Question
I was just reading about the low maintenancne lawn someone put down with a landscape fabric.  In the twilight of my life, I am thinking that it would be nice to not worry about mowing the lawn anymore.  How feasible is this do you think?  How would you go about it?  I live on Long Island.

Answer
Landscape fabric is not cheap, my friend.  And it is usually reserved for weed control around Perennials and Shrubs.

That's because this high-end space-age textile lets water and nutrients seep through.  But it's dense enough to keep out most weeds or anything else it's covering.

Some weeds will still penetrate landscape fabric.  Dollar Weed - The Weed From Hell - pops through landscape fabric like it was wet Kleenex.  That's no surprise to anyone who knows it also grows through blacktop and concrete.  Growing upwards from Hell.  This is one ugly weed.

There are many people who sympathize with your growing disdain for grass and the maintenance it needs.  Some take the Robert Moses approach to landscaping and actually asphalt over their lawns.  I think this is a bit extreme and, fortunately, outlawed by certain Zones.

Assuming this is not an option for you, why not consider a low-maintenance groundcover?

Hostas, pachysandra and ivy are all very independent plants.  They are popular because they need almost no watering once established and grow where it is shady, near tree trunks if necessary.

There are lots of others for full sun situations that are even prettier.  These too are maintenance free.  Grow one.  Don't mix them up, at least not without consulting me first!

See Bluestone Perennials website (www.bluestoneperennials.com) for a broad selection at reasonable prices.  They have a sale right now for early orders.  You can put them right in over the grass and water them in for a few weeks during the spring.  The first year they will become established and by 2008, you'll be on EZ Street.

Automatic sprinklers take care of any water schedule you might not want to think about as well.  Consider one if you don't have one installed already.

Let me know if you have any more questions.  Thankyou for writing!