I DARE YOU TO KILL YOUR LAWN

Do you really need a large area of lawn? Most likely not. This couple in Irvine, CA hired me to kill their lawn. So I did! Their front yard lawn area was serving no purpose and taking up useful space. They got the look they wanted without really denting their wallet. Simply put an unused space was given purpose while maintaining a friendship with the environment.
If you have kids or animals and are concerned about where they will play, then might I suggest using synthetic turf. It is much easier to maintain than regular turf, requires no watering and you never have to reseed or mow. You will on occasion have to sweep it to ensure that you get whatever dirt may be there, but not often enough to be bothersome.
OK so now that you have thankfully decided to kill your lawn let's talk about how to kill it. First identify what type of lawn you have and then follow the steps to appropriate removal.
Cool Season - Fescue, Marathon, Bluegrass & any grass blends that stay green in the winter - With this type of grass you can do the following steps to removal...

• Smother with mulch - this will prevent the grass from receiving the sunlight it needs to grow.
• Strip and flip using a sod cutting machine.
• Rototill, only if no rhizomatous weedy grasses are present.
• Stop watering it.

Warm Season - Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoyzia & any rhizomatous grass that is brown in the winter - With this type of grass you can do the following steps to removal...

• Hand removal by weeding & digging out the roots.
• Herbicide usage - This can be pricey and somewhat toxic so use with caution.
• Do not rototill as this will spread the seeds for more new grass to grow.

Remember that patience is key to removing your lawn. It will take some time but in the end it will be well worth it to have a beautiful garden. You just might end up being a trend setter in your neighborhood.

Update:  in designing lawn-less gardens I have come to learn many things, tips and tricks and one that I have learned after writing this post is about a safe method to killing the lawn.  Before I get to that I would like to state that if you use RoundUp then you are putting yourself at high risk.  On the one hand it is water soluble and on the other hand it is cancer causing.  NO JOKE!  This is a post I did about RoundUp and a safer method of killing your lawn using vinegar.