Landscape Design Tips: Non-Traditional Lawn Alternatives

North Americans love sprawling green lawns…Originally a symbol of status by the European Aristocrats in the 17th century. Nowadays, many people are thinking of them as more of a burden, and looking for more eco-friendly alternatives.

We are living in a different time….water isn’t abundant and we are experiencing some drastic weather…Droughts and floods and forest fires to name a few.

This can make it necessary to make some different choices for plantings and lawn etc!!

Some of our clients choose mostly hardscapes with plantings here and there, with minimal lawn and make use of their irrigation to maintain health of the yard.

Some even have so little lawn space that they choose to use artificial turf to “green” up a space.

How about thinking outside the box, or in a garden box!! An emerging trend is to use the front yard as a place for raised garden boxes!! Why not water and care for something that can provide you and possibly your neighbour with fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables? If it’s kept tidy, it can be beautiful to look at too!

**This option may require you to surround it with a small fence if you have deer (for example)

When selecting your plantings, however you style the yard, it’s best to make selections that will thrive in your climate.

A couple of my favourite non-traditional lawn options are creeping thyme and dwarf yarrow:

Creeping thyme is beautiful to look at, soft underfoot and can handle foot traffic. All that, and it’s not picky with the amount of sun it receives, requires no mowing and limited watering once established!

Yarrow stays green even with neglect and requires limited watering. The flowers pop up every so often and can be mowed if you don’t enjoy that look. Although, it isn’t fast growing like grass, so it doesn’t require that much for maintenance.

Dutch white clover is a commonly used lawn alternative. It is often used to fix the nitrogen needs in a lawn but it spreads quickly and requires little to no maintenance once established. It is very soft underfoot and helps suppress weeds and aerate the soil with its deep roots.

Enjoy your planning and enjoy your outdoor spaces!