Grass alternatives

So my grass has died and did not come back this year. I have a small yard (I live in Toronto) and between 7 kids and my dog, the grass never had a chance. My husband and I re sodded, did grass seed etc a couple times last summer and we are done trying to keep something that isn't going to work. I have looked into grass alternatives, mainly ground cover and have read that "clover" is quite resistant to dog pee and does well in high traffic areas. Anyone have experience with this or can you recommend something else? I am not interested in something synthetic as I like the kids to have as much nature as possible living in a big city. Thanks!

One of my old clients ran a high end landscaping company in Toronto. She said that at her old house, which also had a small yard, they actually put in fake grass. I was skeptical until she showed me a picture. It looked fantastic!!! They had real flower beds down each side. They loved it as they never needed to cut it and it was always green. With the real gardens down the sides, I thought that a nice compromise. So far as natural, high traffic, dog pee resistant live greenery....let me know if you find something. My lawn is so very sad this year :(

I have the same issue. I was thinking clover , but I always see bumble bees in clover lol plus we have lots of rabbits in our area. We are going to try to work with the grass this year ( we've only been at this house for one summer so far) because the way our yard is set up we could not get a machine back there and would have to dig up the lawn ourselves to put down wood chips etc. so it's worth it to try for us lol!

Two summers ago we had a bare spot from where the kids went in a circle with the cars. We seeded it and it took a lot of work (raking it, seeding it, raking it, watering it, keeping the kids off the area etc) but last summer it looked great!! This year I had bare spots under the swings and in one of the playhouses. I put down mats on those places as I highly doubt the grass will stand a chance anyways and will probably seed a few areas again this year. (now the areas I didn't seed don't look as good lol) It's a lot of work trying to keep a nice yard and a daycare play space!!

The fake grass would be cool! And little maintenance I'm assuming? Is it costly?

I'm not sure how costly it is 5LM. I was just impressed with the pictures she showed me. Given that they're high end landscapers, I trusted their judgement. With the natural flower beds going down the sides, I thought it looked very good! My boyfriend and I took a very quick look at artificial grass a few weeks ago. It's changed a lot over the years. It looks quite natural! I would think it might be a bit pricey and I've no idea about the longevity of it. I just love the idea of not reseeding every bloody YEAR!!!!!

I agree cfred....not reseeding every year is a big bonus in my books!! I might have to look into this a bit more! We live on a street that you can not park on so we have a shorter backyard to accommodate more parking in the back (it was like that years ago) and I have wanted to cut out a parking space and make the yard a L shape and I think the artificial grass would be awesome because right now it's crushed rock and growing grass for an area that large doesn't interest me!! haha

It's very pricey for the stuff that looks good. I think you're looking at a few grand just for a small yard (installed).

GAAAAA I feel for those of you who are struggling to have a lawn and keep it alive but I honestly couldn't imagine a "fake" lawn. There is a place near me who has fake grass at the front and honestly it is the most god awful stuff ever and it looks like it was installed well and high end stuff bur it is still fake and it is just down right ugly. ..for no other reason than it is fake. It just looks ridiculous to me. If I truly couldn't make grass grow in my back and it was just a repeated waste of money year after year I would maybe have poured concrete or concrete slabs and then put flowerbeds around the edges to soften it.... obviously I would do my landscaping first. That way with lots of containers and some nice patio furniture it doesn't look like a concrete slab if you will, and also provides an awesome space for ride ons etc for the daycare kids which is low maintenance too. No more muddy shoes in and out either!!

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Originally Posted by homeschoolmom

We have a clover lawn (grass mixed with white clover) and it stands up to foot traffic very well! The clover is not only durable, but it also makes the grass it's mixed with healthier.

http://www.almanac.com/content/clover-comeback

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This supports the research I did as well. It is also supposed to stand up to dog pee quite well. Did you plant seeds or do seed? I haven't found either at either Lowes or Home Depot.