On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 21:16:24 -0400, Buzzy wrote:

I'm getting tired of watering my lawn constantly, trying to keep
it half ass green in the heat and drought conditions we've been having
for the past three years or so. I was wonder what plant I could use as a
ground cover other than grass that looks good, is low growing, needs
little care, takes a bit of punishment (light foot traffic), and comes
back year after year. Living in zone 6b in beautiful Southwestern Ontario!

How about a different grass? You might consider buffalo grass, Buchloe
dactyloides. It'll grow well in Ontario, though it's not a native species,
prefers medium to dry soil. Also requires little mowing. The main hitch
for most people is that it's a warm season grass, which means it looks
kinda ratty in cooler temperatures. The other hitch is that it's sensitive
to a number of the broadleaf weed herbicides, especially when first planted
or if temps are over about 90oF, so if you're enamoured of
the fertilizer+herbicide solution proposed for most lawns, this might not
be for you. Oh yes, it really doesn't need much fertilizer, and it
doesn't really enjoy sandy soil.

And did I mention that you can get away without mowing it in informal lawns?

I believe it's being used on some roadsides in Ontario, specifically those
that get salted in the winter, so a call to the local transportation department
would probably give you some "lawns" to inspect.

http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/horticulture/ec1245.htm

Kay