My lawn has always been heavily used by my four kids and now three grandkids for football, baseball, soccer, swinging on the swingset, jumping on the trampoline, and associated other outdoor activities. I would be in trouble if the relatively flat and soft surface wasn't available.
I find traditional american manicured lawns absolutely awful. I love your very meditteranian inspired garden plan but any gardener using Round Up is just criminal imo. Especially these tiny tiny areas ehere it would have been a cinch to remove the weeds with machinery. In many countries outside the US, Roundup and other Monsanto products are not only banned but a threat to the entire ecosystem, wineculture, artisan food production. The toxins effects on the environment wont be magically gone once you remove the dead weeds, using this companies products poses a major threat to the ecosystem, it's kindof their whole business. It's lucrative. You caught my attention as a short video showed up at random, although I'm in Europe, too bad, but thanks for being honest.
@@gnarbeljo8980 I rototilled my front lawn out a couple of weekends ago and haven't had to use a drop of herbicide. Kurapia is down in a couple of places (thanks John) and we'll see how things look in a few weeks/months. The goal is to be lawn independent and to use less water.
We removed our lawn eight years ago, and I have no regrets. The water cost, the mowing, the fertilizing, the weeding and dethatching was too much work for the amount of pleasure we got from it. We put in patios and low water use plants that are beautiful and I regularly hear compliments on it. I enjoy my garden much more now.
We lived in Arizona for several decades and kept very small lawns in the back for our dogs to play in. Our Xeriscape included lots of gravel, interspersed with low water flowering shrubs and trees. Now that we live in (and love) Washington State, we have converted our medium-sized front lawn to large flowerbeds, shrubs, and trees, with a tiny lawn for our terriers. The back yard consists of two patios and a forest. We prefer flowing grasses to grass.
Chip says "you gotta have a place for the doggies to play!" Location is important, if you don't have water restrictions and crazy dry heat a lawn makes more sense. I am sucker for majestic flowing grasses as well 😍 Thanks for sharing!
Lawns can be approximate, and beautiful, in certain geographic areas where water is naturally abundant. I reside in Southern California and my wife and I have chosen (because of your videos) to go with Kurapia, for both our front and back yards come this spring. I enjoyed the historic part of this video and the fact that you had the original drawings from the first time you landscaped this residence. Nice to see a loyal customer return so many years later! I have similar relationship with our arborist who has been caring for our trees and shrubs for over two decades. My vote regarding lawns is keeping them where natural resources are abundant and using other plants where natural resources are scare and best used for other purposes.
That is an excellent point! Location and water availability should plays an important role. Keep us posted how the Kurapia goes in the spring! :) Glad to hear you enjoyed the video, work is already going strong, think the completed project video should be out by the end of this month!!
My parents loved and took care of their lawn but have now passed on and I pray the new owners appreciate the yard as much as they did even if they do some xeriscape and keep some lawn 🙏🙏
We just purchased an 18 year old house in south central British Columbia The front yard is xeriscaped with a small patio of pavers and the rest is crushed gravel. We’re in the process of developing a courtyard in the front. Even though there isn’t a shortage of water here we think it’s the responsible thing to eliminate lawns. I don’t think they serve any practical use and are a lot of work. I just purchased Gardens are for people and love that principle. Really enjoy your channel and wish your products were available here
Kathy, that is a great perspective to have. We agree- gardens should maximize their space by being both functional to your wants and needs, as well as aesthetically pleasing. Glad you are on the water saving train! We are huge fans of xeriscape (and using native plants in conjunction!)
For me, I live in Western Washington and I love green lawn with plants around my house with lawn decore and lights at night. Now as far as what I see in this video it is very nice thank you John.
A much better suited location for a lawn than central California! Some nice landscape lighting can make all the difference IMO 💚Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts :)
We have approximately 1.5 acres of property here in Georgia and while it is common for everything but the house and mabe a pool to be in grass. However when we moved here 3.5 years ago I decided that we would have mainly a series of cottage gardens. While I think sometimes my neighbors think I have lost my mind it is finally starting to take shape, my husband and I do our own work where we can but with concrete we need help. So far I have a perennial garden that I started with and then we did a row of maple trees along the sidewalk with lantana between the trees. We have planted several trees around the yard in various places, to include a sourwood tree and a red maple just last week. I have added several other perennial gardens in this space and last summer we laid fescue sod to establish a horseshoe garden with a bench swing at one end for on-lookers. We have a drainage issue with lots of of runoff water from neighbors that we had a very long dry riverbed installed to accommodate the water. I have a camellia garden and day lily garden alongside and a few small perennial beds on the other side. We have had a lot of fun and much back breaking work with this on going project. At 73 and 68 it is a challenge but one we enjoy. This year I want to get a camera drone to start getting a better view of the entire property.
I have found that usually when people think you have "lost your mind" that is when you are onto something good! 💚Your garden sounds amazing and what an awesome thing to get to create together (something I look forward to doing myself one day). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get a drone and share some of the footage on here - we would love to see it 😍 Thanks for sharing with us and watching our video :)
I have always loved a nice fescue lawn the best but water is definitely an issue. The changing weather patterns and my age may be the biggest reasons for me to consider changing my ways! Just trying to keep up with the mowing and trimming is going to be a challenge. Keep the good ideas and advice coming. I enjoy your channel 👍
We do love a nice lawn, but they tend to be very needy LOL Any thoughts on what you might replace your lawn with if you took it out? Will do! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts with us :)
I live in So Cal. and I have gone through at least 2 major droughts and having dirt front yards that turn into weed gardens, I rather have a lawn, and water properly. Just like people who do not take care of their lawns and nothing but different type of weeds, you also have people who do Xeriscape and just throw down bark and put 10 shrubs in the deluxe package which then turns into a weed garden. So have pride in what you have and make it your best.
Here’s a link so you can check out some of our work ua-cam.com/video/7VkshQJJHcM/v-deo.html …We specialize in zen landscaping arrangements 🐢 subscribe to our channel if you like what you see would definitely appreciate it 😎
That is very sound advice - xeriscape or lawn, as long as you have pride in what you grow and take care of it the best you can it is sure to be something you, and others, enjoy 💚Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us :)
We took out ALL of our lawn areas about 15 years ago. Now, the gardens are interspersed with pathways, shrubs, flowers, and native ground cover. Our hot Central Texas location is much better suited to this style of gardening than expansive grass lawns!
Here’s a link so you can check out some of our work ua-cam.com/video/7VkshQJJHcM/v-deo.html …We specialize in zen landscaping arrangements 🐢 subscribe to our channel if you like what you see would definitely appreciate it 😎
Sounds beautiful! What ground cover/s do you currently have? Yes, location and water availability are important to note if wanting a lawn. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, we love hearing about everyones awesome home gardens 💚
@@JohnandBobs All of the garden beds, under the flowers and shrubs, is a native cedar mulch. In a somewhat wooded area behind my husband’s boat house, the primary ground cover is the native Calyptocarpus vialis (or Horseherb, Straggler Daisy, Hierba Del Caballo). I’d like to try some of John’s video recommended Kurapia somewhere on the property to see how it does. There are also some areas with an Asian Jasmine groundcover.
I think lawns are beautiful when they are can grow, but they require too much water. We have 3 young children who like to play in the yard. I’d like to have useable front and backyard space for my kids to play. What are other options for this? I’ve seen many yards without lawns that look great and others that look horrible. I like the idea of adding extra living space to the front and backyards.
When I was a kid we had a big lawn, but i spent 90% of my time climbing the trees and playing in the big bushes we had out in the front yard 😂. One option that comes to mind is replacing your lawn with a ground cover that can take a lot of traffic. We have mentioned Kurapia a lot, a good option but it can attract a lot of bees (you can reduce bees by mowing the flowers off though). You could research some other types of durable ground covers, more water efficient grasses, or synthetic lawn could maybe be a good option for you. Other than that there really isn't a ton of great options for playing on, a lot of plants don't handle traffic that well. Maybe a play structure with some nice plants around it?
Where water is an issue, lawns no longer make sense, Creating courtyards are very appealing . Have you considered using vinegar instead of Roundup for treating weeds. We have certain areas in our yard that become overgrown with weeds and we treat with vinegar. So far it seems to work. Thanks for your videos.
Agreed! I have used vinegar before, it can be a good organic option for treating weeds 😀 However, in this yard our goal was to kill all of the bermuda before completely tearing out the turf. Vinegar would not be very effective for our purpose.
I think removing lawns could create real moments for creativity in your landscape, its a great way to begin learning of new plantings that are native or do better in drier climates. Often those plants are better suited at creating habitats for pollinators, birds, butterflies and other wildlife.
Here’s a link so you can check out some of our work ua-cam.com/video/7VkshQJJHcM/v-deo.html …We specialize in zen landscaping arrangements 🐢 subscribe to our channel if you like what you see would definitely appreciate it 😎
What a wonderful way to look at it. Lawns do tend to take up a large amount of space that really could be anything you want! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us :)
Well, I like a lawn that is beautiful and free of weeds, but that probably only applies to about 5% of the lawns I see in our immediate area (mine also being part of the 95%). When you figure how much money is spent on the lawn, which really serves no useful purpose, between fertilizer, mowers and mower maintenance, and water, it really makes no sense. A nice lawn does add to the home's appearance, but an awful lawn is probably the first thing your eyes focus on. It's a struggle every spring and summer trying to keep it green and looking nice. I've consider the xeriscape option, and will be interested to see how your project turns out. The few I have seen around here look ok, but I'm not a fan of the white rocks and some of the plants I've seen used here. Also, some of the yards around here with xeriscape tend to become overrun by weeds after a time. I am curious to see what you come up with. Also, I do like the ground cover.
Kurapia mowed once per month would work well for a dog run or a colored decomposed granite with a binder such as "PolyPavement" would also work well. -John
How do you feel about a front or back garden WITHOUT a lawn? Let us know in the comments and you could win a FREE bag of J&B's Blend!
My lawn has always been heavily used by my four kids and now three grandkids for football, baseball, soccer, swinging on the swingset, jumping on the trampoline, and associated other outdoor activities. I would be in trouble if the relatively flat and soft surface wasn't available.
That is very understandable. Your situation is perfect for a well used sizable lawn! :)
Front yard no lawn needed, backyard is for the dogs where I have some lawn left...
I find traditional american manicured lawns absolutely awful. I love your very meditteranian inspired garden plan but any gardener using Round Up is just criminal imo. Especially these tiny tiny areas ehere it would have been a cinch to remove the weeds with machinery.
In many countries outside the US, Roundup and other Monsanto products are not only banned but a threat to the entire ecosystem, wineculture, artisan food production. The toxins effects on the environment wont be magically gone once you remove the dead weeds, using this companies products poses a major threat to the ecosystem, it's kindof their whole business. It's lucrative.
You caught my attention as a short video showed up at random, although I'm in Europe, too bad, but thanks for being honest.
@@gnarbeljo8980 I rototilled my front lawn out a couple of weekends ago and haven't had to use a drop of herbicide. Kurapia is down in a couple of places (thanks John) and we'll see how things look in a few weeks/months. The goal is to be lawn independent and to use less water.
We removed our lawn eight years ago, and I have no regrets. The water cost, the mowing, the fertilizing, the weeding and dethatching was too much work for the amount of pleasure we got from it. We put in patios and low water use plants that are beautiful and I regularly hear compliments on it. I enjoy my garden much more now.
We lived in Arizona for several decades and kept very small lawns in the back for our dogs to play in. Our Xeriscape included lots of gravel, interspersed with low water flowering shrubs and trees. Now that we live in (and love) Washington State, we have converted our medium-sized front lawn to large flowerbeds, shrubs, and trees, with a tiny lawn for our terriers. The back yard consists of two patios and a forest. We prefer flowing grasses to grass.
Chip says "you gotta have a place for the doggies to play!" Location is important, if you don't have water restrictions and crazy dry heat a lawn makes more sense. I am sucker for majestic flowing grasses as well 😍 Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Chip for your help!
Glad to be of service!🐾
Lawns can be approximate, and beautiful, in certain geographic areas where water is naturally abundant. I reside in Southern California and my wife and I have chosen (because of your videos) to go with Kurapia, for both our front and back yards come this spring. I enjoyed the historic part of this video and the fact that you had the original drawings from the first time you landscaped this residence. Nice to see a loyal customer return so many years later! I have similar relationship with our arborist who has been caring for our trees and shrubs for over two decades. My vote regarding lawns is keeping them where natural resources are abundant and using other plants where natural resources are scare and best used for other purposes.
That is an excellent point! Location and water availability should plays an important role. Keep us posted how the Kurapia goes in the spring! :) Glad to hear you enjoyed the video, work is already going strong, think the completed project video should be out by the end of this month!!
My parents loved and took care of their lawn but have now passed on and I pray the new owners appreciate the yard as much as they did even if they do some xeriscape and keep some lawn 🙏🙏
We just purchased an 18 year old house in south central British Columbia The front yard is xeriscaped with a small patio of pavers and the rest is crushed gravel. We’re in the process of developing a courtyard in the front. Even though there isn’t a shortage of water here we think it’s the responsible thing to eliminate lawns. I don’t think they serve any practical use and are a lot of work. I just purchased Gardens are for people and love that principle. Really enjoy your channel and wish your products were available here
Kathy, that is a great perspective to have. We agree- gardens should maximize their space by being both functional to your wants and needs, as well as aesthetically pleasing. Glad you are on the water saving train! We are huge fans of xeriscape (and using native plants in conjunction!)
For me, I live in Western Washington and I love green lawn with plants around my house with lawn decore and lights at night.
Now as far as what I see in this video it is very nice thank you John.
A much better suited location for a lawn than central California! Some nice landscape lighting can make all the difference IMO 💚Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts :)
We have approximately 1.5 acres of property here in Georgia and while it is common for everything but the house and mabe a pool to be in grass. However when we moved here 3.5 years ago I decided that we would have mainly a series of cottage gardens. While I think sometimes my neighbors think I have lost my mind it is finally starting to take shape, my husband and I do our own work where we can but with concrete we need help. So far I have a perennial garden that I started with and then we did a row of maple trees along the sidewalk with lantana between the trees. We have planted several trees around the yard in various places, to include a sourwood tree and a red maple just last week. I have added several other perennial gardens in this space and last summer we laid fescue sod to establish a horseshoe garden with a bench swing at one end for on-lookers. We have a drainage issue with lots of of runoff water from neighbors that we had a very long dry riverbed installed to accommodate the water. I have a camellia garden and day lily garden alongside and a few small perennial beds on the other side. We have had a lot of fun and much back breaking work with this on going project. At 73 and 68 it is a challenge but one we enjoy. This year I want to get a camera drone to start getting a better view of the entire property.
I have found that usually when people think you have "lost your mind" that is when you are onto something good! 💚Your garden sounds amazing and what an awesome thing to get to create together (something I look forward to doing myself one day). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get a drone and share some of the footage on here - we would love to see it 😍 Thanks for sharing with us and watching our video :)
I have always loved a nice fescue lawn the best but water is definitely an issue. The changing weather patterns and my age may be the biggest reasons for me to consider changing my ways! Just trying to keep up with the mowing and trimming is going to be a challenge.
Keep the good ideas and advice coming. I enjoy your channel 👍
We do love a nice lawn, but they tend to be very needy LOL Any thoughts on what you might replace your lawn with if you took it out? Will do! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts with us :)
Nice video 🐢
Thanks for watching! :)
I live in So Cal. and I have gone through at least 2 major droughts and having dirt front yards that turn into weed gardens, I rather have a lawn, and water properly. Just like people who do not take care of their lawns and nothing but different type of weeds, you also have people who do Xeriscape and just throw down bark and put 10 shrubs in the deluxe package which then turns into a weed garden. So have pride in what you have and make it your best.
Here’s a link so you can check out some of our work ua-cam.com/video/7VkshQJJHcM/v-deo.html …We specialize in zen landscaping arrangements 🐢 subscribe to our channel if you like what you see would definitely appreciate it 😎
That is very sound advice - xeriscape or lawn, as long as you have pride in what you grow and take care of it the best you can it is sure to be something you, and others, enjoy 💚Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us :)
You do beautiful work
Thank you! We are happy you like it :)
We took out ALL of our lawn areas about 15 years ago. Now, the gardens are interspersed with pathways, shrubs, flowers, and native ground cover. Our hot Central Texas location is much better suited to this style of gardening than expansive grass lawns!
Here’s a link so you can check out some of our work ua-cam.com/video/7VkshQJJHcM/v-deo.html …We specialize in zen landscaping arrangements 🐢 subscribe to our channel if you like what you see would definitely appreciate it 😎
Sounds beautiful! What ground cover/s do you currently have? Yes, location and water availability are important to note if wanting a lawn. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, we love hearing about everyones awesome home gardens 💚
@@JohnandBobs All of the garden beds, under the flowers and shrubs, is a native cedar mulch. In a somewhat wooded area behind my husband’s boat house, the primary ground cover is the native Calyptocarpus vialis (or Horseherb, Straggler Daisy, Hierba Del Caballo). I’d like to try some of John’s video recommended Kurapia somewhere on the property to see how it does. There are also some areas with an Asian Jasmine groundcover.
@@lindajames3879 We are big fans of cedar mulch. Great ground cover choices! Yes, try out Kurapia and let us know how it goes :)
I think lawns are beautiful when they are can grow, but they require too much water. We have 3 young children who like to play in the yard. I’d like to have useable front and backyard space for my kids to play. What are other options for this? I’ve seen many yards without lawns that look great and others that look horrible. I like the idea of adding extra living space to the front and backyards.
When I was a kid we had a big lawn, but i spent 90% of my time climbing the trees and playing in the big bushes we had out in the front yard 😂. One option that comes to mind is replacing your lawn with a ground cover that can take a lot of traffic. We have mentioned Kurapia a lot, a good option but it can attract a lot of bees (you can reduce bees by mowing the flowers off though). You could research some other types of durable ground covers, more water efficient grasses, or synthetic lawn could maybe be a good option for you. Other than that there really isn't a ton of great options for playing on, a lot of plants don't handle traffic that well. Maybe a play structure with some nice plants around it?
Where water is an issue, lawns no longer make sense, Creating courtyards are very appealing . Have you considered using vinegar instead of Roundup for treating weeds. We have certain areas in our yard that become overgrown with weeds and we treat with vinegar. So far it seems to work. Thanks for your videos.
Agreed! I have used vinegar before, it can be a good organic option for treating weeds 😀 However, in this yard our goal was to kill all of the bermuda before completely tearing out the turf. Vinegar would not be very effective for our purpose.
I think removing lawns could create real moments for creativity in your landscape, its a great way to begin learning of new plantings that are native or do better in drier climates. Often those plants are better suited at creating habitats for pollinators, birds, butterflies and other wildlife.
Here’s a link so you can check out some of our work ua-cam.com/video/7VkshQJJHcM/v-deo.html …We specialize in zen landscaping arrangements 🐢 subscribe to our channel if you like what you see would definitely appreciate it 😎
What a wonderful way to look at it. Lawns do tend to take up a large amount of space that really could be anything you want! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us :)
Mine is natural scape. Almost no maintenance 😄😄
Well, I like a lawn that is beautiful and free of weeds, but that probably only applies to about 5% of the lawns I see in our immediate area (mine also being part of the 95%). When you figure how much money is spent on the lawn, which really serves no useful purpose, between fertilizer, mowers and mower maintenance, and water, it really makes no sense. A nice lawn does add to the home's appearance, but an awful lawn is probably the first thing your eyes focus on. It's a struggle every spring and summer trying to keep it green and looking nice. I've consider the xeriscape option, and will be interested to see how your project turns out. The few I have seen around here look ok, but I'm not a fan of the white rocks and some of the plants I've seen used here. Also, some of the yards around here with xeriscape tend to become overrun by weeds after a time. I am curious to see what you come up with. Also, I do like the ground cover.
Congratulations! You are this week's winner 🥳 Please contact us at customerservice@johnandbobs.com to claim your prize 🏆😀
@@JohnandBobs thanks very much. I just emailed you.
What is a lawn replacement that is good for the area my dog plays?
Kurapia mowed once per month would work well for a dog run or a colored decomposed granite with a binder such as "PolyPavement" would also work well. -John
Not mowing is what I like.
A xeriscape would be perfect for you then 😜
Get rid of lawns!
I love your energy!