The Best Grass Alternatives for Your Yard

Maintaining a beautiful lawn year-round can be challenging, especially if you don’t dedicate enough time to it.

Depending on the type of grass you grow, it can be resource-intensive, requiring the application of pesticides and other chemicals that may be harmful to you and the environment.

Here are some of the best grass alternatives that keep your yard looking wonderful while providing biodiversity and sustainability benefits.

1. Food Forests

A food forest is a sustainable agricultural system with several layers that mimic the layout of natural forest ecosystems. This system comprises groundcover, herbaceous plants, vines, shrubs, trees, and a root layer. 

The idea is to utilize perennial plants that reduce the need for regrowing, tilling, fertilizing, irrigation and as little weeding as possible. The plants are grown for various purposes, including food crops, pollination, medicine, and nitrogen fixation.

To start a food forest, it’s essential to observe the forests in your location and see what thrives and how the species relate to one another and their environment. You can start small, planting a few trees at a time, and slowly encouraging more biodiversity over time.

2. Wild Strawberry

For patches of hard-to-maintain grass, wild strawberries provide better ground coverage than wood chips. You can also use them to replace your lawn entirely or as living mulch around bigger plants.

As long as your soil drains well, you can look forward to having a dense ground cover for your lawn, with little weeding, fertilizing, and mowing needed. Wild strawberries are best for pathways, shady spots, and cottage gardens, and their berries contribute to biodiversity by attracting pollinators.

3. Xeriscaping

In arid regions where maintaining a grass lawn can quickly become a nightmare, xeriscaping can be a lifesaving landscaping technique. It replaces grass with drought tolerant plants, rock, and gravel. 

Xeriscaping also provides a great “wild” aesthetic for your yard, keeping your outdoor space functional and attractive.

4. Hügelkultur

A German word meaning “hill culture,” this gardening technique uses organic matter and decaying wood to create a self-sustaining and drought-tolerant landscape. 

Although it won’t replace your lawn entirely, it’s great when applied in certain parts of your yard. The organic material slowly releases nutrients into the soil as it decays. These ‘hills’ or mounds act like sponges, retaining moisture and storing carbon in the soil. 

On the mound, you can grow perennial edibles, pollinator plants, shrubs, and dwarf fruit trees. 

5. Gravel Gardens

This low-maintenance alternative to traditional grass lawns requires little to no mulching, weeding, or amendments. It involves filling in the bare patch of soil in your lawn with gravel and hardy native plant species to boost biodiversity and add some natural beauty to the space, all while withstanding heavy foot traffic excellently.

You can choose between pea gravel, crushed granite, decomposed granite, or river rock. Leaving gravel-free soil rings around the plants helps to prevent heat stress. 

6. Clover Lawn

Clover lawns involve replacing turfgrass with clover, one of the best plants for arid regions with mild winters and dry summers. Although this might be a problem if you have typical Midwest weather, if your winters aren’t as cold, you might get away with it.

Clover lawns are great for biodiversity, encourage pollinators and maintain their vibrant green in the summer when most traditional turf grass starts to get sun-scorched. Beyond the occasional need to mow, clover lawns require little to no maintenance. 

7. Ground Cover Plants

This includes planting low-growing plants like Corsican mint, sedan, dichondra, chamomile, and creeping thyme in your lawn. These plans require little to no maintenance and input like pesticides, fertilizer, and water, making them more hardy than turf grasses. 

Ground cover plants also suppress weeds, attract pollinators, and prevent erosion. Some ground cover plants, like ajuga and mint, spread aggressively, so ensure they’re controlled with hedging.

8. Tapestry Lawn

Meadow lawns, also known as tapestry lawns, are a blend of wildflowers and low-maintenance native grasses that attract pollinators and bring biodiversity to your yard.

With a meadow lawn, you’ll only have to mow once or twice a year, with the plants in bloom year-round, whatever the season. They also help prevent erosion and build up organic matter for the soil.

9. Moss Lawn

Like meadow lawns, moss lawns are low-maintenance grass alternatives that maintain their vibrant green throughout the year without weeding, fertilization or mowing.

Provided your landscape has plenty of natural shade and receives enough moisture, you’ll never have to worry about expending effort keeping it in prime condition. For a better aesthetic effect, you can add gravel or pavers to the moss bed.

10. Herb Garden

A herb garden is a good choice if you’re looking for a grass alternative that serves dual aesthetic and functional roles. The herbs you grow can be added to your culinary recipes, while they’re also a source of pollination attraction. 

For instance, low-growing rosemary and lavender can provide a great aroma to the air in your landscape, while thyme and oregano require little to no watering. 

11. Artificial Turf

If you’re not opposed to using synthetic material in your landscape, you can opt for modern artificial turf that looks and feels just like the real thing. 

While using plastic-based material to replace traditional turf has its environmental and sustainability concerns, it also reduces the amount of chemicals used in landscaping, which is a plus.

12. Sedge

Also known as carex, sedge is quite similar to traditional turf grass but is popular for its low-maintenance properties.

Sedge is also quite versatile, meaning that several species are available depending on your landscaping goals and location.

13. Rock Garden

Skillfully incorporating a mix of large boulders and small rocks into your landscape adds a rustic, beautiful aesthetic.

In arid regions, you can plant hardy native plants between the rocks, leaving them to grow naturally with as little maintenance as possible. 

14. Ornamental Grasses

Plants such as Maryland native switchgrass, yellow Indian grass, and bottlebrush grass are low-maintenance, drought-resistant species with remarkable resistance to disease.

Combining various such plants in different heights, growing habits, and textures can create aesthetically pleasing displays. Ensure that you use the right type of ornamental grass for your region, as some thrive best in shady conditions, while others do better in full sun.

15. Tree Planting

If your yard is big enough, you can opt for planting trees in the place of regular turf grass. Tree planting has several benefits, including:

• Erosion control
• Air pollution control
• Increased property valuation
• Shade
• Reduced energy costs
• Privacy

16. Natural Woodland

You can also choose to convert a portion or all of your turf to a natural woodland area. This helps create a natural habitat for wildlife and provides partial shade for your property.

When starting out, use protective tubes around young tree seedlings to prevent deer from eating or damaging them.

Popular Grass Alternatives for Your Lawn

Here’s an overview of some popular low-growing plants that can serve as an excellent replacement for your traditional turf:

Grass Type	Best For (Soil Type)	Best For (Planting Areas)
Green and gold	Moist, well-draining soil	Underneath trees and along woodland paths
Creeping speedwell	Well-draining soil	Between pavers and along pathways
Creeping thyme	Dry-to-average and well-draining soil	Anywhere in the landscape
Creeping phlox	Well-draining soil	Non-walkable- surfaces
Blue star creeper	Moist, well-draining soil	Edging plant or between pavers
Dwarf mondo grass	Moist, well-draining soil	Shady areas and under black walnut trees
Selfheal	Moist, well-draining soil	Erosion-prone regions and close to pollinator favorites and
Sweet woodruff	Moist, well-draining soil	Anywhere in the landscape

Advantages of Grass Alternatives for Your Lawn

If you’re considering converting your grass lawn to something different, you should be aware of some of the benefits:

1. Boosts Biodiversity

Unlike traditional lawns, which consist of a single type of grass and offer little support for diverse soil life, alternative options contribute richly to soil microbes and biodiversity.

Planting ornamental grasses, herbs, and other lawn alternatives provides food for important pollinators and supports a healthier ecosystem. 

 Also, as you rely less on fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals to maintain your turf, you can expect to see more wildlife in your landscape.

2. Reduced Maintenance

One of the standout benefits of replacing your grass with alternatives is that it’s a more sustainable option in the long run.

The plants require little to no irrigation, helping you conserve water resources better. You’ll also spend less time, if any, mowing or applying fertilizer and pesticides. 

3. Beauty Throughout the Year

In regions that experience all four seasons, it’s the norm for the turf to look dull during the winter and even the fall, if adequate care isn’t taken.

With grass lawn alternatives, your yard can expect to look beautiful and colorful throughout the year, with beautiful plumes in the fall and an ever-changing bloom of color in each season. 

Choose the Right Grass Type for Your Lawn

As beautiful as regular lawn turf can be, it can be tough and expensive to maintain. Environment-conscious homeowners concerned about the impact of chemicals like fertilizers and pesticides on their yard can opt for grass alternatives like rock gardens or moss.

These alternatives are a sustainable and eco-friendly choice, easy to maintain, and capable of creating truly stunning landscapes if adopted carefully.

Let SunCo Lawns be your trusty guide to achieving the yard of your dreams, whether with traditional turf or other alternatives. Give us a call today, and our lawn care experts will answer your landscaping questions!

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