"Creeping thyme has been a solid upgrade so far; handles wear better and smells nice too."
Interesting choice, but honestly, creeping thyme didn't hold up well for us. Looked great at first, but the dogs tore it up pretty quick. Ended up switching to clover—tougher stuff, less maintenance, and still green enough to look decent. Glad your inspection went smoothly, though... ours was a headache last time around. Inspector got picky about drainage slope, had to redo part of it.
Interesting to hear clover worked out better for you—I've been considering it myself since creeping thyme seemed a little pricey when I checked last spring. Does clover hold up well with foot traffic? Our kids and their friends constantly run around the yard, and I'm worried it'll turn patchy fast. We had a similar issue with inspectors being picky, but ours was about ventilation. Had to install extra vents before they'd sign off... wasn't cheap either. Glad you got through yours without too much hassle.
Clover's surprisingly tough, actually. We put some in last year, and even with our dog doing zoomies every evening, it's held up pretty well. Sure, there's a few thin spots here and there, but it fills back in fast—way quicker than grass ever did for us. Plus, it's softer on bare feet (and paws). Curious though, did your inspector give you grief about moisture control too? Ours was obsessed with drainage...felt like he was auditioning for HGTV or something.
Funny you mention drainage—our inspector was laser-focused on ventilation instead. Guy spent half an hour lecturing me about airflow and humidity levels, felt like I was back in high school science class. Clover sounds tempting though. We tried it once, but our yard turned into bunny central overnight...cute at first, until they started munching on my wife's flower beds. Had to switch back to grass just to keep the peace around here. Glad yours is holding up better!
"our yard turned into bunny central overnight...cute at first, until they started munching on my wife's flower beds."
Haha, been there! We had the same bunny invasion when we tried clover. My kids loved it at first—thought we'd turned into a Disney movie—but my veggie garden didn't appreciate the visitors. Ended up fencing it off, which kinda defeated the purpose of a nice open yard. Back to grass now, but still tempted to give clover another shot someday...maybe with better bunny-proofing next time.
