Newsletter Articles
Sod, Grass, and Creative Yard Options for Your SoCal Lawn
Written by Kelsey W.
A beautiful Southern California yard can be many things. For one homeowner, a beautiful yard might glow with native wildflowers, while another homeowner might prefer a nicely tended patch of grass.
The type of ground covering you choose for your lawn may require virtually no effort to keep in good condition, while another option might need a little more care to keep it looking and feeling great.
In Southern California, the weather allows us to enjoy virtually any sort of lawn, as long as we’re willing to care for it. In any given neighborhood, you might see one house with a xeriscaped lawn where there’s not a single blade of grass anywhere, while the house next door might have a lawn so green that it looks like a professional golf course.
If you’re thinking about updating the style of your yard or changing the look of your home, you might want to learn about all of your different options. Let’s see what sort of SoCal lawn makeover might appeal most to you.
Grass Sod Versus Seeding Your Lawn
If you’re considering a grass lawn, you usually have two options. One option is to lay sod down, and the other is to apply grass seeds to the lawn and wait for the grass to fill in over time. Sod squares are definitely the route to a quick and beautiful lawn, and seeding a lawn is usually considered the more time-consuming option.
The other significant factor in choosing sod or seed is the cost. The instant gratification and beauty of a lawn with fresh squares of sod definitely costs more than the wait-and-see approach of seeding a lawn. However, the time you must invest in bringing a lawn from seed to fully grown grass isn’t insignificant.
Rather than thinking about cost as the major determining factor, a better indicator is whether the investment of time is worth it as far as seeding is concerned. You might think of seeding your lawn as a fun project where you can participate in the long-term beautification of your home.
On the other hand, getting an instant lawn with a layer of sod can free your time for other projects like creating a flower garden along the edge of your property, or concentrating on a vegetable garden or herb garden for your family. With the right amount of effort, both options will offer beautiful results.
Let’s Dive Deeper into Sod and Grass Options
As you might expect, the Southern California climate tends to require grass that’s capable of experiencing some drought conditions, unless you’re keen on using a fair amount of water to keep the grass in good condition.
It’s also important to consider the amount of foot traffic that might travel over your lawn at any given time. If you have kids who love to play outside, you’ll need a sturdy grass like Bermuda grass that’s capable of withstanding regular foot traffic. The only caveat is that it does need regular mowing.
Also note that there are some areas in Southern California where the local municipalities don’t allow Bermuda grass because it likes to spread and doesn’t always play nice with neighboring lawns. Always check your local laws to see if there are any restrictions on what grass you can plant in your lawn.
Tall Fescue
If you’re hesitant to rely on Bermuda grass for your lawn, you might try tall fescue, which is known as a “cool season” grass but does grow well across the Southland, even in the more arid regions of Riverside County and inland.
Tall fescue does require some diligence as far as watering goes when the temps get particularly hot, but one of its perks is that it remains green all year long and is also an ideal option if you have a shady lawn but still want green under your shade trees.
Zoysiagrass
Some Southern California homeowners choose Zoysiagrass for their lawns as the grass is a low-maintenance option because it’s known as a slow-growing grass. You can also walk on Zoysiagrass pretty regularly, and the lawn should hold up nicely.
The only drawback to Zoysiagrass is that it does take a while to get established, so you need to pay good attention to it when it’s new, even if you choose to skip seeding and go straight to applying sod. You’ll also need to inspect the lawn every so often for thatch buildup, which is where you’ll get these thick, dense areas of organic matter that require some aeration (or dethatching).
Don’t Mow Down Your Clover
For many years, homeowners assumed that clover was an unsightly and unkempt part of the average lawn and required immediate removal through mowing, but there are quite a few benefits of clover that suggest you should keep it around.
In fact, some homeowners have started cultivating “clover lawns,” due to the enriching nature of clover. Did you know that clover actually enriches the soil and benefits grass lawns rather than harms them?
The only real drawbacks to clover – especially when you have a lawn full of it – are that it’s not that sturdy, so you can’t really walk around on it that much, and it’s also likely to attract bees, which is a good thing unless you’re aiming for your lawn to exist as a play area for kids.
Grass Alternatives for Southern California Lawns
Natural Wildflower Lawns
If you’re a patient homeowner and don’t mind spending a few years cultivating a beautiful yard, one option you might want to pursue is a wildflower lawn. It does require a bit more effort than simply scattering some seeds across your lawn, but the results are incredibly beautiful and you’ll attract pollinators, too.
To start the process, you’ll create some bare patches in your yard where you can germinate the seeds. You don’t want to just toss the seeds amongst existing grass because it’s likely the seeds will never germinate because they won’t ever push up beyond the grass.
As a Southern California resident, there’s a good chance your yard is full of clay soil, too, which is a rough starting material for wildflower seeds. To give them their best shot, you’ll want to add some compost material or even sand to your yard to improve drainage and get things started.
Grass-Free Lawns
Perhaps you’re ready for a rather significant change in your yard, where you go from having a grass lawn to one where there’s no grass at all. It’s not that difficult if you’re in the high desert or Inland Empire regions of California, but it’s also a popular trend closer to the coast.
You don’t even necessarily need any special sort of dirt for a yard that’s mainly composed of succulents, cactuses, or other water-wise plants that don’t really require any significant upkeep or attention. If you do want to have some plants in your yard, making sure the soil drains well is usually all you need to do.
The thing to remember about xeriscaping is that plants that tolerate drought well don’t like sitting in wet soil, so you don’t want to run the risk of having soggy plants during what might be a fairly wet California fall or winter. The balance comes from soil that drains fast enough to keep plants from getting soggy, but that doesn’t lose too much water that the plants get thirsty between natural rainfall.
Ground Covers
Grass isn’t the only way to cover a yard with something green. Various groundcovers exist that don’t require a traditional mower and may only need the occasional trimming along the edge of your property. The aforementioned clover is one option, but sedum is another option for Southern California yards.
If you have a particularly shady lawn, you can even allow moss to cover your yard, with the result looking like a soft carpet. In Southern California, a moss lawn won’t require any mowing or fertilization, but you may need to make sure it’s got some hydration via a drip line under the ground.
You might even consider gravel, mulch, or small rocks as ground cover replacements for traditional yards. If you have a relatively small yard, you can greatly reduce the amount of maintenance your yard requires by simply covering the area with mulch or pebbles.
Just make sure that if you decide to apply a big swath of mulch to your lawn, you don’t apply it too thickly or where it piles up over the trunks of trees or other plants in your yard, because it may make it difficult for your other plants to grow. You may want to consult with a professional when applying mulch to a large section of your yard as it is somewhat of a balancing act.
Create a Beautiful New Lawn with Help from Green Thumb Nursery
Green Thumb Nursery is here to help you create a beautiful lawn with advice on the sod, grass, or grass alternative to make your lawn look amazing. We’re here to help whether you’re looking for a total makeover for your yard or just a small facelift with some new plants and yard accessories. Drop by one of our Southern California garden center locations today for more tips, advice, and help.
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