"Kevin" wrote in message
...
In our back yard we have a very small lawn about (10ft by 20ft) that needs
mowing weekly and sometimes twice weekly in summer.

Now I'm looking for lower maintenance so everything can be left unattended
for weeks at a time if were out of town. I have a neighbor that "may" mow
the rear lawn for us if he has time and remembers and I don't want to hire
a service for that small area. Our HOA takes care of the front lawn and
plants.
I could simply expand our back patio and cover the current lawn area with
concrete, but since we already have automatic sprinklers set up, I'm
considering replacing the lawn with low-maintenance groundcover than can
be walked on and that we could ocassionally place outdoor furniture on for
an evening without killing it.
We want to be able to simply set our automatic sprinklers on a timer and
not have to attend to it more than a few times a year with fertilizer and
trimming.
Recommedations for ground cover and how to get rid of the grass so it does
not interfere with the new ground cover?


You didn't mention where you live, so this response is maybe 50% wrong, but:
Don't water the lawn beginning in late spring. Then, it may behave like
grass in the wild, stop growing, turn brown, and wait for cooler weather.
That works here in Rochester NY. Or, I should say "it happens in some
years". If the grass was mowed correctly throughout spring, it comes back
nicely in the fall. By correctly, I mean with the mower at it's highest
setting.