Lawn Alternatives

Looking for how to replace lawn or grass on a budget? Many Southern California residents are struggling with how to replace their thirsty out-dated lawns. For decades large green lawns were considered an essential for any Los Angeles or SoCal landscape. Today we are faced with increasing water restrictions and sky-rocketing costs for lawn care making traditional lawns both impractical and unaffordable for the average home-owner. 

Luckily, there are a variety of AMAZING Lawn Alternatives that can re-create the traditional lawn feel or re-imagine it completely. While many citizens rush to rampantly fill their former lawns in with gravel or Decomposed Granite I encourage you to research the variety of fabulous low-water no-mow plants that can add the romance of low-growing greenery as opposed to the desert of parched rockscapes. Keeping plants in the ground helps keep our air clean and retain water in the soil adding to biodiversity and ecological growth. 

Graceful Bouteloua mixed lawn from High Country Gardens

A thyme lawn. Prettier than grass, needs no mowing and little watering, (much less wasted water), purple blooms in the summer, and smells lovely when you walk on it.

Chamomile lawns are increasingly popular in the UK. While the require more water than other options, it's still lower water than traditional grass and mow-less to boot! Incredible smell and soft texture.

A native sedge lawn keeps this coastal view property lush and wild feeling. Meg Rush landscape architecture.

Silver Carpet is a popular low-water ground cover alternative often mixed with stepping stones for lawn areas.

Another sedge lawn, great for shade and moderately watered areas.

A newly planted canyon prince wild rye field. This grass is a California native that can survive with little to no water

Corsican mint needs a little more water but is a great no-mow option for shady spaces.

Low growing Korean Grass creates a mounding no-mow lawn

Another of my favorite low-water lawn replacement plants is Herniaria Glabra (what a name!) this tap-rooting low-growing, non-flowering shrub is highly drought tolerant. Because of it's deep root it can withstand more foot traffic and dryness than other ground covers. It can be seeded in unimproved soil as with proper drainage (add gravel, coco coir fiber or pearlite to improve clay soils). 

Removing a lawn is an exciting opportunity to create a green scape that works for your personal tastes and local environment. Drought tolerant ground cover and small grass options abound for those who want to keep usable green space for themselves, children or pets in the increasingly hot and dry climates of Southern California. 

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