Replace Your Lawn With These Superior Alternatives
Earlier this week, we suggested that you stop mowing your lawn . According to the EPA, lawn maintenance in the United States accounts for nearly a third of all U.S. domestic water use, and accounts for 4% of all U.S. air pollution . Plus it’s a pain in the ass.
Of course, simply growing a lawn can look messy and attract pests, and is not an option for those with restrictive homeowner associations or local governments. To get a beautiful, low-maintenance lawn, you need to replace the high-maintenance grass with better quality grass, flowers, or even stones.
Low maintenance herb
Certain fescue breeds, designed to avoid the typical clumping of this breed, grow slowly enough that they can only be trimmed once a month. Fescue is tolerant to many soil types in most temperate climates. The roots of small fescue produce an amino acid that kills weeds such as crab grass.
Sedges are related to and similar to herbs. They are found naturally on all inhabited continents, and different species can withstand different levels of hydration.
UC Verde Buffalograss uses less than half the water of tall fescue. It turns brown in winter in California, but if you need it year round, you can spray it with a mild turf dye.
Alternative plants
Herbs such as Corsican mint , Roman chamomile, and serpentine thyme provide a fragrant soil cover and are a great way to harvest herbs right from your lawn.
Flowers such as creeping veronica or signature flower blends such as Fleur de Lawn are more visible, yet easy to maintain at an acceptable (or required) height. Drought-tolerant clover can be planted right on your lawn and fertilizes itself by pulling nitrogen out of the air.
Or ditch the whole “flat cover” paradigm and plant lots of shrubs and trees in your mulch garden. It’s not cheap, but the maintenance job is much more fun than sitting on a lawn mower. The Santa Monica Garden / Garden project showcased an eco-friendly lawn full of native plants, and Santa Monica Airport has three creative green gardens .
Something completely different
In the southwest, many houses simply occupy a small courtyard in rocks, sometimes dotted with bushes and trees. In less arid climates, rocks are still an excellent base for a courtyard full of vegetation .
Astroturf , while easier to maintain than turf grass, still requires some spraying and sweeping, and warms up in the sun. All this plastic does not absorb greenhouse gases, and when it is replaced, it ends up in landfill. It is also prohibited by many homeowners’ associations. Do not worry.