I know right off the bat this might sound crazy, but I'm considering, just considering, trying to convert my dead fescue front yard to a "field" of oxalis, clover and dandylions. I love all the plants and they certainly can live in our hot, dry summers of late.
I wouldn't know how to "seed", or begin in any way, but I am tired of dead grass with foxtail, D**M crabgrass and wild bermuda covering my yard. That certainly looks crappy. But wouldn't a cut "yard" of the above look nice and lush?
Any thoughts, suggestions of how to accomplish this. Could I actually BUY dandylion seed?
Is this a crazy idea....
Well, I wouldn't say "crazy" but you might want to make sure you are committed to the look. Otherwise, perhaps you have ties to an herbicide co.? I converted a bad lawn in our first house to a cottage garden by doing free-form curves across the front and expanding the space each year. I cheated a bit by having really wide swathes of bark on the edges to make it look bigger than it actually was and kill out the grass for next year's dig. Even was able to add in a discrete veggie here and there. All of the plants that you mentioned can look pretty beaten up in the heat. Red clover is beautiful and can be found at feed and seeds (we overseed at our country house), but it won't take you through the summer.
L
Clover sounds like a good idea to me. Not sure about the oxalis and dandelion. They may not keep the crabgrass, etc out. I know you can buy clover seed, but never heard of anyone selling the wild oxalis or dandelion. The plant police would probably arrest them LOL!
Not crazy at all. Don't know what it would look like but makes sense.
We are going a strong permaculture push this year. Converting our front yard into a series of fruit tree guilds and edible landscaping. Mrs Bronx and I started this weekend with an existing bed in a corner of the front yard. I sheet mulched the bed and we will be planting artichokes, herbs and hollyhocks among the crepe myrtles and day lilies.
Mrs Bronx has a flower bed there. We dumped some soil from a potting box there last year while we were working the bed and to our surprise, a stand of cilantro has popped up. We left it and are going to interplant other things with it. I'm video taping it and will post our progress on our website.
What is oaxlis?
BB
Dandelion seed is readily available. Europe considers it a vegetable and there is asmall market in the US. http://www.seedquest.com/Sources/HerbSeed/d/Dandelion.htm The easist way if you don't have any is to go to a dandelion infested lawn, when the seedheads are ripe, gather up a bag full and scatter them over your lawn. If there is one within blowing distance, they will muliply exponentially and give you a bright yellow carpet, in the early spring followed by a flush of cottony seedheads. The rest of year they are pretty much an inconspicuos rosette lying flat on the ground. They are compatible with Bermuda grass as long as you keep the bermuda mowed. Bermuda if allowed to get tall will choke out dandelions and most other low growing plants. White Dutch clover makes a decent lawn except in very hot weather. http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/rensselaer/HORT/Fact%20sheets/fs07522x%20white%20clover.htm The pink blooming oxalis grows wild in lawns here, but is not agressive. Seems to prefer wetter spots like roof drains. http://www.willowcreekgardens.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=71&gclid=CPGoo--T9JECFQkdPAodGz39vg
I want to pick our dandelions for greens in salads this year, but I had to buy a plant book to readily identify it when it isn't in flower. Once it flowers, pretty much not good for eating so I've read.
I think it sounds great 3gardeners. We don't really have much grass to speak off in our lawn due to serious shade. We have some moss (which I love), and some really, really soft thin grass that I also love. Then by the road is grass but I don't know what kind - it's hard and prickly, looks a little like St. Augustine, but drier.
Thanks for the info on the seeds FarmerDill. I'm also going to see about planting my little baby oxalis in a wetter area and see if it flourishes, as I loved the bright pink flowers it produced last year in it's pot.
BB, the weed oxalis is also known as yellow wood sorrel. I fight (and lose) with it every year in the garden and what little lawn I have. http://www.weedalert.com/weed_pages/wa_yellow_woodsorrel.htm
Becky
Does it have any redeeming qualities?
BB
Re: Dandelion...I confess to being a major foodie along with my Separate Entity ( thats my term for DH). The dandelion that is grown and eaten in Europe is not what grows here. At least none that I've eaten out of my yard (and I've eaten it once or twice here and lots of times there). Although the later is edible, it is not the same "animal' as what you would get in Europe which is as highly regarded and cultivated as our greens. If you intend to plant dandelion make sure you have a named variety that is grown for food as opposed to...whatever. There is seed available, but I can't advise here as I grow greens, but not these.