Toss the bare lawn?

Our once gorgeous and lush green grass in the front yard has turned to bare spots and mass plantings of a variety of weeds.

When I saw the photo of an interesting and beautiful non-lawn yard scene, I thought "why not?"

One of the why nots is that succulents don't do well in our climate and that is one of the things that I really like about the scene.

With a little imagination, I guess one could set out those pavers, do some research and find a ground cover that would thrive in these conditions.  The flashiness could come from the colorful tropicals that can be planted and do so well in our climate.

The area in the photo is small and our front yard is huge.  One paver section at a time I guess!  Another idea would be larger structures here and there, like bird baths and benches to take up some space.  Large containers strategically placed would also take up space and add to the texture.

Anyway, when I found the photo, I thought it was a good starting point for inspiration.  I'm sure we are not the only ones who are wanting to get rid of the lawn!

Click here to go to an article, "How to Use Ground Cover to Cover Bare Spots in the Lawn" . . . which is where I also found the photo.

Click here for another article, "Lawn Replacements: Kick Your Yard in the Grass" which includes a slideshow of many non-lawn inspirations.

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Peppers ~ Southern Summer Favorites to Plant This Week

The following tips are courtesy of Home Depot's Garden Club.  Click on the source link at the end of the post to join.

Peppers are easy to grow in the garden and containers and thrive in long, hot summers with a weekly watering of 1-2”.

Huge, sweet red bells, mildly hot Anaheims, petite purple sweets, and wildly hot yellow habaneros – take your choice or plant them all in the garden or containers.

Peppers love hot weather, so pepper transplants, seeds and seedlings should be set out only after soil temperatures are above 65 degrees. Once the plants have flowered, give them a dose of Epsom salts (magnesium) to produce bigger peppers and more of them.

A note about hot peppers. Be mean to them, especially as they approach maturity. Quit watering as much, and don’t worry if leaves go limp in the afternoon sun. Lack of moisture concentrates the capsicum in the pepper, raising the heat level.

1. To speed germination, place the seeds between a few damp paper towels and put in a zippered plastic bag in a warm place. The top of the refrigerator works fine.
2. Add a 1” layer of compost over the planting bed, or scratch an organic vegetable fertilizer into containers before planting. 
3. As soon as the pepper seeds sprout, carefully plant them in individual containers or directly into the ground spaced 12-18” apart.
4. Water deeply, 1-2” every 5-7 days, unless plants are in containers, which require more frequent watering.
5. When flowers appear, scratch a tablespoon of Epsom salts around the base of each pepper plant. Or spray the tops and bottoms of leaves with 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts mixed with 1 quart of warm water.
6. Mulch flowering plants with 2” of organic mulch.
7. Cage or stake plants as they grow taller and begin producing peppers.

Another excellent post about growing peppers

 from Mother Earth Living . . . click here.

Source of featured article

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