Leslie Patten Books: Wild Places, Sacred Spaces

As promised, here is the second of the two part series on meadow making in California.

The first of the entries covered fescue as a lawn substitute.  But I have come to prefer Carex pansa.

Carex pansa is a native sedge.  Sedges have edges, so to speak, while grasses don’t.  It is a clumper, like all the native grasses of the West, and spreads very nicely.  Once established, it requires watering only about every 3 weeks or more, depending on your site, and mowing no more than 4 times a year!  I do have clients that keep it very ‘lawn-like’ and mow it ever two weeks, but since it only grows 6″ high, that isn’t necessary.

Carex pansa front yard lawn

Carex pansa can tolerate traffic.  I have clients with kids who play on the lawn.  But it isn’t for intensive traffic.

The planting/preparation method is simple.  Prepare your bed as if you were going to plant a conventional lawn, in other words, good soil, lots of compost, rake out the clods, bed should be to finished height.  I always install a conventional irrigation system–better safe than sorry and its so much easier for the homeowner.  In the beginning you will need to water the plugs till established and the first summer while filling in, water a few times a week.  So a watering system on a timer is essential.  This means the pvc should be installed prior to planting.  The sprinkler heads can be installed and then adjusted to correct height once the Carex is in.

Carex pansa in a large backyard situation

Carex pansa needs a good edging as it will spread beyond your beds without one.  Its not a weed nor really invasive, but, like grass, it will grow outside its borders if given water and good soil.  Depending on your design, you might even want to pour a concrete edging.

Carex pansa is great for full sun and its evergreen.  But if you have a shadier spot, I put in Carex texensis.  You can mix the two in a lawn if you have sun and shade, but the Carex texensis is deciduous.  On the other hand, I’ve had some tough spots where its too shady for a lawn and the C. texensis is a life saver.

C. Texansis under tree. Can be deciduous but was not here in the Bay Area. Good for dry shade

For a full discussion on soil preparation, spacing, watering schedule, mowing,and where to order plugs, see my eBook Gardening for a Dry California Future.

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