So, grass was never successful in our north-facing front yard here in Vancouver, so after our reno in 2018 we decided to try something different, and on a whim we planted random patches of irish moss (Sagina subulata 'Verna'), scotch moss (Sagina subulata 'Aurea'), and micro-clover (Trifolium repens var. Pipolina). The micro-clover was a mistake - it needed to be mowed and was always trying to infiltrate into the moss - but it all looked great: That's what it looked like in June 2022. Unfortunately, 2 years later the moss was almost all dead. We're not sure what caused it, but it was always hard to work out how much water it needed, and we think a couple of very hot summers were too much for it. I also found this page recently, which claims irish moss only has a 10 year life span. We'd like to try again, but want some advice first. The yard is directly north of the house, so about 2/3 of it gets full sun and 1/3 only morning/evening sun. The bushes lining the sidewalk are lavender (Lavandula x intermedia 'Provence'). They are still doing fine. Is irish moss a good idea for this? Will it always be a struggle to keep healthy? Will it only last 10 years even if we keep it alive? Is there a better 3rd plant? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
