We all love the picturesque image of a manicured green lawn, but unfortunately that comes at a high maintenance cost. Chances are that if you have a decent sized yard – you’re probably spending quite a few hours a week mowing, trimming, watering, and fertilizing your lawn to keep it healthy and green. Well good news homeowners, if you decide to be done with all that work – there are alternatives to having a lawn.
Shrink the Size of Your Lawn
The first step is to decide how much lawn you want. Some homeowners have a huge yard, and maintaining all of that could be time-consuming and difficult. One option could be to let part of the yard grow in, or even plant trees to create woods on the outskirts of your property. This way you have less lawn to keep up with.
If you don’t want woods, consider putting in a large deck or patio to cover a portion of your yard. Extending your existing deck not only increases usable outdoor space, but also shaves off many square feet of yard.
Clover Lawns
If shrinking the size of your lawn isn’t an option, you may want to consider getting a clover lawn instead of a grass lawn. Why clovers? Well, unlike grass – clovers do not require fertilization. Like most cover crops in the Pea family, clovers naturally absorb nitrogen from the air, and funnels it into the earth.
Clovers also have longer roots, enabling it to reach deeper water levels. And lastly, while you still have to mow clovers, it doesn’t need to be mowed nearly as often as grass.
Xeriscape Landscaping
If you think about it, the whole idea of forcing high maintenance grass to grow in dry and imperfect weather is a bit dysfunctional. Instead, why don’t we use plants that don’t need to be watered like a lawn does?
In Xeriscaping, homeowners can replace lawns with plants native to the climate so they don’t require watering and maintenance. This doesn’t mean you can only have cacti in your yard – but rather you have to choose plants that make sense for your location.
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