Kevin wrote:

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?

To get rid of the grass, use an herbicide that is specific to
grass. I use Sethoxidem. The Poast brand is now only available
bulk quantities for agricultural use. But I found the same
herbicide in Grass Getter. This works only if you keep the grass
growing; water it but don't feed it.

I am planting pink clover (Persicaria capitata) in the main part of
my front lawn. This will thrive despite significant shade over
much of the area, but it also grows quite well in full sun. This
is a nice ground cover for looking, but it doesn't take much
walking. It will eventually grow about 3-4 inches thick. Pink
clover is hardy to about 13°F. Its name comes from the flower
heads (year round in my garden) that are pale pink and look like
the blossoms of white clover.

I am planting cinquefoil (Potentilla neumanniana) in the parkway,
between the sidewalk and the street. This requires more sun than
the pink clover but does okay with part shade. It will survive
with light foot traffic. This stays quite low, about 1-2 inches
thick. Cinquefoil is hardy to 0°F. These have small yellow
blossoms, mostly from the late spring to mid-autumn.

Both the pink clover and cinquefoil remain undamaged if you have to
use more Sethoxidem to control grass. After they are established,
they generally choke out weeds; but some hand weeding may still be
necessary. Also, they require frequent trimming at the edges
(about once every 4-6 weeks during the growing season); otherwise,
they can become invasive.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at URL:http://www.rossde.com/garden/