Alternatives: Lawns

By: Olivia Johns, Horticulturalist
Calgary Zoo Botanical Gardens

Environmental concerns, conservation issues and cost of time and energy to maintain are factors in deciding to decrease the amount of turf space or remove it all together. Lawns have been a traditional fixture of the home landscape for years and now more and more people are replacing this mainstay of the front and back yard with flower borders, rock gardens, xeriscapes, native plantscapes, hard landscaping and/or mulched areas.

People are finding that turf grass is an expensive plant that takes a lot of time, water and chemicals to maintain, and it does not look good unless it is perfect. There also seems to be less social pressure to do what everyone is doing and more home owners are willing to take chances, especially as they become aware of and learn to appreciate alternatives to the perfect lawn.

Unless you have garden equipment and your own personal landscaping crew, you may want to remove your lawn in phases. You might be setting yourself up for failure if you decide to do it on your own in one weekend. Take small steps to replacing your lawn by adding or increasing flower beds, mulching tree wells and shrub borders, adding a rockery, a pond, or decking of wood or stone.

With decreasing biodiversity due to land development, especially in urban sites, planting native plants is an environmentally friendly alternative to lawns. A wildlife attracting garden or native garden comes with the underlying impression that the end result will not be a beautiful garden or one must live with a weedy, unkempt looking garden. Not necessarily so if you choose colourful seasonal flowers, native ornamental grasses, add some water and your display will quickly be enhanced by birds and butterflies.

Quick growing and spreading, texturally interesting and colourful. A minimum maintenance planting once established, groundcovers provide many options for any type of soil, light level and budget. Along with versatility, these groups of plants that cover the ground combine well with rockeries, brick patios and walkways, front of borders, and can also act as a mulch to control weeds, prevent evaporation and soften hard edges.

In some cases, a broad expanse of space is required for dogs or children and losing the lawn may not be possible. An alternative is to add mulches of bark nuggets, shredded bark, pea gravel or wood chips. Other mulches for areas that require less traffic could be lava rock or coloured stone. This alternative is also great for shady areas where grass or other plants have difficulty establishing.

When determining how to decrease amount of lawn, think about rundlestone or wood patios, paving stone pathways, brick retaining walls, and raised planters. Hard edges can be softened with groundcovers, steppable plants such as woolly thyme or moss. Think of entertaining, barbeque or outdoor room uses.

Low maintenance gardens, such as xeriscapes, scree or alpine gardens and ornamental grasses.

Whether you decide on one of the above, a combination of one or two, or decide to do all of the above, the versatility and options of revamping the front or back yard are immense. Adding alternatives to lawns allows for creativity, inspiration and enjoyment of nature and the outdoors.