A Low Maintenance, Low Mow Backyard Makeover

by Amanda

Ethan, one of the owners of American Meadows, recently re-designed his backyard to better support his busy family. They wanted to choose grass varieties that required less mowing and that could handle foot traffic with their children and dog playing.

Prepping the property:

Old Redstone rock from the house’s foundation has been repurposed into a wall for a flower bed to support butterflies, hummingbirds and bees.

getting ready to plant grass plugs

The Soil:

The soil was sandy and dry, so they had amend with topsoil and compost. The soil hardened up after a lot of traffic, so it required rototilling to loosen it up.

prepping for grass plug planting

ready to plant low-mow grass plugs

rototilling for grass plugs

Sunlight: This lawn gets part sun and shade, with shade being more prevalent throughout the day.

Products:

Bella Blue Grass Plugs - Blue Grass Bellow is a fantastic turf grass that requires one third less water than traditional blue grass, staying green from early spring until late fall. It also doesn’t require any mowing, growing to only 2-3” tall.

Dog Tuff Grass Plugs (The lime Green ones that are more wild looking) - This is a product from our sister company High Country Gardens. 'Dog Tuff'™ African Dogtooth Grass is an amazing xeric lawn grass perfect for high traffic and play areas and has excellent durability in yards with dogs. Once established it is highly weed resistant, deep rooted and provides a soft, cushioned feel for bare feet.

bella blue grass plugs in trays

To Plant:

Drill holes in the ground just deep enough to plant the plug. You don’t want an air pocket between the plug and the soil. The roots need to lay flush with the soil in order to grow well. Drill the holes roughly 2-3" deep, spacing the plugs 12" apart.

Ethan and his daughter Adia are demonstrating this nicely.

spacing out grass plugs

Press the soil around the plug, but not too hard.

grass plug planting

just-planted dog tuff grass plugs

Spreading Corn Gluten:

This is a natural weed deterrent. We recommend spreading around the plugs directly after planting.

spreading corn gluten

Six Weeks After Growth:

The growth of the grass plugs is triple the size of the original plug. They have strong root systems and have quickly grown out to connect to other glass plugs to form a cohesive, green lawn.

grass-plugs-six-weeks-phone

week six grass plugs

grass plugs at six weeks

grass plugs filling in

grass plugs growing strong

week six grass plug comparison-2

grass plugs growing fast

grass plugs become a lawn

Please stay tuned for the three month check-in, coming soon! Happy Gardening!