Filling my front lawn with groundcover...a good idea? or a mistake? any experiences to share?

Question

my lawn has so many kinds of weeds in it. it looks "blah" and the grass (and weeds!) grow so fast that it's hard to keep up with it. i'm looking for a good alternative and it seems there's this one purpley-green groundcover in a spot on the lawn. i want to get it to take over the whole thing.

Answer 1

I have pachysandra around a few trees in my yard. It's about 6-8 inches in height. It's ridiculously easy to maintain, but you'll still have weeds growing in it if you don't do prevention. The bloew pic isn't my yard, but that's what mine looks like.

Answer 2

Ground cover [GC] is fine as an alternate to a portion of the lawn. Give some thought to creating a combination of front patio, short stone wall, planting bed with small tree and shrubs [decid and evergreen], and a sweep of GC. GC comes in evergreen, shade tolerant and sunny-side.

Back to the lawn. Lawns need maintenance. I use a dethatcher, aerator, spreader and sweeper. Seasonally, use weed and feed, crabgrass killer, and grub control. Don't overlook the convenience of hose end sprayers for small areas.