Moss is one of the easiest low-maintenance lawn alternatives around. Planting a moss bed couldn't be simpler. And you won't need to mow or water your moss bed, provided you choose an appropriate shady location. Velvety-soft patches of moss will enliven your garden with saturated color, carpet-like texture and a feeling of tranquility Some homeowners actually have taken things a step further, eschewing grass entirely in favor of alternatives—that is, hardy, low-growing ground covers (or even artificial grass). These lawn..
Clover is an easy-to-care-for lawn alternative that's often planted as a green cover crop to fix nitrogen in the soil, but it can also act as an ideal eco-friendly landscaping option. Clover grows quickly, suppresses weeds, enriches the earth and aerates the soil with a deep root system When it becomes difficult to grow grass in your lawn, artificial grass is one of the most popular alternatives. This is grass made using synthetic fibers, which looks very similar to the appearance of natural grass Above: Consider replacing your lawn with moss. It creates the perfect soft patch as a lawn alternative and really hugs the path stones and bench, making them really stand out, says landscape designer Brook Klausing of the Irish moss he used in this Brooklyn garden Synthetic grass, also known as artificial grass or turf, is viable as an alternative to grass lawns. The material has the same look and texture as natural grass. Three types to consider include nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene. The amount of traffic the lawn receives will help determine the type of material best suited for your home If you want to stop spending your weekends mowing and mixing up all-natural homemade weed killers, or you live in a drought-prone area with water restrictions, don't worry, there are some great alternatives to a grass lawn. To find replacements that are both beautiful and low-maintenance, we consulted the pros at Tilly, an online landscape.
Fortunately, there are any number of lawn alternatives that require less work and less water, and many demand far less in fertilizer. Some such as stonecrops are perfectly happy on dry stony slopes that would defeat any grass; some, like the mosses, actually prefer the damp shade under trees where grass grows only reluctantly The following plant sellers offer the widest selection of lawn alternatives mentioned in this article. Cottage Garden Piasa, Illinois 618-729-4324 www cottgardens.com. Joy Creek Nursery, Scappoose, Oregon 503-543-7474 www.joycreek.com. Sandy Mush Herb Nursery, Leicester, North Carolina 828-683-2014 www.sandymushherbs.com. White Flower Farm. Alternatives to Grass for your Backyard For some, saving money is a key concern, and grass alternatives that require little or no water, pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides or gas-powered equipment is an appealing way to enjoy significant savings while still having a beautiful yard
An aromatic alternative to grass, chamomile serves as a soft, lush ground cover perfect for sunny areas. Best suited for remote pieces of land with light foot traffic, chamomile lawns are low maintenance and feature small white and yellow flowers resembling daisies An excellent alternative to artificial grass, areas planted in groundcover need little to no maintenance. Groundcovers are usually chosen for texture, density, and how well they spread and choke out the weeds. They can be planted in poor soil and even enhance the soil by acting as a mulch. Some groundcovers are nitrogen-fixing Grass alternatives suited to your climate should require far less water, which will also save you time and money. Money savings: Save on gas, fertilizer, and water when you convert a traditional lawn to a grass alternative. Grow some of your own food and save still more. Energy-savvy landscaping can also help with your heating and cooling bills Below is a list of other resources that can help you get started in reducing or replacing your lawn: Chatham County - Lawns & Lawn Alternatives. University of Maryland - Lawn Alternatives. Penn State Extension - Lawn Alternatives. University of Florida Extension - Alternatives to Turfgras
More Sustainable (and Beautiful) Alternatives to a Grass Lawn. Manicured turf grass lawns cover up to 50 million acres of land in America. But a new, no-mow movement is challenging this conformity. There are several alternatives to grass lawns that are more eco-friendly and usually lower maintenance. Replacing grass lawn space with one of these popular lawn alternatives is a great way to be kinder to the environment and enjoy your property in a different way Alternative Lawns | Groundcovers. Create an alternative lawn by carpeting your landscape with colorful, low-care groundcovers. These low-growing perennials are an indispensable part of any well-well designed garden and are perfect for replacing areas of lawn, large and small, especially difficult-to-mow hillsides. Use them as a living mulch. Lots of people opt for lawn as the obvious choice - it's relatively cheap to install and it's soft enough to lay on, or kids to play on. However, we've found some fantastic, natural alternatives to grass to help you keep maintenance to a minimum. Hardy, low growing plants e.g. Sedum, Thyme and Mos
Lawn Alternatives in Play Areas. If you are looking for kid friendly lawn substitutes, cover the ground area with wood mulch or with rubber mulch that comes from recycled rubber. Add a play set, volleyball net, and corn hole set for a wonderful outdoor recreation area. Let the kids run, play and tumble around without wearing holes in your lawn Lawn & Garden; No More Mowing: 10 Grass-Free Alternatives to a Traditional Lawn Many of us have a love-hate relationship with our lawns. Although we enjoy the cool carpet of green grass to lie on. This lawn alternative is more than just decorative. It can feed you and your family, and maybe generate some extra income if you decide to sell your produce. It may require more of an up-front investment, though, which will go toward raised beds, good soil, seeds, plants and protective materials, like fences and covers to keep out deer and pests Alternative Lawns Do-It-Yourself Guide A step-by-step guide to planting your own alternative lawn, with some earth friendly and time-saving tips The best time to renovate a lawn is when the temperature cools and rain is plentiful, so between mid-August to end of September Lawn alternatives are gaining in popularity what with the rise of xeriscape gardening and native-plant gardens. Evelyn J. Hadden's book Beautiful No-Mow Yards: 50 Amazing Lawn Alternatives (Timber Press) makes plenty of arguments for replacing your grass with landscaping rocks and paving stones, with drought hardy indigenous plants, with.
Fleur de Lawn is a time and water-saving alternative as it is a combination of flowers, clovers and grasses all in one. It is beautiful and planting it on bare soil will yield the best results. It needs little maintenance as the clover self feeds the grass Jun 23, 2021 - Save water, bring wildlife. See more ideas about lawn alternatives, front yard landscaping, lawn Sedum acre (stonecrop) is also sold as a lawn alternative to grass, but this can quickly spread to other parts of the garden, so is best avoided. There is one major problem with using plants other than grasses. The selective weedkillers we use on lawns seek out and kill broadleaved (or dicotyledonous) plants only, which is why they don't kill. Healthy Lawn Alternatives. Lawns are an American icon. But the perfect lawn we are encouraged to strive for is not perfect for the environment, your wallet or your family. It is a high maintenance landscape choice requiring large amounts of water, chemicals, labor and money
Yarrow. Perhaps one of the more unique lawn alternatives out there, yarrow is a perennial herb that forms a thick green mat of fine, feathery foliage. This tough, drought-tolerant herb can be mowed regularly to resemble a traditional lawn or left unmowed. When left unmowed, yarrow will send out tall white flowers 2. Use fluid materials such as gravel. Gravel is an ideal lawn alternative, being easy to use and suitable for both traditional and contemporary garden designs. However, replacing a large lawn in the garden of a suburban semi with a sea of gravel is rather boring, and impractical for families with children
No mow grass alternatives. Ground cover. Crushed rock. Wood chips. Fruit and vegetables. I decided to experiment in my own yard with two different alternatives. I got rid of all the lawn on one side of the front yard. Half of the area I planted with ground cover, and the other half I replaced the grass with wood chips 5 Alternatives to Grass Lawns. Consider using a substitute for grass lawn in your yard, and never mow again. Lawns make up more than an estimated 63 thousand square miles in the US, three times that of any irrigated crop. It's no surprise that they require an amazing amount of water and mowing to maintain. The mowing creates toxic emissions.
Lawn Alternatives. June 14, 2019. Upland oaks and poverty oatgrass (Danthonia spicata), parasol sedge (Carex umbellata), lichens, mosses and diminutive wildflowers in Arlington, Virginia. Photo by R.H. Simmons. For many years, the American lawn has been viewed as a status symbol. Traditional lawns, described as a single warm season grass. Consider our suggestions for lawn alternatives—all with low maintenance and conserving water in mind. 01 of 08. DG: Decomposed Granite . CountryMouse13 / Flickr / CC by 2.0. It may look like dirt, but decomposed granite (DG) is actually a gritty, crumbly granite rock that binds together when compacted. Unlike dirt, it doesn't create dust or. Both fescue and ornamental grasses provide another alternative to the traditional lawn. Fescue grasses are tolerant of everyday wear and tear and can thrive in a variety of locations. Tall fescues are coarser, drought tolerant and provide a very low maintenance lawn for your home. Ornamental grasses are also low-maintenance plants that make. Another lawn alternative is liriope. Also called creeping lily turf ( Liriope spicata) this plant is considered a good vigorous spreading groundcover that can be used as a low maintenance substitute for turfgrass in small spaces. It grows 8-12 inches tall and prefers full sun to very light shade. Hardy to zone 4, it is also drought tolerant
Rather than a lawn, planting an all-native meadow or prairie with locally native species is an ecologically beneficial alternative to mowed turf. This is a good alternative for very large rural properties, but it can be scaled down to small home sites just as easily. 5. Sward - Rough grassy space or irrigated pasture Browse 225 Lawn Alternatives on Houzz Whether you want inspiration for planning lawn alternatives or are building designer lawn alternatives from scratch, Houzz has 225 pictures from the best designers, decorators, and architects in the country, including Creating Sustainable Landscapes, LLC and Nilsen Landscape Design, LLC. Look through lawn.
There are various alternatives that we can actually use to flatten the ground on our lawns and ensure that they are looking neat and tidy throughout. Yes, that's right! However, you should follow certain steps when flattening your lawn using these alternative methods in order to get effective results After our hot and dry summer, lawns are either toast-brown, or plush-green with a correspondingly high water bill. Now's a good time to consider some lawn alternatives for next year that will stay green while saving you time and money over the long term The best known lawn alternative is the wildflower meadow. This involves replacing turfgrass with a blend of taller grasses such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), bluestem (Andropogon) or Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) and with several species of low-maintenance perennials, such as black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia hirta), purple coneflowers. One in the Plants Plus Series - a mix of new and past training presentations, printed materials and other references focused on specific plants or topics to help you increase your knowledge so you can better answer gardening questions. To get 1 hour of continuing education credit, complete the video, readings and take a short quiz! This Plants Plus package focuses on lawns and lawn alternatives
One of the most popular lawn alternatives is white clover (Trifolium repens), also known as Dutch clover or Dutch white clover.Although many people consider it a weed, a healthy patch of it was considered a standard of excellence in lawn care until the 1950s, when people started using broadleaf herbicides to kill clover and other more harmful weeds Lawn Alternatives. May 15, 2010 in Lawn Care. by Elizabeth Gross. The best way to create an alternative to the traditional lawn is to practice what my family calls the 'Pluck & Chuck' method. I hope you, too, will want to try it
Planting and maintaining a lawn also has time, economic, and environmental costs. As homeowners become aware of the costs of maintaining lawns, both to people and to wildlife, many are choosing to replace all or part of their lawns with more wildlife- and environment-friendly alternatives. Alternatives to Lawns Bye-Bye, Lawn: Four Great Alternatives to Grass Landscaping Give your mower—and nature—a break with these alternatives to turf. By Su Byron and Marty Fugate 10/1/2019 at 1:11pm Published in.
Unlike most lawn alternatives, it tolerates foot traffic and pet urine at least as well as grass. When you crush it underfoot, it gives off a pleasant minty smell. Consider other varieties of mint for a sustainable lawn as well. Some will work for you better than others. Creeping Charlie, at least, wants part shade Best Low Maintenance Lawn Alternatives - Elfin Creeping Thyme. Sometimes called Thymus serpyllum Elfin, the Elfin Creeping Thyme is a low growing evergreen ground cover. Elfin Creeping Thyme will naturalize. Plant between garden pavers or as a lawn alternative. A historic plant used by the ancient Egyptians as well as the Romans. Grows in. Lawns are a great choice for anyone with children, pets, and a sunny lot. Most turf grasses can hold up to heavy traffic as long they are healthy and properly maintained. While lawns are a great choice from a human activity perspective, they contribute very little from an ecological perspective. Most grasses require many inputs and labor in order to keep them in good conditio Lawn Replacement Alternatives. Dry Garden Landscape. Granite chips replaced the lawn here. Front yard rain garden in SW Portland. A dry creek, a rain garden, and rock garden all in one. Japanese dry garden in Forest Heights. Modern paver patio eliminated about 1400 square feet of lawn Lawn Alternatives for an Eco-Friendly Yard. There is a significant movement underway by American homeowners to plant alternatives to grass in their yards. Replacing your lawn with an eco-friendly alternative has many benefits and eliminates the hassle of mowing, fertilizing, watering, and applying dangerous pesticides
Other Lawn Care Issues » Choosing Lawn Care Services » Lawn Cultivation Equipment and Methods » Managing Lawns in Shade » Groundcovers as Lawn Alternatives in Shade » Winter Damage to Lawns » Lawn Care with Minimum Chemical Use » Common Lawn Care Mistakes; Credit Lawn Alternatives February 20, 2020 Editor Lawn Care , Perennials , Sustainable Gardening , Tips, Techniques and Tools The green sea of a well-kept lawn adds a sense of serenity to the yard, however harsh chemicals and time spent on upkeep can ruin this tranquility
Natural lawn alternatives, on the other hand, offer greater advantages to you and the environment. Many lawn alternatives are low-maintenance and naturally attract birds, bees, butterflies, and. Alternatives to Turfgrass. A lush lawn can be an appealing element in the home landscape and provides many important benefits, like reducing stormwater runoff and cleaning the air. But sometimes turfgrass doesn't perform as well as you would like. The desire for an attractive lawn is nothing new
Lawn and Lawn Alternatives. A healthy lawn can be a beautiful asset to a home landscape and, when properly managed, can help reduce soil erosion and stormwater runoff. In an organic program, the goal for lawns is to reduce their size to what is absolutely necessary. Large lawns require a great deal of energy and resources to be maintained Lawns often provide no food or habitat for birds and bees that share our neighborhoods. All of these problems can be addressed by using alternatives to the traditional, non-native turf lawn. You may be asking why the City requires turf for lawns if they are so undesirable. Well, it doesn't Traditional lawns may not be the answer for everyone, especially in the West where water concerns are high. Consider alternatives to the traditional fescue like our herbal lawn mix, buffalo grass, yarrow or clover which will add nitrogen to the soil If you're after a lawn alternative that still looks like a lawn, this is good choice. 2. Creeping Thyme. Creeping thyme is a hardy plant that can quickly fill in the empty spaces in paths, lawns, and garden boarders. It is drought tolerant and can handle heavy foot traffic. It also produces pollinator-friendly blooms throughout the summer
Homeowners who find that a traditional lawn is not practical can explore some low-maintenance alternatives. APRIL 22, 2021 - Opt for a wildflower meadow instead of a lawn to cut down on maintenance Desire for a vegetable or flower garden. Reforestation/meadow creation for wildlife habitat. Site not suitable for a lawn. Dislike mowing. Some of the alternatives to lawn include: Alternative groundcovers. Vegetable gardens or raised beds. Pollinator habitats, like meadows or flowerbeds. Natural habitats like forest patches Lawn Alternatives; Sort by: Date. Title. Updated: June 29, 2021. Lawn Alternatives. Simple ways to reduce the amount of your property devoted to grass. Updated: June 14, 2021. Moss in the Landscape. What is moss and how can it be used in the landscape. Updated: April 30, 2021. Groundcovers.
Lawns aren't always easy to maintain in our climate. If you've ever experienced green guilt, then it's time to think about a lawn alternative. Discover hard-working ground covers that still give your home maximum curb appeal. If you're not ready to give up your grass, you can explore lower-water, cool, and warm-season turfgrasses that will give you a more efficient, yet traditional, outdoor. Alternatives to the perfect lawn, at home and at Harvard. The suburban lawn outside this home in Belmont, Massachusetts, was recently replaced with mostly indigenous plants, such as blueberry and raspberry bushes, serviceberry trees, and hardy perennials, along with a variety of fragrant herbs that withstand light treading Turf lawn Cool season grass - dormant in warm seasons Cool season grass mix Heavy traffic Warm season grass - dormant in cooler seasons St. Augustine Grass Stenotaphrum secundatum Heavy traffic Turf like Blue Grama Bouteloua gracilis Moderate traffic California Field Sedge Carex praegracilis Moderate traffic Ground covers Kurapia Lippia nodiflora Moderate traffic Silver [
What Are Lawn Alternatives? Lawn alternatives are other options besides living grass that need little to no water, can be installed easily and still look great Plant Alternatives to Replace a Water Hungry Lawn. It's time to break the grass habit (if you haven't already). In the Bay Area, large lawns are being replaced with smarter, greener alternatives that work with (rather than against) our mild, wet winters and long, dry summers Lawn and Lawn Alternative Resources. Turf is the most common groundcover in American yards but it is not always the best choice. The following resources will help you determine the conditions where turf is the right option, best turf varieties for Chatham County and the surrounding area, and alternatives to turf grasses for the NC Piedmont Keep reading to learn about five no grass lawn alternatives that look great and are easy to take care of. 1. Artificial Grass. While you might hear the words artificial grass and think '70s, the truth is that modern varieties are more beautiful and practical than ever. Artificial turf is a great way to enjoy the look and even feel. The natural liquid lawn food is a great blend of nitrogen, potassium, humic acid, and fulvic acid. These are all great for growing a healthy, greener lawn. It can be applied as an alternative for Milorganite on all grass types including Bermuda grass, St. Augustine grass, Palmetto, Zoysia, Fescue, Bluegrass, Buffalo, and Centipede The developing water shortage crisis in the U.S. has prompted many homeowners to turn to eco-friendly and low-maintenance lawn alternatives. And there are plenty of options — everything from.