Create an alternative lawn by carpeting your landscape with colorful, low-care groundcovers. We used: … White clover is a possible option, too, and useful to feed both the bees and your soil. And if so, what will you replace it with: gravel, decking, paving or even fake grass? Sedum mats, commonly used on green or living roofs, are good ground cover, if given enough sun. An increasingly popular option, a meadow can be created by simply allowing existing lawn grass to grow longer than usual, and cutting it only once or twice in summer. When it becomes difficult to grow grass in your lawn, artificial grass is one of the … The alternative is to sow a special meadow mix instead (try MAS Seeds). In many cases, simplifying the shape of a real grass lawn to minimise maintenance, sowing a mini-meadow or making a gravel garden instead is a more natural, wildlife-friendly, not to mention cheaper, alternative. Doing so will cut down on maintenance and can create pace in and help zone your garden. Ground cover Another alternative for areas that aren't regularly walked on. Wildflower Meadow. There are many easy-care varieties available that hold up well to foot traffic. Creeping thymes and camomile (non-flowering 'Treneague' is best) make excellent lawns for well-drained sunny … Clover grows quickly, … By Brittany Romano • Water-worn weathered flint and cockleshells are favourites, but your choice should be guided by local stone, other hardscape materials in the garden, and the house. Maintenance consists of … For a thyme tapestry effect, plant each variety in large teardrop-shaped drifts and mix them up throughout the design. It’s permeable, and the crunch factor makes for a useful security measure, too. On the downside, it will probably need topping up every 3-4 years but that’s still less work than mowing the lawn once a week! Anthemis nobilis, particularly the cultivar ‘Treneague’) or clover make ideal lawn alternatives… Enviromat sedum matting was developed for use on commercial green roofs because is so self-sufficient. Clover was once considered a weed in the grass, but it’s surprisingly beneficial as a lawn plant. See our round up of the best Shark vacuum cleaners to help make vacuuming the home a whole lot easier, this year and beyond, Editor's Picks: US Shopping Editor, Brittany Romano, rounds up her 9 #BrittanysBestBuys for this week, By Brittany Romano • Grass tends to struggle in lawns overhung by trees and shrubs, so a no-grass lawn is a great alternative. Check out our decking ideas for inspiration, and don't forget, there are tons of decking materials to choose from, from beautiful hardwoods to no-maintenance composite wood lookalikes. Find out how to install decking to cut down on cost, too. And if you are keen on photography or painting you’ll have plenty of subject matter. Or the shade from trees or a trampoline make it hard to grow? 2020-12-23T21:59:33Z, This NYE, curl up into these 7 cozy pieces are so comfortable and cozy, you'll wear them on repeat, By Brittany Romano • It creates nitrogen, enriching the soil and helping other plants grow stronger. If you are tired of weekly mowing and rising water bills, try replacing your lawn … Avoid using multiple materials in a small space, such as a courtyard garden, to prevent it from looking too busy. Looking for alternatives to grass? Use our guide to choosing plants for more guidance. "A great solution for places with little or variable natural rain, gravel or sand expanses … A lovely natural grass lawn is a traditional feature in British Gardens but what if you want something different instead of grass? Ground Cover Alternatives to Grass: Synthetic Grass Synthetic grass, also known as artificial grass or turf, is viable as an alternative to grass lawns. Now, this IS an interesting idea. September 30, 2016 Mary Talbot Golden Corn 14mm gravel, delivered in 875kg bags covering 10m² at a depth of 50mm, £11.50 per m², Stone Warehouse. They also go a little patchy in wet summers, and for this reason scented thyme lawns are prefereable, which need similar conditions and also don’t tolerate heavy foot traffic, but are generally a lot tougher and more reliable. This lawn alternative is more than just decorative. The added nitrogen also means that the lawn remains green, even in dry weather. Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer, This Grinch cocktail will leave everyone green with envy this holiday season, Found: 7 cozy pieces to curl up into on New Year's Eve and beyond, Katie Lee on balancing life as a new mom and her holiday menu: 'It's 2020, all bets are off! Stone or Sand. Not every plot can support a lawn, but there are some green alternatives. Easi-Belgravia Easigrass, £1,680 for a garden measuring 24m2, including installation and optional 1.8cm shock pad (as shown), Easigrass. Lawn Alternatives: Food Garden Whether it’s your own permaculture food forest of fruit trees, shrubs and herbs, or it’s a traditional veggie garden, growing your own food is so rewarding. Try herbs as a lawn alternative. Whatever, you can go without a lawn in your garden – either completely or in part. Millboard composite decking, Garden House Design, This season, serve up this Grinch cocktail that will make you more festive than Whoville, By Brittany Romano • Leaving existing grass to grow also means you can revert to a close-cropped sward again relatively easily, by trimming the length low enough to take the lawnmower (we have the best lawnmowers in our buyer's guide). If you want something akin to an idyllic country meadow, there are two options: the easiest is to plant wildflower plug-plants throughout the long grass, chosen with your soil type in mind. It is allowed to grow long and offers all of the benefits of a grass lawn – except that it is visually very different. If you don’t need to walk on parts of the lawn at all, seas of weed-smothering ground cover plants such as bugle (Ajuga), pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), self-heal (Prunella), and even ivy work well. Perhaps you find the maintenance too much? Prepare the ground thoroughly before sowing – you can’t simply sprinkle meadow seed over an existing lawn, so unfortunately you will need to start from scratch. 2020-12-23T21:56:14Z. A typical wildflower lawn is cut only once or twice per year. However, we’ve found some fantastic, natural alternatives to … Opt for paving for a smart finish that's durable, too. Then, find more garden ideas in our fabulous feature. ), By Brittany Romano • Bark mulch drains well, nourishes soil microbes and makes a practical play surface for children and pets when used as a ground cover alternative to grass. Choose a paving material that flatters the style, period and materials of your property, but also one that complements that of the flooring indoors if you want to create an indoor outdoor link. Traditionally this meant stripping off the rich topsoil beforehand (wildflowers love poorer soils), but there are now lots of blends available for all soil types and situations. A small, traditional patio will benefit from stone paving blocks in sandstone or limestone in honey or brown shades; more modern properties can experiment with quartz, versatile porcelain or even concrete. If you want to go to extremes, rip up the lawn in favour of one giant ‘open’ border instead, where there’s room for multi-layered mixed plantings. We specialise in transforming back gardens with the highest quality … There is, however, a number of alternatives. Fed up with muddy kids? The beauty of a turf lawn has been admired for centuries, but really came into its own with the invention of the mechanical lawn … Alternative lawns that are neither living nor natural will have far few benefits. There are many coloured aggregates available – again, choose a natural-looking one for anywhere other than children’s play areas. The material has the same look and … 2020-12-23T21:51:54Z. These shade-loving plants offer subtle rather than bright colours. From quick and easy changes to bigger updates, we've got you covered... Real Homes is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Remember that blades of real grass aren’t all the same size or colour, so consider this when looking at those on offer. Porous resin-bound gravel is useful where a hard surface would work better, and it’s cheaper than paving. Also use a specialist contractor, as it’s not a DIY job. Lawns are child-friendly, wildlife havens, soft areas where you can sunbathe, and design-wise a necessary ‘neutral space’, but you can’t use them year-round and they need care, including spiking and scarifying, mowing, weed control and watering. However, this article is looking at all the possible alternatives to a grass lawn, real plants, hard landscaping and more. For example, poppies don’t like thick clay, but knapweed does. Like the sound of it? Sedums won’t tolerate frequent foot traffic and so are not suitable for children’s play areas. Sweet Woodruff. Overlap each edge by 30cm and fix down securely using 10-25cm U-shaped wire staples. Moss is one of the easiest low-maintenance lawn alternatives around. But to many, plastic grass is less comfortable underfoot and monotonous to look at, even though technological advances mean the ‘astroturf’ look synonymous with football pitches is long gone. You will definitely see a lot more wildlife when you use wildflowers as a natural alternative to a grass lawn. But if you want to keep the plants bushy, trim after flowering with shears, or if you have a lawn mower with a height setting, use this carefully. Tips on designing a lower maintenance garden, Low maintenance ideas for your front garden, Making your wildflower turf even more interesting, How to find the right soil for growing fresh vegetables, Cost up your project & compare prices of our different turfs for your project, Soaks up rainwater to relieve pressure on drains, Absorbs CO2 and releases oxygen for us to breath, Totally 100% recyclable – without the use of expensive recycling facilities, Supports wildlife by providing food and shelter for lots of different species, Root systems stabilise soil and help prevent erosion, Filters dust and pollutants from the air where they can be safely dealt with by soil microbes. On the plus side, these low growing plants have a fascinating texture, are very kind to the environment and are a magnet to pollinating insects. Natural products are always good for the environment. One of the biggest gripes of lawn owners is the need for regular maintenance. With bark, you can simply spread an 8-10cm layer over the soil, but it will need topping up every other year. Mow paths where you need to cross, and grow wild … In sunny areas where foot traffic is light or mower access is difficult, Chamaemelum nobile (chamomile) can be used to provide a lower maintenance alternative … The good news for those who still want a field of green is the abundance of lawn substitutes that can accommodate foot traffic, pet traffic, and rounds of lawn games. A spring planting of small coffee cup-sized plants spaced 15-25cm apart will see a pleasing effect the following year, and in 18 months, the carpet should be at its best. Most meadow mixes fall into two categories. You can buy wildflower seeds from The Wild Flower Shop or British Wild Flower Plants. Sedum matting: Tidy, low maintenance and pollinator friendly. Where gravel really proves useful is in the front garden, where a tiny lawn can be a pain to mow. Annual mixes are quick to flower, but need re-sowing each spring for best results. Use all year round, whatever the weather, and it needs nothing more than occasional hosing. Crushed glass isn’t an appropriate lawn replacement, and it’s a look that’s very tricky to pull off successfully, so is best handled by a garden designer as part of a wholesale redesign (find out how to employ a garden designer in our guide). Areas near the house can be cut as normal, with paths made with a mower through longer grass in areas that aren’t used regularly. White flowering clover makes a good lawn alternative … ", Love SKIMS? Maintenance consists of no more than applying a feed once a year and clearing away autumn leaves. A large lawn can be transformed into a meadow. Some are wildlife-friendly substitutes; others can cut maintenance time in half. Enviromat sedum matting was originally … Our offices are closed for the festive period, our first delivery day is 7th Jan 2021. Food Network star Katie Lee exclusively reveals that this holiday season will be nothing like last year's past. It may require more of an up … Use weed control membrane beneath it and be prepared to pluck out an occasional opportunist plant. This isn’t an easy-care option, however, and some knowledge of planting design is important, unless you hire an experienced garden designer. Enviromat sedum matting was developed for use on commercial green roofs because is so self-sufficient. Clover is an easy-to-care-for lawn alternative that’s often planted as a green cover crop to fix nitrogen in the soil, but it can also act as an ideal eco-friendly landscaping option. Cottage Garden Piasa, Illinois 618-729-4324 www cottgardens.com. Smooth natural sandstone paving in Dune, with a matt appearance and a machine-cut edge, from £1,123.45 for a 15.3m2 patio kit, Bradstone. Artificial turf also saves on time and garden storage space – with no need to mow, there’s no need to store a lawnmower. Perfect grass alternatives for a front garden or for a sloping garden. Sedum plants are far more drought tolerant than lawn grasses and they’ll delight you all year round. To keep perennial meadows looking good, cut them once or twice a year. Use fluid materials such as gravel. Gravel is an ideal lawn alternative, being easy to use and suitable for both traditional and contemporary garden designs. The joy of natural grass is that it works with nature to help us. Plants such as thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus or Thymus serpyllum), chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile, syn. If you opt for a wildflower lawn, you could mow paths through it to give it a more manicured look. A wildflower area brings colour and interest to a garden and makes for great alternative lawns. © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. Choose a diameter of 5-20mm so that it’s easy to walk on – rounded gravels are better for children, and larger angular gravels are best where cats are a problem. Joy Creek Nursery, Scappoose, … Gravel is an ideal lawn alternative, being easy to use and suitable … Of course, not all the lawn has to be left to grow long. All offer exciting garden design opportunities. Letting lawn grass grow long doesn’t automatically mean masses of wildflowers will appear, however; grasses will dominate. The Derwent Artificial Grass from Carpetright (below) subtly combines different shades of green and brown for a realistic look, and is fabulously soft underfoot. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. For years, grass seed has benefited from the addition of clover, which fertilizes soil by … The foundations, especially large areas, also need specialist fitters, as preparing the ground is more like laying paving, and a level surface is vital. First, lay sheets of heavy-duty, semi-permeable landscape fabric (from DIY stores), to stop weeds coming through. These low-growing perennials are an indispensable part of any well-well designed garden and are perfect for replacing areas of lawn… Planting a moss bed couldn’t be simpler, and you won’t need to mow or water your moss bed, provided you choose an … So, yes, I am the UK’s most passionate lawn person – but I’m also very happy to help people find really great alternatives … 2020-12-23T21:52:37Z, I don't want this cozy set from Amazon, I absolutely need it (and all 8 available colors! The following plant sellers offer the widest selection of lawn alternatives mentioned in this article. Or maybe you simply have a small plot and nowhere to store a lawnmower? Visit our corporate site. Artificial Grass. It’s extra work, but results in a more colourful display. Wildflower matting reduces maintenance by around 90% AND its appearance is really rather beautiful. Microclover. It can feed you and your family, and maybe generate some extra income if you decide to sell your produce. Some come pre-germinated and supplied on mats that you simply lay like normal turf (try MeadowMat or Wild Flower Turf) – use these for an instant effect, but expect to pay a lot more. Suppliers such as Easigrass can recommend local fitters. Follow this expert advice from garden designer Matt James on creating a practical open space without grass. Clover. The only disadvantage with a sedum lawn is that it is not very hardwearing. Say buh-bye to 2020's negative energy with this Wayfair sale to renew your home just in time for the new year. You can’t beat living plants for the benefits they bring but if plants are not for you, a bark mulch surface is an OK no grass lawn alternative. Woodchip makes a great play surface – and you won’t need to negotiate your way around toys with the lawn mower! Clover is often planted by gardeners as an eco friendly soil conditioner. Chamomile lawns Grass lawns have the disadvantage of requiring regular mowing, feeding and edging. When looking for an alternative to turf grass lawns, the responsible householder looks at more than just aesthetics. Use our guide to create your own luscious wildlife garden. Easy-care woodlanders such as wood spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides var. Ideal for dark corners under trees where even shade-tolerant types of grass struggle to grow well, bark feels more at home, although simple water-worn gravels work too. This cozy set is $24.99 is a complete dupe and perfect to curl up to this cold-weather season, Wayfair's End of Year Clearance Sale has everything to revamp your home for 2021, Best Shark vacuum: 5 top options with Anti Hair Wrap, DuoClean or Lift Away tech, Editor's picks: the 9 best items to add to your shopping cart this week, 25 bathrooms on a budget – affordable ways to transform your space. For areas where daily usage isn’t important, fragrant chamomile lawns are popular, but require a sunny spot and free draining soil. On a large scale, this is the most sensible option, since replacing the lawn with anything else will be prohibitively expensive – or back-breaking work. Our alternative lawns have many of the same advantages as grass, but they’re lower maintenance. So what would fit the bill? Lots of people opt for lawn as the obvious choice – it’s relatively cheap to install and it’s soft enough to lay on, or kids to play on. There are numerous different gravels available, so choose one that is subtle and natural-looking and won’t detract from any planting. If you go for low-growing varieties such as Thymus serpyllum ‘Snowdrift’ or ‘Pink Chintz’, you shouldn’t need to trim them either. It also appeals to a wide range of minibeasts and will attract the birds who feed upon them. Whichever option you choose, paths made from paving, gravel or timber sleepers are essential throughout, so you don’t crush the planting when you walk. Choose natural stripped pine bark or similar and, for colour and texture, add plants in areas not used for seating. Here are some of the benefits of a natural lawn. Your lawn plays a huge role in this – something not even the most expensive artificial turf can do. 2020-12-23T17:23:51Z. 1 Bee heaven . All rights reserved. Sweet woodruff is an edible herb, said to taste something like vanilla, and it gives … We look at a couple of alternative lawns grass lawn alternatives. The timing of the cut is important: spring meadows are left uncut until mid-summer, whereas summer meadows are mown to 10cm in spring then left to flower and seed before cutting again in the autumn. Spreading gravel isn’t just a case of splitting the bag and pouring it out. If the soil is prepared properly, thyme grows fast, too. If you love the look of a lawn, but hate the hard work, or want to create a child-friendly garden, consider artificial turf. Alternative Grass, based in Huddersfield supplies and installs the most true-to-life artificial grass and fake lawns available in the UK. … robbiae), Siberian bugloss (Brunnera), white wood aster (Aster divaricatus), dusky cranesbill (Geranium phaeum) and lungwort (Pulmonaria) are tough and need no maintenance once established. Plants are essential for interest, though, so always aim for a healthy ratio of two-thirds plants to one-third gravel. Or ask a garden designer to help you combine wildflowers with hard landscaping and/or planters for a contemporary look and feel. Perfect grass alternatives for a front garden or for a sloping garden. Or perhaps there's no space for one in your small garden? Don't miss these turf-free options if you want an alternative to laying – and caring for – a lawn. Use our guide to choose the best gravel for your garden to find out more. If yours is a small garden, perhaps an awkward shape or on a sloping site, and your budget is low, installing decking is a cost-effective, speedy way to create a usable surface, perfect for outdoor lounging and dining. Where gravel meets a lawn or planting you’ll need an edge of metal strips, granite setts, terracotta ‘rope-top’ tiles or bricks laid in a saw-tooth pattern to stop it spilling. Don't want to have a lawn and need alternatives to grass? It grows quickly and … Alternatively, use landscape fabric to keep weeds down, make slits with a Stanley knife and plant through. However, replacing a large lawn in the garden of a suburban semi with a sea of gravel is rather boring, and impractical for families with children. In fact, walking through these aromatic plants will actually trigger their pleasant … Want to design a bathroom on a budget? Enviromat prefers to be in full sun on well-drained soil. There is no mowing and no clippings to dispose of. Above: Clovers … Learn more about sedum matting for ground use. Bradstone and CED have a large range, and Stone Warehouse has a handy online calculator to work out how much you need. More Sustainable (and Beautiful) Alternatives to a Grass Lawn But a new, no-mow movement is challenging this conformity—and helping the environment. Perennial meadows last a lot longer, but need TLC and time to establish, so don’t expect an attractive display until at least two years after sowing. 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