apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Look! Korean Grass

atla-050608-grass01.jpgA few blocks up from where we live is this lawn. The grass looks like it’s been attacked by a bunch of moles…but it hasn’t. (We know. We made our friend stop the car once when we were drunk and we danced on it in our bare feet and discovered that the hills are springy, not hollow.) We’ve filed it away to use on our own lawn when we finally buy a house...


Zoysia Tenuifolia, also known as Korean grass, is native to Southeastern and eastern Asia. It’s usually left unmowed for a free-form, natural look. Extremely slow growing, very fine textured, and wiry, the mounds I love so much are a natural product of its growth. We love that it's drought resistant and low maintenance, perfect for both our rain-parched climate and our lazy-bones self.


RELATED LINKS:


Comments (15)

Another asian grass to love is japanese forest grass.

http://picasaweb.google.com/JollyRoberts/SRBGardenIdeas/photo#5082375146640063266
http://www.ca.uky.edu/HLA/Dunwell/HakmacAureolaweb.jpg

not sure if you can walk on it but, along with other perennials and shrubs, it has replaced 75% of the grass in my back-yard.

posted by kimg924 on 2008-05-06 18:14:52
view kimg924's profile

I know you meant you got out of the car in which you were a passenger, drunk, and danced on it, but at first glance it looks like you were driving drunk. Which is so LA starlet gone wild - so totally appropriate for AT LA!

posted by cakekick on 2008-05-06 18:27:30
view cakekick's profile

Think of all the fuel that could be saved by not having to mow!

posted by bepsf on 2008-05-06 18:38:15
view bepsf's profile

I know you're kidding cakekick, but drunk driving is NEVER appropriate!

posted by stoat on 2008-05-06 18:51:34
view stoat's profile

It's always appropriate, especially on Sundays.

posted by aladywhoknows on 2008-05-06 19:10:27
view aladywhoknows's profile

cakekick, stoat, a ladywhoknows,

i clarified. hopefully you'll find the clarification is still starlet!

best,
abby

posted by abby on 2008-05-06 21:50:15
view abby's profile

wow, i was just about to re-do my lawn with regular sod but now i want to do it with Zoysia Tenuifolia! it seems like it'd work well in California weather, too bad it's so expensive ($5 a SQ FT!)

kimg, i love that Japanese forest grass is great as well...

posted by goodnightdean on 2008-05-06 21:58:21
view goodnightdean's profile

Doesn't it turn brown in winter? Here in Cali I want a lawn that's always green.

posted by ebrown on 2008-05-06 22:40:54
view ebrown's profile

It's non-native and rather invasive. A native ground cover would be a better choice.

posted by charmac on 2008-05-07 00:41:53
view charmac's profile

That's a "lawn"???

It's a wonder the HOA and neighbors aren't up in arms over it. It looks unkempt.

On the other hand if there was something redeeming about the area, like a garden that made thatt "lawn" part of an overall planned design, that'd be another thing, but as it is, the picture looks like a sure sign of neighborhood decay.

posted by boomer on 2008-05-07 07:38:16
view boomer's profile

Why are the petits mountains spongy? What did they build them out of? We have a lawn on the side of a mountain that constantly weeps down water, and I can see our back lawn like this with rivers running between the "mountains."

posted by Aulaire on 2008-05-07 10:34:24
view Aulaire's profile

Too Cool!!!!! Does anyone know if it's safe to plant from an invasive species perspective?

posted by dianew on 2008-05-07 10:42:08
view dianew's profile

I see that Charmac already answer that question. ....crap!

posted by dianew on 2008-05-07 10:42:50
view dianew's profile

Why does year-round green and artificially maintained lawns have to be the only acceptable front yard? And I'm slightly offended -- we have all kinds of landscaping in our neighborhood an I can assure you it is not "decaying".

posted by AmyV on 2008-05-07 14:24:47
view AmyV's profile

Amy, I'm not saying I only like boring uniform flat green lawns. My neighborhood has fornt yards that are almost entirely flower gardens, Some that are "zen like" rock gardens etc. I like 'em all.

I just thought that the picture above looked like something that had gone uncared for.

Like I said earlier, if the picture is part of a larger scene with other landscaping and/or garden things going on to complement the look, then that'd be cool. I think it does have potential.

But if that's all there is to it, then (yuk) yeah, it looks abandoned and needs attention in my opinion...

posted by boomer on 2008-05-07 15:51:08
view boomer's profile
Buy Text Ads