Berna’s Lawn Project – July 2007
Berna has a garden with very sparse grass which really needs irrigation
to be at its best. The ground is sandy, well drained and acidic
due to the large Douglas fir trees native to the area. It was decided
to try a small area about 300 square feet to determine how planting
Thyme species would work.
The area is to the southwest of the house, in full sun except
for late in the afternoon, at which time is shaded to the west.
It is also quite sharply sloping to the west, with a large Douglas
fir to one side, which can be planted around with ornamental grasses,
leaving the native rose and other wildings.
It was decided to copy a motif which the Berna seems to instinctively
choose, that of a circle. Planting Thyme at 1’ centers would
entail around 300 plugs, or approximately 4 flats of 72 plugs. The
variety which was chosen is called ‘Elfin’, and is very
compactly growing, with pale pink-purple blooms in July. We timed
the planting for August 2007, and we hoped for a rainy period to
reduce the need to irrigate. Late summer and fall are perfect planting
times, as the soil is warm and good root growth can take place before
the cold weather. Pictured below is the site before planting.
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"before" in Berna's garden
Stayed tuned for the "after" pic |
After the grass was hoed away, plugs were spaced one foot apart.
Next year, we anticipate that the plants will be about 6”
across, to fill in completely by 2009. It is recommended that the
plants not be walked on excessively, although they will take a fair
amount of traffic once established. If the area is to be used a
lot, we would install flagstones to take the brunt of the weight.
If this site is successful, the client will consider more areas
to be transformed to Thyme lawns!
Also in the plan is to introduce some drought tolerant grasses
to complement the client’s small collection of flowering perennials,
and to add drama and movement to the scene. It is important that
they be deer and chipmunk resistant and attract birds to the area.
My recommendations are any of the Panicum varieties, such as ‘Heavy
Metal’ or ‘Shenadoah’ as they have seed heads
to attract finches and other seed eating birds, and other types
which are native to the area such as Nassula viridula (syn. Stipa
viridula) and some of the fescues. Other types chosen were picked
strictly for beauty and ornamental qualities, Calamagrostis x ‘Overdam’,
Arrhenatherum bulbosum ‘Variegatum’ the bulbous oat
grass, and several other fescues.
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