Grass lawns require tons of non-renewable resources if you want to keep them lush, uniform, and weed-free. The most valuable of these is time but also water, pesticides, fertilizer, and the money for which we trade our time. We save these resources and create habitat for bees, butterflies, rabbits, birds, and other creatures by ‘maintaining’ a front yard of clover, plantain, violets, and a little some grass. Our backyard, though, is actually pretty uniform and lush. Instead of grass the backyard is planted with mondo grass. Mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus; also called monkey grass) looks like grass but is actually a short perennial forb with narrow leaves. Mondo grass has many frugal and environmental benefits. I’ll show you how to plant your yard with mondo grass for free.
During quarantine we cleared an overgrown area in the back of our yard. In one part I created an adult oasis complete with chairs, shade all day, a brick pile for rustic ambiance, and a pet cemetery. To create the circular shape of this mulched area I removed several square feet of mondo grass from one edge. I wanted mondo grass in the rest of the area.
A great thing about mondo grass is that once you have it you can move it around for free to cover new areas. If you don’t have mondo grass you can probably get some free from a neighbor. It spreads quickly and sometimes encroaches on garden beds and walkways. Offer to dig out the unwanted mondo and take it home to plant.
Wherever you find some extra mondo (I won’t tell), dig it up and shake the clumps to remove the dirt. (You can also buy mondo grass which comes with instructions.) You’ll end up with a tangled pile of loose mondo grass sprigs.
In the area you want planted use a pitch fork to make lines of holes a few inches deep. I make the lines 6 to 8 inches apart but the closer they are the faster the area will fill with mondo grass. Take a sprig of mondo and poke into a hole with a stick. You can’t hurt it just poke it in. Deeper is better so the roots stay moist and the sprigs don’t get dislodged during watering. Even if just a bit of leaf is above ground it's fine. Water it every couple days until you see new growth which tells you it is established.
Then just wait and ponder the benefits of mondo grass that will save you time and money. In a few months the clumps will grow together forming a uniform stand of indestructible ‘grass’. Mondo grass only grows about 8 inches high so you can mow it infrequently or just once a year in fall. The less you mow the denser the stand but if you like the mowed look go for it. You don’t need fertilizer, it has no insects pests, and has very few diseases. If you want a lush lawn that holds up to kids, drought, and weeds mondo grass is an inexpensive, often free, solution.
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