Many people today want to replace or seriously reduce the amount of lawn in the garden. Organic gardeners dislike the mono-culture aspect to lawns, and the almost inevitable reliance on fertilizers and pesticides that this entails. Designers are appalled by the lack of proportion in the "standard" lawn-dominated suburban garden, and those of us who live breathe and garden in a dry climate, know that lawns are a major water guzzler. Now if you intend to replace the lawn with alternative plants, there are a few things worth knowing.

* In hot dry climates, most lawns in use are perennials like Kikuya grass (Pennisetum clandestinum), Zoysia varieties, or Bermuda grass varieties. These species have massive root systems, whose rhizomes can remain dormant for years before springing back to life when provided with the right conditions for growth.

* It is virtually impossible to dig up the roots.

* If the grasses are not entirely eliminated, they will re-grow in your new bed, whether it be planted with flowers, vegetables ground covers, or herbs. The rejuvenated grasses, will benefit from all the horticultural treatments you give your preferred plants, and will effectively grow as weeds of unmanageable proportions. In other words, do not plant up an area which was previously used as a lawn, until totally getting rid of all remaining grasses first. This means I'm afraid, that the only resource available is to apply a systemic herbicide on the lawn, such as Roundup or some other brand of glyphosate. A few points about using glyphosate should be remembered:

* Glyphosate's systemic actions are only effective when the temperature is over 23-24c. In cool conditions, it works as a contact herbicide, without getting down to the roots.

* The greener and more active the grass, the more effective the glyphosate. Alternatively, when the grass is old, worn and dry, the herbicide will not be translocated to the roots.

* Glyphosate has been shown to contain some residual qualities, particularly in sandy soils, that can adversely affect future plants. For this reason planting should be delayed at least one month after spraying, and while the concentration of herbicide in the spray solution should be high - about 4 to 5%, the quantity applied per unit area should be relatively low.

* The correct season for treatment is therefore the spring/summer. During the autumn/winter, the replanting should be postponed until the lawn grasses have been eliminated in the spring/summer.

An undesirable situation can also arise in cases of worn out lawns. The unsuspecting can be mislead into thinking that the lawn is history. However, in time, underground perennating organs like the rhizomes typical of the grasses mentioned, will revive and start to infest the planting bed.

Bearing in mind the conditions required to ensure the effectiveness of the systemic weed killer, when one is planning to plant in an area once covered by perennial lawn grass, the following procedure should be carried out:

* Water the area profusely and regularly, until the grass comes back and is green and healthy looking. It may be worth fertilizing as well, because Glyphosate works more effectively on plants that are growing well.

* Have the area sprayed by a gardener qualified to use herbicides. Wait a week, and start watering again, in order to repeat the process. Wait at least a month after the final application and planting.