[Uptown Girl]

Originally Posted by John Reis

I too like grass and wish I was retired and living in TV, then I would definitely keep the grass. However I only come down about twice a year for a couple of weeks and would like to reduce the maintenance and upkeep costs.

John,
We live in a CYV and have neighbors who are not here often. Some have grass and some have none.
In my observation rock will not prevent weeds coming up or grasses returning. Perhaps it speaks to the original soil preparation- removing turf does not always remove all the roots, especially zoysia grass roots- which spread by underground runners. If a small piece of root remains, it will eventually regenerate and emerge somewhere.
We replaced our sod w/ rocks- hand tilled the soil to remove any roots, sprayed Roundup and placed pre-emergent granules before installing permeable underlayment (as we do have some plantings). I was satisfied we did a good job of it- and STILL pull grasses here as they pop up.
Weed seeds blow in and anchor among the rocks- their roots can penetrate the barrier if left unattended- it's amazing how fast they can spread. Grasses can spread from under the fence of the adjoining courtyard.
The only benefit to rocks is that you will save having to have a service mow and edge- and save on the cost of watering, if you have no plants.
It won't be maintenance free.
I regularly pull big weeds in the rock beds AND (if you hadn't thought of this) along the driveway (score lines and edges) of a few of our neighbors homes when they are away- otherwise the property looks unoccupied (or like slobs live there).
If you can get someone to check and tidy up regularly (like once a month) then you'll be happy when you come down. If not, you will come home to an immediate chore. Pulling greenery from a rock bed is not a quick job if left unattended for long.
Would hate to know that you did all the work of replacing sod, only to have the rock bed look a mess when you come down to visit.

[PaPaLarry]

Originally Posted by Uptown Girl

John,
We live in a CYV and have neighbors who are not here often. Some have grass and some have none.
In my observation rock will not prevent weeds coming up or grasses returning. Perhaps it speaks to the original soil preparation- removing turf does not always remove all the roots, especially zoysia grass roots- which spread by underground runners. If a small piece of root remains, it will eventually regenerate and emerge somewhere.
We replaced our sod w/ rocks- hand tilled the soil to remove any roots and placed pre-emergent granules before installing permeable underlayment (as we do have some plantings). I was satisfied we did a good job of it- and STILL pull grasses here as they pop up.
Weed seeds blow in and anchor among the rocks- their roots can penetrate the barrier if left unattended- it's amazing how fast they can spread.
The only benefit to rocks is that you will save having to have a service mow and edge- and save on the cost of watering, if you have no plants.
It won't be maintenance free.
I regularly pull big weeds in the rock beds AND (if you hadn't thought of this) along the driveway (score lines and edges) of a few of our neighbors homes when they are away- otherwise the property looks unoccupied (or like slobs live there).
If you can get someone to check and tidy up regularly (like once a month) then you'll be happy when you come down. If not, you will come home to an immediate chore. Pulling greenery from a rock bed is not a quick job if left unattended for long.
Would hate to know that you did all the work of replacing sod, only to have the rock bed look a mess when you come down to visit.

Uptown girl, your right on!!! Those little weed seeds, seem to germinate anywhere. Wish my flowers would grow like weeds grow!!

[JohnN]

We just did exactly this on a corner courtyard villa lot and I'm ecstatic.
We hired it out, it's a LOT of grass, a couple of tons it seemed.
But if you choose to do it, I'd rent a sod cutter (again, depends on what you're up to).
It does come apart from the sand pretty well, but don't underestimate the job.

[JohnN]

PS - for those who don't like the look of it, well too damn bad.
It's a 2 year payback even on my cheap labor (I do it all now).

No water (drought tolerant plants), very little fertilizer, etc. The rock never is burnt up and.. and.. I've got more room because I got rid of my lawn mower, edger, weed eater and fertilizer and spreader.

[Susan G]

Originally Posted by John Reis

Have a CYV which I would like to remove all the grass from the front and back yard areas and replace it with rocks. Just trying to decide the pros and cons of doing it myself versus paying a landscaper.

John:

After reviewing many of the replies to your question, I would suggest that if you do it yourself, the ONE thing not to skimp on is the underlayment (weed cloth). It should be profesional grade. Do not use plastic as water will not get through it and you'll have stagnant water standing causing mold in the rocks. You can certainly do it yourself, but if in fact you are only here for the short time you mention, you would spend your entire visit working in the CYV.

I have rock in front, sides and most of the rear in my CYV (here when I purchased) and had considered taking it up, but that is very $$$. I can certainly see your point in wanting to reduce costs since you are not here much. It would be a good idea to give a friend/neighbor a few $$$ to get RoundUp to spot treat weeds while you are away. I do that for my neighbors when they're gone. We live near pastures and the airborne seeds can germinate in a tiny amount of soil on top of rocks. They are easy to remove. Best of luck with your project!

[CFrance]

I have seen Uptown Girl's all-rock landscaping, and it is stunning. She has a stream outside of her lanai, in a rock bed. No grass anywhere. It would be worth the maintenance, IMO. My question is, could you take care of the pesky grass and weed seed sprouting s by just spraying Roundup? That's how we keep our landscaping stones weed and grass-free.

You could get away with having someone come in once or twice a month, maybe.

[Uptown Girl]

Originally Posted by CFrance

I have seen Uptown Girl's all-rock landscaping, and it is stunning. She has a stream outside of her lanai, in a rock bed. No grass anywhere. It would be worth the maintenance, IMO. My question is, could you take care of the pesky grass and weed seed sprouting s by just spraying Roundup? That's how we keep our landscaping stones weed and grass-free.

You could get away with having someone come in once or twice a month, maybe.

Thank You for the compliment CF, ... I will share it with Village Palms- they fine tuned our wish list and did an impeccable installation.

As to Roundup, I bought a big gallon sprayer, but don't use it much. It will kill the topside of the weed, but then you still have to yank the 'dead body' a few days later or it just lays there.

In my experience, Roundup does not efficiently kill zoysia grass roots, merely the surface blades.
I get better results hand pulling, root and all. My next door neighbors on both sides currently have zoysia in their yards and it will send runners to creep under the fence into my yard.
I have better luck pulling the rocks away a bit (with garden gloves on), sawing through the ground (with an old bread knife) at my side of the fence line, then can easily lift any runner roots that have crept under. It gives me a month or two before needing to do it again.
I usually get out there in the very early morning with a cup o' coffee in my travel mug and am done in short order.

[John Reis]

Thank you all for the info. Uptown girl was espicially detailed and helpful in giving me a realistic picture of life after removing all the grass. Since I won't have my usual tools or the capability to get rid of sod easily, I seem to be shying away from doing it myself. Will start getting some estimates from contractors.
Thanks

[kittygilchrist]

yeah, my 2 cents is gray rocks look like a cemetery.

[John Reis]

Kitty:
Agree with your opinion on gray rocks... looking to use darkish brown. Although I do like the tan & white smaller stones too.

[John Reis]

Originally Posted by Susan G

John:

After reviewing many of the replies to your question, I would suggest that if you do it yourself, the ONE thing not to skimp on is the underlayment (weed cloth). It should be profesional grade. Do not use plastic as water will not get through it and you'll have stagnant water standing causing mold in the rocks. You can certainly do it yourself, but if in fact you are only here for the short time you mention, you would spend your entire visit working in the CYV.

I have rock in front, sides and most of the rear in my CYV (here when I purchased) and had considered taking it up, but that is very $$$. I can certainly see your point in wanting to reduce costs since you are not here much. It would be a good idea to give a friend/neighbor a few $$$ to get RoundUp to spot treat weeds while you are away. I do that for my neighbors when they're gone. We live near pastures and the airborne seeds can germinate in a tiny amount of soil on top of rocks. They are easy to remove. Best of luck with your project!

Thanks for the ideas. Will meet the neighbors for the first time on Oct 19th and will try to work something out with them during my 2 week stay. Hopefully they can at least let me know when it is starting to look bad.

[OldManTime]

Originally Posted by John Reis

Have a CYV which I would like to remove all the grass from the front and back yard areas and replace it with rocks. Just trying to decide the pros and cons of doing it myself versus paying a landscaper. I am physically fit enough to do it and would enjoy the satisfaction of having done it. However since I am new to homeownership in TV, I am not sure how difficult this would be to do. Seems that the sandy Florida soil would make cutting out the sod pretty easy. However I would not know where to dispose it. Are there landfills around TV that I could bring grass. Looking for some insight from others who might have done this. Also I have not spoken to a landscaper so I have no idea what it would cost to have them do it. Thanks

You can't remove your grass, its against your Deed restrictions, call deed compliance to confirm

[PaPaLarry]

Originally Posted by Susan G

John:

After reviewing many of the replies to your question, I would suggest that if you do it yourself, the ONE thing not to skimp on is the underlayment (weed cloth). It should be profesional grade. Do not use plastic as water will not get through it and you'll have stagnant water standing causing mold in the rocks. You can certainly do it yourself, but if in fact you are only here for the short time you mention, you would spend your entire visit working in the CYV.

I have rock in front, sides and most of the rear in my CYV (here when I purchased) and had considered taking it up, but that is very $$$. I can certainly see your point in wanting to reduce costs since you are not here much. It would be a good idea to give a friend/neighbor a few $$$ to get RoundUp to spot treat weeds while you are away. I do that for my neighbors when they're gone. We live near pastures and the airborne seeds can germinate in a tiny amount of soil on top of rocks. They are easy to remove. Best of luck with your project!

You are so right, when it comes to underlayment!!!!!! The best underlayment I've seen in the area is at Fairfield Farms Nursery on Rt 301. They have a thick underlayment you walk around on, but still lets the rain penetrate through it. Its the best I've seen, and would work great under rocks. I also spot weed my neighbors house also. Takes a few minutes, every 2-3 weeks

[Ohiogirl]

We are seasonal, in TV mid-Sept. to mid-May. We had the grass in front professionally taken out and have a mix of river rock (yellowish color) and pine bark chunks, edged with larger stone where it meets driveway or roadway, to keep it from washing out during heavy rain.

We have a dog, and also think grass looks (and is) cooler in the back view from our lanai, and just prettier. We had some grass taken out by landscapers and replaced with matting and pine bark chunks (one big corner and along the lanai). We removed a curved area ourselves along the wall/fence, so that there are plantings (shrubs and perennials mostly) completely ringing the yard, curved but probably averaging about 4 feet in width. Took us several days - almost backbreaking.

We put the sod out in yard waste bags but it wasn't picked up - when I called, was told they don't take sod (they can tell because it is so heavy), was actually told to just dump it over a fence out in the country somewhere.

When gone in summer, we have yard people mow the back about once a month, and edge and spray for weeds and trim some stuff a couple of times. Neighbors let us know when it needs it. Since we use the same landscape service as several other neighbors, it's not expensive. We use a manual reel-type mower when we're there, doesn't need mowing in the cooler months at all.

I have seen a couple of concrete and rock back yards that I like, but all of these were professionally done and not inexpensive. Only large areas of concrete I like are the stained/painted ones, or areas done in some type of pavers. Plain old concrete and plain old rock looks like a desert, at least IMO.

Like others say, weeds and zoysia roots/grass still come thru and must be both sprayed and pulled. I noticed that 3-5 years ago, TV was building some villa neighborhoods with no grass, haven't seen that in new builds lately, although I haven't seen them all.

I'm going to try the bread knife approach around the fence lines that I think Uptown Girl mentioned. I use one of those garden seats on wheels and go out early in the am to do weeding in hot weather. At least there are few mosquitos in TV.