Link to main image
Two things about lawns that frustrates me is that lawn grass does not grow in deep shade and I always get to mow the lawn. I puzzled about fixing this little problem until I started researching flat growing ground covers.
I found a little gem that solves both my problems.
Mondo grass or more specifically Ophiogon 'Kyoto', an evergreen Dwarf grass that grows about three inches in hight. There are a couple of varieties but the one I fell in love with is 'Kyoto'.
It grows low enough that it works quite well as a lawn and you guessed it I don't have to mow it. It clumps and you can split the clumps in the beginning of spring so it has time to fill out the lawn in the growing season.
While you can coach it into thick borders it will quite happily fill up a large open space in time. If your open space stretches under the trees into deep shade Mondo grass will happily gtow there too. That is the thing with Mondo grass. It grows in deep shade as well as full sun. This cute little evergreen grass also grows in almost all climates. Just water it regularly.
You have to have a little patience with your Mondo grass though. It's a slow grower. It makes up with looks however. From my experience it does grow really slow.
There are other fascinating varieties of Mondo grass like 'Nigrescence' that is also known as Black Mondo grass. It's a larger plant than 'Kyoto' and has colors that range from deep purple to black. With this one you can create interesting visible effects in your garden.
Mondo grass will always be a very interesting addition to your garden.
So that takes care of my two little pet peeves. Mondo isn't edible (for people) but I'll make an exception for this one and ad it to my food forest garden.
I appreciate your support.
Live life to the fullest.