Lawns work nicely as busy playspaces for pets and people, and as circulation corridors through landscapes. As a result of their uniform color and feel, lawns often serve as a place for the eye to rest inside an area of visual strength.
But yards can be a drain on water resources, and they need regular mowing and fertilizing, and of course weeding and aerating. Most home landscapes offer lots of chances to produce colorful, engaging and more sustainable options.
Curious in lessening the amount of yard to take care of? Below are some ways that will help you study your landscape with fresh eyes and continue beyond the yard.
Phase One Landscapes
Eliminate yards where they struggle to survive. Get your yard from the deep shade or away from the dry slope.
Elevation Architects
It’s also a good idea to keep lawn away from the burning pavement — for example, the classic “hell strip” between the sidewalk and road, or the narrow space between the driveway and entry walk.
Goodman Landscape Design
Eliminate yards where they are hard to keep. Target narrow side yards, regions around shrubs and trees, and spaces smaller than 12 feet by 12 feet. Mowing, trimming, fertilizing and watering these small, awkward areas are difficult and time-consuming jobs.
Jocelyn H. Chilvers
Remove yards where they aren’t used for active play or entertainment. Front yards are prime candidates for this treatment. These are typically smaller spaces which may get amazing no-lawn showcases.
Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture
The fashion of your own landscape that is no-lawn should reflect the design of your property.
Scott Brinitzer Design Associates
Replace small yard areas with a low-maintenance perennial ground cover. Small areas and the ones that are tough to access may best be served with this low-maintenance alternative. Once established, a bulk of ground cover has a simple, calming effect. Appropriate plant selection will eliminate mowing, decrease water consumption and radically reduce the need to fertilize — saving you time and money.
Choose a plant with multiseason interest: flowers, colorful foliage, winter feel. Some ground covers will tolerate a small amount of foot traffic, also. Creeping lilyturf (Liriope spp, zones 5 to 9), shown here, has a lush, grass-like look and can also be evergreen. Additional choices — depending upon your garden’s growing conditions — may consist of periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus, zones 4 to 9), creeping thyme (Thymus praecox, zones 4 to 9) or snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum, zones 3 to 9).
More crops to your pathways
The Garden Consultants, Inc..
Replace yards with bigger, decorative plants for even more visual punch and biodiversity. Larger spaces may go yard spare with mixed plantings of perennials, shrubs, grasses and trees. This kind of landscape renovation simplifies the monoculture problems that are inherent with yards. Greater plant diversity welcomes butterflies, birds and other wildlife, and promotes a more ordinary ecosystem in general.
Large yards are visual deserts. Replacing them with more varied plantings creates a feast for the eyes which creates attention and invites interaction with the landscape. Color, texture, form and fragrance — all of those backyard elements that we prize — can transform a boring lawn into a beautiful outdoor space.
Derviss Design
That is gardening on a bigger scale which takes planning and upkeep, certainly, but suitable plant selection can result in a joyful and more sustainable lawn substitute. Walkways or paths of stepping stone, as shown in this photo, can help organize these bigger spaces and invite exploration, also.
Jocelyn H. Chilvers
Replace yards with edible plants to create your landscape more effective. You can not eat your yard, so why don’t you replace some of it together with vegetables, fruits and herbs? Yard areas which struggle to survive in warm, sunny areas may be excellent for food production.
Think beyond the 4-by-4 box and consider terracing and other structural enhancements to add visual weight and year-round interest to your backyard.
Paradise Restored Exterior & Landscaping Design
Huettl Landscape Architecture
Replace yards with collecting areas to enhance the way you live now. Not utilizing your yard for active play and gameswith? Create many different outdoor spaces in your landscape which take advantage of both sunlight and shade, are silent and intimate, or are big enough for the entire gang to enjoy.
Phase One Landscapes
Lush plantings, the sound of splashing water and the warmth of dancing fires are always welcoming. Comfortable collecting spaces are perhaps the very low-maintenance and water-conserving options for replacing your yard yet staying engaged outside.
Amazon
Lawn Gone! : Low-Maintenance, Sustainable, Attractive Alternatives for Your Lawn: – $19.99
If you are inspired … Lawn Gone is a great resource to learn more on landscaping with significantly less yard, including how to eradicate existing yard areas. Additionally, it offers regionally proper plant ideas.
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More: Are You Ready to Lose the Lawn?