I'm attempting to reduce the area of lawn that I have to maintain.I
live in the coastal subtropics. The lawn I have is mainly couch, with
some "shady grass" and lately paspalum.Our shire, currently, has water
restrictions.
The lawn is "split" level with the majority on the lower level which
also has four developing trees and a veggie patch. The block faces
north and is long, narrow and slightly sloping

I figure the alternatives are
a) Upper level: paving,(brick or pavers) /pebble crete/decking
b) lower level: short native grasses /native ground covers ( in
stages)

Any comments on my alternatives or other suggestions would be very
welcome

If water is your cause for concern, you can try kikuya and buffalo grass
which are drought resistent. I have both in my nature strip and once they
got established I don't water them at all.

In article ,
(Gen) wrote:

I'm attempting to reduce the area of lawn that I have to maintain.I
live in the coastal subtropics. The lawn I have is mainly couch, with
some "shady grass" and lately paspalum.Our shire, currently, has water
restrictions.
The lawn is "split" level with the majority on the lower level which
also has four developing trees and a veggie patch. The block faces
north and is long, narrow and slightly sloping

I figure the alternatives are
a) Upper level: paving,(brick or pavers) /pebble crete/decking
b) lower level: short native grasses /native ground covers ( in
stages)

I would be looking at having good reasons for your choices. For example, you
might want to pave an area close to the house so you could have your barbie
and table and chairs there. Perhaps having the area shaded by a big tree to
the west would make the barbie area more comfortable, so you'd have to put in
a garden bed for the tree. A raised herb bed with brick surround would give
you extra seating and delineate the paved area from the rest of the garden.

Another method: Sheet mulch under and between your saplings and put in some
understorey shrubs and groundcovers and a little path. This stops you from
playing dodge-the-tree while mowing. Then sheet mulch around the boundaries
and plant more shrubs to obscure the fenceline.

The lawn you have left will probably be all you need! :-)

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

I don't regard myself as a fanatic. I just have handy milk dispensers.
-- Lee, misc.kids

"Gen" wrote in message
m...
I'm attempting to reduce the area of lawn that I have to maintain.I
live in the coastal subtropics. The lawn I have is mainly couch, with
some "shady grass" and lately paspalum.Our shire, currently, has water
restrictions.
The lawn is "split" level with the majority on the lower level which
also has four developing trees and a veggie patch. The block faces
north and is long, narrow and slightly sloping

I figure the alternatives are
a) Upper level: paving,(brick or pavers) /pebble crete/decking
b) lower level: short native grasses /native ground covers ( in
stages)

Any comments on my alternatives or other suggestions would be very
welcome

If you still want some grass just for the decorative and traditional feel of
it, I suggest picking the best grass growing area closest to the house,
somewhere you can water using only a hose, or make the grassed area exactly
the same size as your sprinkler spraypattern. Edge it nicelly too.

If you make your lawn small enough you can get rid of your lawnmower and use
shears for mowing. I use shears... but then again, I currently have a garden
so small I can water it fully in 20 minutes with the hose without having to
change my standing spot.

I'm not stressing about water use, although I sort of think it is unfair
that if water restrictions come into play I will face the same restrictions
as other gardeners... the no sprinkler rules would be no problem, but being
restricted as to watering times or days would be a pain in the bum I don't
think I deserve. I have a tiny garden well used by 2 toddlers. I manage to
keep a teensy tiny somewhat shaded mixed buffalo/fescue lawn green for them
to play on by keeping water and fertiliser up to it in the short part of the
growing season when it actually gets some light. This requires a fair bit
of attention and work. Kind of ****es me that I'm using far less than
someone with an inground pool or a large garden, yet I would still end up
being inconvenienced. Thankfully we have a small rainwater tank which I can
use during any times watering is restricted, and grey-water is a definite
possibility.

To get the idea of how small my garden is, the planted/grassed areas
combined are only about as large as the carport, which takes only 1 car.

"S. McLaren" wrote in message
...
If water is your cause for concern, you can try kikuya and buffalo grass
which are drought resistent. I have both in my nature strip and once they
got established I don't water them at all.



And if you do water them, even a little, boy do they look lush.