Making the Most of your Garden

Lawn Alternatives

Creeping Red Fescue Lawn, an alternative to a cool season lawn

There is a growing movement to replace traditional, thirsty, fertilizer-hungry lawns with native grasses, groundcovers, and 'meadow' mixes. Here we'll explore several options for replacing your lawn and making your garden more attractive and sustainable.
Note: All zones  mentioned refer to Sunset Western Garden zones.

---

Meadow Mixes/Ecology Lawn

The right mixture of herbs and fine fescue makes a stunning display. The benefits of such a lawn is that it is beautiful,  does not require mowing or only requires some mowing (once a month in summer), increases and enhances wildlife, it takes less water, it doesn't require fertilizer, and you and your family can still walk and play on it. 

English daisies, clover, yarrow and low-growing grasses. To see how the owner made the lawn below possible, click on the picture.

Colonial Bentgrass, Strawberry and Dutch White Clover, Wild English Daisies, Roman Chamomile, Yarrow and Baby Blue Eyes

---

Yarrow (Alchillea millefolium) Lawn (All Zones)

Yarrow forms a beautiful green mat that looks and feels very soft. If you keep it mowed regularly, it won't be able to flower, but it does make a stunning, prairie-like display in the warmer months. It remains green and lush with low-moderate foot traffic and little watering. It is a tough, versatile plant that keeps out the weeds and endures the heat.

Yarrow lawn

Yarrow parkway

---

Fine Fescues

Festuca rubra subp. litoralis (Slender Creeping Red Fescue) All zones
Fine, green, and takes some shade. Not too fussy about soil type, and takes less water than a traditional lawn.  It makes a beautiful unmowed meadow. It is also used to reseed Bermuda lawn over the winter.

---

Festuca longifolia or duriuscula (Hard Fescue) All zones
Displays a high tolerance to shade, drought, heat, and salt. It is a slow growing grass, and needs to be uniformally seeded to look good. Needs little water once established and doesn't need to be mowed, unless you care to.

---

Festuca rubra subp rubra (Creeping Red Fescue) All zones
Same care as Slender Red Fescue, but tolerates more shade.

---

Festuca ovina (Sheep Fescue) Zones 1-9, 10-13
A low growing Fescue, up to 12 inches and does well in sun to part sun. Sheep Fescue needs to be divided and replanted often or grown in a mix, and doesn't like foot traffic. Once established,  its water needs are low in zones 1-9, moderate water in 10-13.

---

A fine fescue mix of slender creeping red fescues, chewings fescue and a small amount of bluegrass

---

Carex Lawns (zones 4-9, 14-24)

Carex flacca (Gray Sedge)
Graceful, arching blue grass that is fairly drought tolerant but looks good with supplemental water. Full sun to part shade and can reach 12-16" high. It takes light traffic and is great for erosion control.

---

Carex pansa (California Meadow Sedge)
If left unmowed, this graceful grass reaches 8" high. It can flourish growing in sandy soil or clay. It requires moderate water to get established, but after that it is fairly drought tolerant. It can go dormant in extreme drought though, so water deeply but infrequently.

---

Carex praegracilis (Field Sedge)
This is a North American Native that is used to harsh conditions, including alkaline soil. It can also endure salty soil/spray and is used for habitat restoration, sustainable landscaping, and in meadow plantings. This grass is not very drought tolerant, so plant in boggy area or water once a week. Can reach 12" tall and is less thirsty than a traditional lawn. Plant in full sun to light shade, and trim if desired to keep neat.

---

Carex divulsa (Grassland Sedge)
This tough grass thrives in both sun or shade, and tolerates moderate foot traffic and occasional mowing. It is also known to grow well in many types of soil and many conditions like heat, drought, cold, and humidity. It possesses a lovely texture and looks best if given some summer water.

---

---

Meadow Grasses

These are drought tolerant grasses that can look splendid all year round. Some of the grasses might go dormant in the summer without some supplemental watering, but the good news is that these mixes take about 70% less water than traditional lawns.

Buchloe dactyloides (Buffalo Grass) Zones 1–3, 10–11, 14–16, 18–24. 
Grows 4 to 8 " tall. Color changes from gray-green color in summer, to a straw color in winter. Turf varieties  tend to be more dense and a greener color. Full sun or open shade, with some summer water.

---

Bouteloua gracilis (Blue Grama) Zones 1–3, 7–11, 14, 18–21
1 to 2 feet tall and 1 ft wide. Needs little water, and should be mowed regularly. Shade to part sun. 

---

---

Light Traffic Alternate Groundcovers

Pratia pedunculata (Blue Star Creeper) Zones 4, 5, 8, 9, 14-24
Tough ground cover with small blue flowers in spring and summer. Can take light foot traffic and spreads quickly and easily. However, this plant can be an aggressively invasive, so plant with caution.

---

Chamaemelum nobile (Chamomile) All zones
Takes full sun to part shade and is very aromatic, especially when walked on. Most have yellow or daisy like flowers in summer, but the variety 'Treneague' is nonflowering and does not have to be mowed. It takes regular water and forms a nice green spreading mat.

---

A. verna

Sagina subulata or A. verna (Irish Moss) Zones 1-11, 14-24
Takes moderate water and produces a profuse display of small white flowers in early summer. Grayish, soft leaves make a nice dense, moss-like carpet that can take light traffic. In gardens with ample water, this ground cover can be invasive.

---

Phyla nodiflora (Lippia)  Zones 8-29
Spreads by creeping rhizomes and bears numerous small pink to white flowers in warm months. This ground cover can be mowed regularly to prevent flowers. Likes full sun and looks best with regular water. This plant, though sturdy, does goes dormant in colder regions and does require fertilizer in spring.

---

---

Or ditch a uniform cover and opt for a beautiful mix of drought tolerant grasses, shrubs, and trees like The Aldrich Company's design here. Click on the picture for more design ideas!

---