tenplay wrote:
Our large backyard has a large grassy area (approx. 110' X 70'), which
consists mostly of weeds and crabgrass. We want to upgrade it before we
sell the house in 3-4 years. Replacing it with a large lawn will take a
lot of work and expense. Is there a workable alternative that would be
attractive and inexpensive? A friend recommended planting groundcover,
but it's hard to envision such a large area of groundcover. We live in
Western Washington. Thanks for any suggestions/advice.

Renovating a 110x70 area is going to take a lot of work and expense no
matter how you renovate it. There are things you can do that will result in
lower maintenance and/or lower maintenance expense, but getting to that
point is going to take some work and some expense.

You can generally reduce the work required by spending more money (as in
paying someone else to do the work), and you can reduce some of the expense
with harder work, but no matter how you cut it (expense vs. work), even the
simplest solution is going to require a lot of one or both. (Some folks
factor in time to spread the work and expense out over a longer period, but
that's only spreading the work and expense out over a longer period, not
reducing the work or expense.)

If you're selling in 3-4 years, it doesn't make much sense developing a
great garden. Everyone has a different idea of what a great garden is, so
you'd be doing nothing but eliminating possible buyers if you do too much.
"Groundcover" can mean a lot of different things, but I can't think of
anything that wouldn't turn-off some buyers.

This is a case where a big lawn would make sense. Families looking for big
play areas won't see the potential if it's not grass. Gardeners looking for
a big (relatively) blank slate to build their dream landscape may not care
for a big lawn, but they'll see the potential. But either way, you're not
going to need to have a perfect lawn. You don't need to create a 110x70
putting green.

It is getting close to the right time to start renovating a lawn in your
area. Or if you're not selling for 3-4 years, you might be able to wait a
year or two. (That would save you the expense of maintaining the lawn once
you put it in place.) If you start in September, you should have it looking
good enough for sale by mid-winter. So starting in the September of the year
before the calendar year you expect to sell would minimize those maintenance
expenses and maintenance work. The actual renovation will still be as much
work and expense, but you won't need to maintain it for long before you pass
it off to someone else. Here's some information on how to renovate your
lawn: http://www.holzemville.com/community...are/intro.html

Now if you were planning on staying longer than 3-4 years I'd suggest
working and spending money on landscaping that you would enjoy looking at,
enjoy maintaining, and not mind the expense of maintaining. And if total
cost is important, than because of those maintenance costs involved with a
lawn, it's unlikely that a plain lawn would be the right answer.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
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