Low maintenance grass beds

[Emma87]

Hello. I am in the process of revamping my Grandmothers Garden. All the garden beds have been done just now onto the grass section. The area is rectangular and roughly 4m wide and 6m long. It is in direct sunlight and it is a low foot traffic area. We are looking into the minituare mundo grass as she doesn’t want any mowing either. She is happy to water and that’s about it. I am just wanting some opinions on the mundo grass? If anyone has used it?

And also the process of how I go about prepping the area? I was going to remove the left over grass (not much, it’s basically a dust bowl), dig up and turn the soil up, lay weed mat, introduce a mixture of the old soil, new soil and compost on top of the weed mat and then plant the little mundo punnets. Is this a good plan? 

[Brad]

Borrowing the ideas of the big green shed.
"If you don’t want grass but still want the lawn effect, there are plenty of herbs that cover large areas and offer more in return. You can grow a fragrant and edible lawn with oregano, thyme, mint types or even lawn chamomile. They’re also very effective in high traffic areas when planted around paving, or gravel pathways; creating a lush carpet of green in between. Other ornamental lawn substitutes include Dichondra, Scheranthus, Pratia, Convolvulus, Pigface, some Grevilleas or Native Violets."
I have some Mondo Grass that looks a bit sad and my thought is it works best as a border rather than a carpet as large areas have a look of unmown lawn. Dichondra for low traffic looks fairly tidy and in my pots it's surviving, Pratia the Alpine has a nice blue flower and it stays low, Pigface I have some different colours but I think they work better in small areas, Verbena nice red flowers in mine but also looks untidy for a large space and there are others I have tried and failed with.

[Jason]

@Emma87,

Aren't you a lovely granddaughter? I'm sure your grandmother appreciates all the hard work you're putting in. It would be great if you could share your handiwork with the Workshop community, too! 

It might be useful to members if you could disclose where you are based. That way members can ensure that they recommend the right plant for your conditions. 

Good luck with the revamp,

Jason

[Emma87]

I’m in Corinda, Brisbane ☺️

[Jason]

Thanks for the clarification @Emma87.

You might be interested in the suggestions here:

• Ground cover suggestions

• Ideas for screening plants and ground cover

• Non-invasive native ground-cover suggestions

• 11 ground covers for your garden

Jason