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PAGE 8 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY MAY 17, 1989 Feature Tucker advises people to consider altering the "mix" of grasses in their lawn, reducing the amount of Kentucky Blueâ€" grass. New varieties of fine turf type perennial rye grasses have been developed that are fine in texture, easy to cut and survive our winters. Within a year or two there will be tall fescue s (grasses) on the market that will tolerate heat and offer a narrower leaf than fescue s of the past. The sod homeowners normalâ€" ly buy is predominantly Kenâ€" tucky Bluegrass, "a water hungry, energy â€"hungry plant." said Tucker. _ People should overseed with perennial rye grasses before the water ban is put into effect, ‘"Not only do low maintenance plants suppress weeds, recycle nutrients, conâ€" serve moisture and prevent soil erosion, they also contribute to landscape deâ€" People _ must _ remember "you‘re not growing a golf green out there," said Tucker. "When you do water your lawn, water it thoroughly and then leave it" for up to a week or 10 days. "Low maintenance plants may be shrubs, evergreens, vines or herbacéous perennials and are not restricted to any particular groupings of plants," writes Tucker. Tucker, a consultant and former groundskeeper at University of Guelph, is the author of "low maintenance landscape plants", an Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food factsheet. lan Kirkby Chronicle Staff For the homeowner willing to experiâ€" ment a little, Pat Tucker can recomâ€" mend a wide variety of landscape plants that can reducge the amount of space devoted to Kentucky Bluegrass. The lowâ€"maintenance yard alternative As well, don‘t fertilize with too much nitrogen. Adding a lot of nitrogen early in the season "asks your lawn to grow lush and succulent rather than allowing it to toughen up for a drought," said Rathburn. There are alternatives to lawns. For the particularly brave, Kitchen recommends growing a wildflower lawn. Seeds are available in nurseâ€" ries, and some very beautiful For those who want to save their lawns from the yellow look this year, perhaps the most important rule is to cut it longer. Grass should be at least _ twoâ€"andâ€"aâ€"half inches tall. The reason is simple: the root under the ground is propâ€" ortional to the height of the blade of grass. If you cut your grass long, the root will go deeper and search out moisâ€" ture below ground. Cut the grass short, however, and the root stays near the surface, to be dried out and die in the coming drought. C)Moss Pink (Phlox subulata), a spreader easily available locally. (!Rockâ€"cress (Arabis Alpina) which he describes as "good spreaders, tough and hardy." CSnowâ€"inâ€"Summer (Cerastium tomentosum) which has "grey foliage and little white flowers and does great in sun." And many of them will help keep your frontyard or backyard green durâ€" ing coming dry times. Among the groundcovers he recomâ€" mends are: Milfoil Yarrow (Achillea), a lawn substitute. 4 sign in their variety of forms, textures and colors." In a recent interview, Tucker recomâ€" mended a variety of plants for Waterloo homeowners facing water rationing. Planting wildflower gardens is one alternaâ€" tiv:( to reduce the amount of land yt:u devote to Kentucky Bluegrass, according to Cameâ€" ron Kitchen, president of Eoomm. Wildâ€" There are other alternative ground covers. Kitchen has planted Madagascar Periwinkâ€" le, a purple flowered plant that does particularly well on slopes, forming a tight, green, yearâ€"round cover. wildflowers will survive in this area. But people should be aware that their neighbors may be angry if immaculately manicured lawns are conâ€" verted to a more natural look. Another drawback is wildâ€" flower gardens require more intensive work for the first few years until well established. _ He also has planted native strawberries _ which â€" have Amirtey s mengs Moss Pink (Phiox subulata) ‘"We‘ve been ingrained with lawns for 50 years and every time you put on the radio you hear about fertilizer and so on. Mixed with bushes and flowâ€" ers and alternative grasses, these plants can reduce the amount of garden that is deâ€" voted to lawncovers. Of course, the reality is that most people "aren‘t going to get rid of their lawns. formed a low and dense ground cover that has the bonus of providing a delicious payoff come berry time. Then there‘s potentilla, a very short runner spreader. flowers should be purchased at area nurseâ€" ries. Kitchen also recommends alternative grass species, shrubs and ground covers. weather: O Winter Greeper (Eunymus fortunei) is a vineâ€"like spreader that enjoys full sun. COBush roses (Rosa), espetially "Sea Foam", are hardy and do well in sunny wellâ€"drained sites. C)Skogholm Cotoneaster (Cotoneasâ€" ter dammeri Skognolm) has small green leaves and pink flowers and is excellent on banks in full sun. OPinks (Dianthus), a spreader. Tuckâ€" er also recommends Purple Rockâ€"cress (Aubrieta deltoidea), a greyâ€"green carâ€" pet, and Bergenia (Bergenia cordifolia), a glossy greenâ€"leaved plant. As well, Creeping Cinquefoil (potentilla r. flore plena) is a highly recommended runner. Tucker also recommends several speâ€" cies of shrubs and vines as effective ‘"You can trade off the exâ€" pense of that against the mainâ€" tenance costs of grass," said Kitchen. People can also look at creatâ€" ing pathways, decks, and brick patterned areas and use stones and wood chips to create a landscaped appearance and reduce the area devoted to What Tucker and Kitchen are talking about is creating a variety of groundcovers that can provide a green, or at least attractive, appearance and don‘t require watering as much as does Kentucky Blueâ€" tan Kirkby photo