A few years back, Debra and I started adding large mulch areas around the trees in the yard. This was an effort to make things look a little better, as well as to reduce lawn maintenance. More mulch means less grass to mow. And mulch around the trees means that I don’t have to run the weed eater to knock down the grass that normally would grow around the trunks. The problem is that weeds and grass grow in the mulch, and if you don’t keep up with pulling them and adding a new layer of mulch every year or two, the grass will take over again.

Another option is to plant a good thick ground cover that will prevent grass and weeds from growing. One of the best such plants for this area is asian jasmine. Getting it established might be a challenge, but once established it’s very drought tolerant and requires little maintenance. Just trim it with the weed eater, or run the mower over it on the highest setting once or twice a year. The only thing that concerns me is the stated requirement of “moist, well-drained, well-prepared soil” for establishment. Such soil is in short supply in our yard.

As far as I’m concerned, the perfect ground cover would be grass that never grows higher than an inch or two. Why can’t some of these genetic engineering whizzes get to work on such a thing? Forget Frankenfoods. I imagine just about any homeowner would kill for a lush green lawn that he never had to mow.