A lawn terrace in my own garden (in Poio) offered only inconvenient access for the lawn mower, so it was all the easier for me to try an experiment here. Since the future use of the lawn was still unclear, it seemed appropriate to me to convert it into a terrace that would be partially planted with vegetation but would not require irrigation.
First, the lawn was dug up together with the root mass and transported away. We then placed a layer of (Brita 1) size 1 quarry stone about 5cm thick. This was followed by approx. 5cm of shell limestone dust which was compacted with the vibratory plate. Finally, we laid natural stone slabs 3-5cm thick over the entire surface, and filled the joints with rock flour. Only at the upper edge, in front of the natural stone wall, coarse field stones were laid in a crescent shape on the rock flour, protected against overgrowth with a geotextile. Only this part is not suitable for walking on and was planted with handy succulents.
The terrace itself was to remain accessible as far as possible, so it was a good idea to choose a selection of tread-resistant Mediterranean plants that either creep completely or barely exceed a height of 30 cm.
The plants were planted in spring 2023, watered and received another 4-5 small waterings over the summer. Towards the end of the summer, it was already apparent that the plants had rooted deeply into the loose subsoil and no longer needed any additional watering from September onwards. As this is the expected success, the site is to be planted more intensively in autumn, with about 70-80 % overgrown area expected. The plant list contains the selection of plants, with only Zoysia tenuifolia not wanting to grow.
Lawn terrace in my own garden (in Poio) Summary
For the simple reason of saving water, I ventured an experiment to transform a flat lawn into a walkable and flat vegetated terrace, using natural stone slabs, underbuilt and grouted with rock dust and fine quarry stone.
Plantlist, Poio 2023
Calocephalus brownie
Senecio mandraliscae
Teucrium marcum (germander)
Helicrysum stoechas/iltalico
Santorini's
Phyla nodiflora
Thymus vulg.
Zoysia tenuifolia (not survived)
Plectranthus barbarous (contra gatos)
Graptopetalum paraguayense
Aloe arborescens
Myoporum pavifolium
Potentilla neumanniana
Asphodelus fistulosus
Dymondia margarethe
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