Plant your pond and just stop mowing your lawn, your toads will love ya!

Your neighbors might not love it, sounds cool to me though!

Creeping thyme. I have a creeping thyme lawn, and will never go back to blades my friend.

Wooly thyme, Isotoma, Scotch moss, Camomile... depends onwhat you like and the exposure, have fun!

Here is a link to an article regarding Madison Wisconsin's Olbrich Gardens Meadow Garden. The fescue grasses they describe as 12" actually don't stand upright that tall, they sort of mound over gracefully to a height of about 8-10". It is a very pretty garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: meadow garden

I have some astounding clumps of germander, sedum sartentosum, and candytuft directly against the rocks around the pond top. Also have some mondo grass, and a very thread-like and low and dense sea thrift. I am very pleased with the no-maitenance and soft effect.

Hi just joined garden web this is my first posting. Could camomille be suitable in between crazy paving instead of the unsightly cement pointing. Clewis

don't forget about CORSICAN MINT! It's beautiful and steppable. There are many "steppable" low-growing ground covers, and they are particularly popular right now. Your local nursery should have various kinds.

:)

NJBiology,
Take a few minutes and walk through the grass where the frogs/toads live. If it is like mine it is teaming with every imagineable kind of insect. Remove the grass and you remove the insects which are the food source and cover for your friends.
Perhaps wooly thyme and corsican mint do well in California and look pretty, but they provide zero wildlife habitat. I have grown them both in MD and they are impossible to keep weed free.
You have to decide, do you want a "pretty" garden or do you want a garden dedicated to wildlife habitat.
Sam

I use Veronica "Waterperry" (4-6")all around my pond. It spreads beautifully, blue flowers in May and always stays neat and tidy all through the heat of our summers. Controls weeds nicely. You could also use Veronica "Georgia Blue" which is very similar if you can't find Waterperry. These plants are very popular in local nurseries. They divide easily for additional plants and grow in part shade or full sun.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned dichondra. I think it's the obvious solution for your setting. The basic green is nice, but there now several leaf forms and colors, including a frosted, silvery one. Creeping Jenny, Mazus reptans and Ajuga (many wonderful forms and colors now) are other options if you have stepping stones or a walkway -- they won't bear much foot traffic.

Dwarf mondo is slower to establish, but will bear some foot traffic. The beautiful mini-mondo that has only been around for a couple of years would be ideal, but it is expensive and it is terribly slow to spread.