I have a large lawn that continues around the front, back and one side
of our house. And it looks bad with clumps of crab grass, weeds and
some bald spots. Basically all I've done for the past few years is mow
every other week and weed sporadically when I am not working or away on
trips. I am throwing in the towel with maintaining a large lawn and
would like to try something else that would make it more presentable and
easier to maintain. Our kids are grown and gone, so no one really uses
the lawn.

A friend suggested replacing all or most of the lawn with ground cover,
which sounds promising. Is it possible to start it in an existing
lawn, and have it take over, or do I need to tear up all the sod and
start all over? Another suggestion was to tear out the lawn and replace
it with plants and trees. Maybe but it sounds like a lot of work and
expense. I should mention that I live in Western Washington, where we
experience A LOT of rain. Thanks for any suggestions or advice. Mike