Have you ever wondered if there are viable alternatives to grass? The fact is, attractive landscaping greatly improves the real estate value of your property. However, many lawns die each year due to low rainfall, prompting some to seek low maintenance options, namely lawn alternatives. Homeowners are getting tired of seeing their lawns turn brown and wilt every summer, and they are tired of paying a gardener to try to extend the life of their lawn. All this effort costs time, money and effort, as does the need to continuously water and aerate the lawn.
Lawn may be beautiful, but the cost may be too high. The large lawns, and especially the many golf courses in our communities, require incredible amounts of herbicides and chemical fertilizers to maintain their pristine condition and appearance. Lawn mower fuel, harmful emissions, potentially harmful fertilizers and pesticides, water consumption, and your valuable time are all variables in the cost of lawn maintenance. Finding and hiring a lawn care service can save you some time and energy, but the environmental costs still remain. Consider reducing the overall size of your lawn. Doing so can benefit the environment while saving you time, energy, and expense. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to experiment with lawn alternatives or, at the very least, try to reduce the total lawn area in our yard.
There are many steps you can take to reduce the size of your lawn and reduce the time and resources to maintain it. For example, try turning part of your lawn into an ornamental herb display. If you have a small annoying area on your property that you prefer not to have to mow anymore, consider replacing it with a mixed combination of ornamental grass and mulch. Adding some raised beds to your garden will not only look good by highlighting your plantings, but it will provide a barrier at the edges of the lawn and deter soil pests. Plant your shrubs closely to minimize weeds, and wider beds allow you to reduce the size of the lawn. Much of the maintenance can be reduced by placing your beds so that the grass areas are in continuous rows and easy to mow. An edge such as slab or brick can be used to define the edge. Placing this edge below the level of the grass makes it easy to cut the grass without the need for any other cuts. All the trees on your lawn can be given a wide skirt that goes around the base, using a combination of mulch, some ground cover, or native plants.
Unlike the neighbors, you may not need a lawn at all. For example, if you enjoy the open feel of a lawn but not the maintenance or water requirements. Also, areas where a traditional lawn is difficult to establish can work well with some alternatives. For example, if your garden suffers from too much shade, moss may offer a solution. Once they outgrow the lawn grass label, many people find moss attractive. Shade gardens with moss are gaining popularity as an alternative to lawns.
