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Grass Alternatives

If you like a green lawn, but don't enjoy the regular grass cutting, why not try a grass substitute? None of those suggested here will stand up to the hard wear of a children's play area like grass,0but just for occasional foot traffic and as a feature that is for admiration only,athere are some practical alternatives that don't need regular mowing.

Some common alternatives

•Thyme: Thyme is aromatic when crushed, and makes a good grasssubstitute, but don't use the culinarythyme (Thymus vulgaris), which is too tall. Choose a carpeter like T. pseudolanuginosus or T. serpyllum.

• Chamomile: Highly aromatic,

• chamomile (Chamaemetum nobile, syn. Anthemis nobilis) also looks good. Look for the variety `Treneague', which iscompact and does not normally flower.

Clover: If clover is a problem in yourlawn, it may make a good grasssubstitute. Once established it will keepgreen for most of the year, and willtolerate dry soils. It tolerates walkingon and can look quite attractive insummer, and is probably greener thangrass in dry weather. You'll only haveto mow a couple of times a year, afterthe flowers appear, to keep it lookingsmart. White clover (Trifalium repens)is a good one to use for lawns, thoughyou will need to mail-order the seedsfrom a company that sells wild oragricultural seeds.

Cutting costs

Pot-grown plants from a garden centrecan be expensive if you need a greatnumber. You can cut the cost by buyingjust some plants and using these forcuttings. Grow them on for a yearbefore planting in the garden. Somethymes are easily raised from seed, butstart them off in seed trays then growon in pots.

1. Always lay paving on a firm base.Excavate the area to a depth that allowsfor hardcore, mortar, and paving. Firm theground, then add 5-10 cm/2-4 in ofhardcore for foot traffic, about 15 cm/6 inif vehicles will use it.

2. Compact the ground thoroughly. Bedthe slabs on five blobs of mortar, using fiveparts of sharp sand to one part cement.

3. Alternatively, you can lay the slabswith a solid bed of mortar, although thiswill make it more difficult to adjust them.

4. Starr at a known straight edge, thenposition each slab in turn. The best way isto lower the slab down from one side,then slide it if adjustments are necessary.

5. Tap the slab level with a mallet or thehandle of a club hammer, using a longspirit level that spans adjoining slabs. If alarge area of paving is being laid, it may benecessary to lay it on a slight slope todrain rainwater, in which case you mustallow for this.

6. Unless the slabs are designed to bebutt-joined, use spacers to ensure a gap ofconsistent width. You can make thesefrom scraps of wood. A few days after theslabs have been laid, point with mortar

PLANTING A THYME LAWN

You must prepare the ground thoroughly and eliminate as manyweeds as possible otherwise weeding will become a tiresome chore if left unchecked. Time spent now will betime saved later.

1. Prepare the ground thoroughly bydigging over the area and levelling it atleast a month before planting. This willallow the soil to settle and weed seedlingsto germinate. Then dig our any deep-rooted perennial weeds that appear. Hoeout seedlings. Rake level again.

2. Water all the plants in theirpots first,then set them out about 20 cm/8 in apart,in staggered rows as shown (a little closerfor quicker cover, a little further apart foreconomy but slower cover).

3. Knock a plant from its pot and carefully tease out a few of the roots itthey are running tightly around the edgeof the pot.

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