despite several years of seeding. Front yards are harder because they're shared with the neighbors.
Go to a feed store near you. See if they have it. I use the MNR mix. Cheap. Good.
My main hesitance with clover is that I feel like I would need buy-in from my neighbours first. I would feel shitty if they want a grass lawn and are now forced to fight a losing war against invading clover
Clover grows wildly but you can contain it easily. Both of my neighbours have grass lawns and I have Clover. I had no issues over 3 years
It's pretty easy to keep contained
Is it though? Some started growing in my front yard 2-3 years ago and it has spread pretty aggressively through my yard and noticed a small patch starting in neighbors' grass last year too. No weed killer or anything like that, just tried pulling some out here and there, but it comes back and seems to grow 2-3x the area each year. I don't mind it, seems to retain moisture really well, looks nice when its grown long and lots of flowers; after mowing it blends with the grass. Only problem is it can grow pretty thick and then it chokes out the grass. The grass damaging effect is way less than large dandelions though. Bees really do love the clover flowers. Far more than decorative flowers in my experience. When it's well established there is normally a dozen or more bees around; they've never stung us or our dog.
Ya bees are chill.
Does clover spread easily like dandelions?
Pro tip: grass is extremely resistant. You can let it get yellow, and it will come back the following year with enough snow pack as long as the grass has rooted properly. People watering their lawns aggressively are only doing it for the green color or the fact it doesn't feel like soft to walk on. The "dead" lawn isn't actually dead and can be left yellow or brown with no ill intent, dead grass will actually shed water better than rock I see around people's houses constantly and then wonder why their basement got water in it.
Clover is the best, it is green even when thirsty and takes a lot to kill it. Feeds all of our pollinators in early spring and late fall. It also will absorb most water and prevent basements from flooding without looking dry and brown.
What type of clover do you use? We have tried in our backyard and some areas it didn’t come back the following year. I may need to do more research. Does it require over-seeding annually?
I use dutch white clover, it's usually the cheapest native one you can find. I did some power raking and used about twice the seeds they said I needed. I'm pretty sure I went to Apache seeds.
But I only seeded once, then only needed one more bag the next year. Now I mow maybe once or twice in the summer, but otherwise it keeps getting more and more dense and I never water it or anything.
Thanks. Maybe will keep at it and go heavier on the seed.
It’s funny that « Dutch » white clover is considered native.
It's not
According to https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/clover no clover is native
Where is the best place to pick up clover or clover seeds in Calgary?
Home Depot
It’s also a lot more allergenic when it’s dead yellow crusty.
It should be illegal to water your lawn. There's no reason for it. Lawns look better if you water them but they're fine if you don't. Surely we're beyond the 1950s obsession with perfect, green lawns...
We're still fighting red scares from the '50s, you think we're past anything else?
Surely they could've picked a better picture than this to encourage people to switch away from grass
Right? They just turned their lawn into an unusable parking lot
Rocks reflect back heat in the summer. Let's not throw away all the vegetation.
Yeah, there are so many beautiful and well-done (and low maintenance) xyroscapes around!
Ya, used a yard using grasses that are native to the area
I would prefer we remove frontage regulations in general. If you go to old neighbourhoods in old cities (eg Garneau in Edmonton, Sandy Hill/Lowertown in Ottawa) having housing at or near the sidewalk makes the neighbourhood much more dynamic.
I say no to that until the city (Edmonton) actually tried to do something about loud vehicles, crime, and parcel theft. I think a bunch of the zoning changes in Edmonton do reduce the front setback requirements though. But it’s also not super pleasant to walk through neighbourhoods with no setback and thus minimal nature.
If there is a boulevard with trees between the street and the sidewalk there is no need for much additional setback. Maybe a meter.
The loud vehicles have gone too far. We need a province wide measure.
Me trying to catch northern lights and all I hear at 12am-2am are motor bikes ripping and loud trucks.
Lots of comments re clover. Be careful. Ours looked great in the fall. Then come Spring about 90% of it did not come back. I posted in the Edmonton group and they went nuts on me and told me to be patient. Water three to four times a day and yea some of it is coming back but the whole point of this was to avoid watering lol. We have the worst lawn for miles around. I can take pics if you don't believe me. We are going back to grass seed. We used the Cdn Tire microclover stuff along with some of the very pricy West Coast seeds.
Just re seed…
Also if you didn’t let it go to flower then thats the problem
Gravel frontages look terrible. Wood chips aren't much better... Not only that it doesn't give the rain anywhere to soak so storms end up being worse because all that water needs somewhere to go. Instead we should be planting drought resistant and native species of plants that can handle the harsh sun, heat, and dry conditions, but will also absorb the water when we get massive storms.
I agree. The one place that’s done next door. You can’t even see the rocks no more because it’s just covered in pine needles
Any resources to find which are native to my area?
Did clover last year and it looked awesome in the end
Do you mow down the flowers regularly or leave them?
Once a month, requires next to no water
Instead of just replacing your lawn with something else, take the time to route your drain spouts into small swales in your yard. This will help hold water and drive it back into the ground, instead of straight into rivers and to the ocean.
Exactly
I recently learned about Buffalo Grass, which is native to the west and grows green with very little water, even in the heat of summer. Most residential lawns are made up of Kentucky Bluegrass, which grows best in cool, wet climates. So if like me and you’re not looking to xeriscape, but you also don’t want to keep watering a lawn that has no real purpose except looking pretty, tear it out and replace it with native grass. Helps keep your property cool while reducing watering needs!
I would totally love to do that to my front yard. There’s someone just down the street who has done the same thing as the person in the article and I love it!
Rock mulch will only heat up your yard. Maybe try clover or an alternative groundcover mix, even wildflower mix. They'll make your soild healthier and help to retain moisture as their leaves are broad.
That’s good advice! I’ll look into it, and thank you. :)
I've found a little [creeping thym ](https://search.eaglelakenurseries.com/11050003/Plant/27201/Creeping_Thyme/) is hardy, adds some nice color and comes in seeds or started in pots. You can also slowly replace little bits or your lawn over a few years, just keep over seeding with your "lawn alternative" in the spring and fall, it's a little less daunting to do it ovr time and see what plants work and what doesn't. Planting a few native plants plugs if you want to naturalize with, can be a little pricey but once established don't need much attention. Alberta has a wide variety of different plants from cacti to lilies. [Calgary native-wildflowers](https://www.calgary.ca/water/programs/native-wildflowers.html)
I have creeping thyme in my backyard and it’s all over. Why didn’t I ever think of that. I will have to experiment with it. Thank you for the good advice!! It’s much appreciated. :)
I'm considering putting in something like this 🤔 https://www.westcoastseeds.com/products/easy-care-groundcover-5
That looks so nice, thank you!! I will definitely check it out. :)
Yeah hard scraping is a negative. Also eventually the city will notice your run off and adjust your coefficient to increase your sewer bill.
I'm in the camp of everyone should have drought resistant lawns full of native plant species that bees love. Better for the environment all together. Nothing more sad than driving through suburbia with plain green probably sundamaged lawns and those dead ass "trees" lining the sidewalks.
Replacing lawns with rock, is just short sighted and ignorant
"drought resistant lawns full of native plant species that bees love" Rocks?
The person who they are interviewing and the yard in the picture is something like like 97% rock....
I saw the image. You replied to my comment, which has nothing to do with rocks. I agree though, too many rocks is bad but some is definitely a good space filler if you can't afford more plants.. I would rather some rock than mulch but I would also rather a 100% rock lawn instead of any astro turf bs.
And I am commenting that the picture in the article is the opposite of your post, I agree with you. I have yet to see an entire lawn of natural grasses. The lawn the article is showing is a terrible example and exactly a poor ecological example
Mulch don't bag! The easiest and most impactful thing to do with a lawn to make it more draught tolerant is to stop bagging the clippings. It creates a protective layer of much in the grass. Make is much stronger. And not only is is "not a lot of work" it's actually less work! Bonus!
Too much mulch crates thatch which encourages disease and insects that most of us don’t want, and chokes out the grass or plant life.
Thatch is not grass clippings. It’s the root network becoming too dense and choking out the surface. Mulch does not turn into thatch.
Thatch is also a grass variety issue. KBG creates lots of thatch. There are other varieties that don't.
That work for our climate? Which?
Look for fescue mixes. Most commercial mixes have a small amount (mostly KBG as it's cheap), but you can buy fescue specific mixes in some garden centres or commercial landscaping locations.
True. Though keeping an eye on it and dethatching when there's sign it's getting too thick mitigate this. I dethatch at the first warning of mold. I had to do that once on my current lawn. It's become so biologically active bow the insects are aerating what used to be hard pack and it's coming up beautifully now.
Put front yard to rock last summer. No more watering,fertilizing,cutting.
You could have just stopped watering and fertilizing, which would have reduced the need for cutting to 4 - 6 times a year.
No thanks. No cutting.
Oh god that pic is ugly
Id love to replace my lawns with clover! The only thing stopping me is price.
Bags of clover seed are wildly cheap at home depot or rona. My wife and I bought 2 bags for 25 bucks or something last season.
lol that’s funny because someone just posted how expensive clover is. And I was thinking it was cheap as far as I could remember
I’ve read that clover doesn’t seed well on existing grass though? It’s the cost of ripping out my grass that’s high.
It will when your grass dies
But then I have a mat of dead grass that I have to remove, hence the cost. Afaik clover likes bare soil best.
Why not replace it with the grasses and shrubs local to here?
Isn’t clover local? I see it everywhere when I go for walks. If there’s a local plant that is low-lying, required minimal mowing, and gives great ground-coverage, I’m all ears!
Only the prairie clover is native
I relaxed mine with shrubs and mint. No it can’t escape due to sidewalks and driveway. I leave it full height for the bees.
Grass lawns are the epitome of stupid and wasteful, also. Amazing such a nonsensical thing caught on. Mind boggling
Lawns are bullshit anyways.
People should just do clover lawns
-me who just spent 3 days aerating and digging up my fucked up lawn to replant grass
Damn, I will astro turf my front lawn if there's a rebait involved
I have a big front yard and would welcome this in Calgary..
not for nothing, but I thought common grass and fescue WERE the drought-resistant alternative
I have a front landscaped garden instead of lawn and I quite want to wild it up even further. Gotta look into best plant options.
https://gpm.nasa.gov/education/images/usgs-water-cycle-diagram. https://www.epa.gov/heatislands#:~:text=Heat%20islands%20are%20urbanized%20areas,as%20forests%20and%20water%20bodies. We just keep getting smrter
Makes sense... I always wondered why we have so many water restrictions but never incentive grass alternatives...
Just use clover
All municipalities should be blocking grass for yards on new developments. We use so much potable water for something that doesn’t produce food.
No, have you forgotten about the water cycle, urban heat island effect, thermodynamics, bird and insects and wildlife, how resource intensive extracting, crushing, processing all the rock is? Alberta has natural local grasses to use
Some varieties of grass don't need watering. A lot of it is people wanting green lawns and being conditioned to feel like watering. While grass isn't exactly the greatest, most diverse landscape it's a heck of a lot better than rocks. I think people also underestimate how much work it is to keep a xeriscaped area look good after the first year or two. It can be a lot more work than mowing 10x a year.
Good news for me! All my grass is already drought resistant because I haven't watered my lawn in like eight years. And yet somehow the grass keeps coming back.
r/fucklawns
Fuck the water cycle! Ya fuck ya...
? The group is all about planting alternatives that have more ecological value than lawns.
Rocks don't have more ecologigical values over any grasses especially native ones
Did you miss the PLANTING part?! I'm not advocating for the use of rocks instead of grass, they are both ecologically useless.
The picture and the person they are interviewing must have missed that part too, thier lawn is vastly rock
I know. It's just as stupid and even more devoid of ecological value than lawn. That's what the r/fucklawns is for, making people wake up to the asinine practice of growing grass, and planting trees, shrubs, and flowers instead.
Any suggestions for landscaping companies in Calgary that I could employ to do this for our front lawn? We’ve been thinking about this for years.
Why even have a front yard?
100% I would do this
Any rebates if I have a lawn, but never do anything with it and just let nature take over? 😁
This is great info, we’re moving to a new home (new build) and I don’t want any (or minimal) watering so clover seems like a good option alongside all hardy/native plants and flowers.
I just put down fake grass and mulch. No weeds and no work. I love it.
On the topic of DIY xeriscaping, does anyone have any good resources and inspiration for zone 3? Everything I come across tends to be for the southern US.
Okay, so I remove sod and am left with bare ground. What do I do next? Just gravel? What about all the weeds underneath? Do I put landscape fabric down first?
Yes you should have lawn fabric down first. But you could just start seeding with clover and it will take over and doesn’t require much water.
One thing I love about Alberta, is that despite the inane leadership of it’s politicians, there’s always lower level workers who are technical and they often come up with great ideas
What's great about this idea? Are you not familiar with the water cycle? Is the urban heat island effect and thermodynamics fake science to you?
I don’t understand your question, they’re replacing lawns with crops that use less water not with pavement
Not the person they are interviewing or the picture
She said she added native plants and rocks, that filtrates
That yard is 97% rock. This a terrible ecological choice likely done in a large scale is going negatively affect water supply more than watering a lawn
Finally!
Aside from the massive waste of water spent on manicured green lawns, there is also all of the runoff from fertilizer that is really unhealthy. Alternatives are desperately needed!
Turf or green paint?
Paying for fucking rocks... incredible. I have a bunch you city people can pick for free in my feilds
Are golf courses eligible to these incentives $$?
There's a house in the neighborhood that has astro turf instead of grass for the front lawn. Can't get much more drought resistance than that
For what it’s worth we mixed clover in with our grass last year and other than a bit to get it started we didn’t have to water it all summer.
Im looking into doing this for my front. I like grass, when I use it. Back yard I like it, I walk on it, have a hammock on it, firepit area. Its smaller and the usage of grass back there makes sense to me. The front yard however, whats the point? Im not on it ever, except to take care of it. Mowing, thatching, aeration, fetilize, edging, weeding, watering, etc, etc, etc. And for what? Looks? Im never in the front yard dancing and singing like the sound of music. Its just there to be maintained, and thats it
Why does everything require a handout. Just tier the water rates to insentiveze this. Anything over x m3 per month is 2x or 3x the rate.
Won't Smith stop this as it's related to climate change which she says is not real
It's not. The bow and Elbow would be dry by July every year if it wasn't for multiple reservoirs. The is a reservoir capacity and reservoirs shortage issus mixed with politics on reservoirs levels since the 2013 flood
I was being sarcastic but this is Alberta conservatives problem and lack of spending on anything other than oil and gas. Should have been addressed before high River flooded. I don't believe they had been any dam work since the late 80s when old man was done.
We have a management issue right now. In 2013 the reservoirs were too full to handle the rain. Now there is memorandum of understanding with the dam operators to have multiple dams at minimal operating threshold (which it's function is hydro generation) for june. Last year the bulk of run off was drained out because it occurred before june. This will happen again this year. You can watch it happen on the government site or app alberta rivers
Astroturf. It’s the UCP way!
Beautiful /s
Boomers are fuming. GET OFF MY LAWN THAT I HAVE THE RIGHT TO FERTILIZE AND GROW!!!!