Planting a Drought-Tolerant Lawn - Carex Pansa
Submitted By: Mary Ransdell (mbransdell@comcast.net)

Challenge

To conserve water and still have a front “lawn”.

When my family purchased our home in Lafayette in 2008, about 900 square feet of the front garden was made up of a patchy, grass – and the sprinkler system had long been defunct. With water being such a precious resource here in California, we didn’t feel good about the idea of having a new sprinkler system installed and new sod laid down to replace the old lawn.  I’ve read that about 70% of the average household’s water usage goes to watering lawns.  Given that our state has to restrict water usage for our farmers when the supply is short, I’d much rather have our water go to agriculture (if only to help California’s economy . . . which, of course, benefits all of us) .


Solution Details

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In October 2009, we removed the old lawn.  We planted a variety of drought-tolerant plants and used bark to fill up as much space as we could, but we felt we needed at least a small patch of something resembling grass in the middle of the garden.   After doing quite a bit of research, I discovered a grass (or sedge) called Carex Pansa.  Once established, it can be left to look “meadow-like”, or can be kept 3-4 inches tall by mowing only a few times a year.  And in dry months, it may only need two to four watering sessions. 

We started our experiment with Carex Pansa in a small area (about 100 sq. ft), where we planted 4” pots (or plugs) about a foot apart.  It looked like a rice paddy when we first planted it last fall, but it’s beginning to fill in and it actually looks like it could use mowing (or clipping, at this point). 
lawn2
Once it’s really established and completely filled in (which should happen by this fall), we plan to cut it with a push reel mower to keep from polluting the air with a gas mower. 

We’re installing a drip system to water the new “lawn” and to establish the other new, drought-tolerant bushes and ground cover.  We’ve been incredibly fortunate with the rainfall that we’ve experienced since planting the garden – the new plants are off to a great start.  We’ll soon be better-prepared for the hot, dry summers and drought years ahead.




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Benefits & Payback

We’ll keep from consuming and paying for hundreds of gallons of water annually.  In addition we’ll save even more money in garden maintenance bills . . . along with eliminating the gas usage and emissions caused by a gas mower.  As a side note, we don’t water our back lawn at all – it goes “golden” in the summer, but it’s come back beautifully once the rain returns.


Informational Links

Carex Pansa can be purchased locally at Orchard Nursery in Lafayette. http://www.orchardnursery.com/
Last fall, it ran about $4.99 per 4” pot.  They provide a 10% discount when you purchase 10 or more of the same plant.  They stocked a couple dozen or so of the Carex Pansa and I ordered more through them – which took about a week to arrive.  Emerisa Gardens in Santa Rosa is their supplier.  http://www.emerisa.com/
 
Mt. Diablo Nursery is a wonderful boutique nursery that “specializes in sustainable plantings, services and education for the unique LaMorinda climate”.  We’ve purchased many of our trees, drought-tolerant shrubs, succulents and our soil there.   http://mtdiablonursery.com/

For more information on Carex Pansa, here’s a good article:
http://www.baynatives.com/plants/Carex-pansa/Carex-Pansa-Amme.pdf



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