Forget the Turf Grass

Written By Sophia Shinpaugh

Imagine never having to mow your lawn again. It sounds nice, right? Well, that reality is very attainable. Lawns have their purpose, soft on the feet, good for laying in, or throwing the frisbee, but there are other ways to achieve the same feeling while thinking sustainably.

On average in the United States, a 1,000 square foot lawn uses around 35,000 gallons of water a year (Lawn Kings Inc, 2022). An Olympic-size swimming pool holds roughly 50,000 gallons of water, Americans use about 70% of that pool in water every year just to keep our precious lawns green and lush. Michael Phleps could swim through your lawn water every year, that’s crazy to think about.

Lawns cover about 2% of the country’s surface area, more surface area than corn fields (Norrington, n.d.). That makes lawns the most irrigated “crop” in the country.

With this in mind and water resources slowly diminishing all around the globe, what can you do to do your part? It is simpler than you think. There are many alternatives based on how you want the space to be used and how much maintenance you are willing to do. A few examples are a clover lawn, creeping thyme, moss, wildflower meadow-scaping, and tapestry to name a few.

Clover

For more of a lawn feel I recommend using clover. This is one of the easier strategies to switch over to. Creating a clover lawn is as simple as sprinkling some clover seed in your lawn and watch the clover take over. Before the 1950’s it was actively used as an alternative to lawn until is got shunned as a weed (Pine, 2024).

There are three types of clover that work well for cool-season lawns:

  1. White clover (Trifolium repens): The most well-known clover in the U.S. due to it being what tends to naturally pop up in lawns already. It’s a low-growing, rapid spreader. Outcompetes weeds and thrives in poor soil. Produces attractive white flowers that range from 4-8 inches tall (Pine, 2024).

  2. Red clover (Trifolium pratense): Its pretty reddish-purple flowers have natural health benefits, including, but not limited to, skin inflammation, cancer, whooping cough, etc (Mount Sinai Health System, n.d.). Grows taller than white clover, ranging from 6 to 24 inches.

  3. Microclover (Trifolium repens var. ‘Pirouette’ and ‘Pipolina’): A new cultivar of white clover with smaller leaves and fewer flowers. Grows lower to the ground (4-6 inches tall). This is a great option if you want less maintenance and more of a lawn feel (Pine, 2024).



Creeping Thyme

Are you tired of mowing your lawn once a week? Consider creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) as your lawn alternative. Besides its obvious beauty of tiny pink to red flowers, it has very minimal, if any maintenance, this usually includes weeding if it is necessary. This alternative requires minimal effort. Creeping thyme is a very durable ground cover that stays very low to the ground, can handle foot traffic, it is involves no mowing, minimal water, and it provides a great pop of color.

Creeping thyme is a perennial, so there is no need to replant (Vinje, 2023). If you live in a climate where you get all four seasons this is a great option, once the blooms are spent the plant goes dormant. This time falls nicely with the change of seasons from summer to fall. This can also be a downside as well, when it is done blooming it will turn brown and appear dead, but I can assure you it is not dead. If you live somewhere where autumns and winters are moderate it may not look quite as beautiful as it does in the spring and summer.

As it is stated in the name, creeping thyme does in fact creep along the ground. However, it will take longer to acheive full coverage across your lawn area, try to keep the end result in mind.

Planting Creeping Thyme (Buiano, 2024):

  1. Dig a hole slightly larger than the root ball of the creeping thyme.

  2. Lightly tease out the roots.

  3. Place the root ball in the hole you dug.

  4. Backfill the soil around the roots and lightly tamp the soil around the roots with your fingers. 

  5. Keep the soil semi-moist during establishment, then reduce irrigation.


Moss Lawn

When I think of moss I think of various colors of green, damp forests, and the squishy sensation when you touch it. If you want that rain forest feel in your own backyard, consider moss as your lawn alternative. Moss lawns are not very common, especially in the United States. It is very integral in Japanese garden design.

Moss can grow almost anywhere, except it does not do as well in arid climates. I suggest choosing a different alternative if this climate sounds like where you live. If you are in more humid and rain-prone climates moss would be a great alternative for you. If your yard is more shady or on a tricky slope, moss will work great, since turf grass needs full sun and it has to be on slopes that accessible by mower, but with moss you don’t have to even think about a mower (Hassani, 2024).

Benefits of a moss lawn include, little to no water depending on how much precipitation your area gets, no mowing, no need to worry about fertilizing or pests, can grow in poor soil, does well in the shade and steep slopes. There are some downsides to moss lawns, this depends on where you live and what microclimate your yard is in. Moss is not as durable as lawn due to how shallow the moss goes into the ground, does best in more acidic soils (pH of around 6 or lower), must be kept clean of fallen leaves and other debris, finding moss to plant is not as readily available as other options (Hassani, 2024).

Moss Types (Hassani, 2024)

Moss for less shady areas:

Atrichum angustatum (star moss, slender starburst moss, lesser smooth cap moss)

Moss for more moist soils:

Atrichum undulatum (big star moss, Catherine’s moss, crane’s bill moss, crown moss, starburst moss)

Moss for waterlogged areas, areas with a lot of storm run-off:

Climacium americanum (tree moss)

Moss for dryer and acidic soil:

Dicranum scoparium (mood moss, windswept moss, broom moss, footstool moss, rock cap moss)

Moss that can grow in a wide range of soil and sunlight:

Leucobryum albidum (pincushion moss)

Moss for erosion control:

Thuidium delicatulum (fern moss)

Most common moss:

Sphagnum spp. Sphagnum mosses are the largest of the mosses and come in a range of colors

Tip for planting:

Moss is not planted, just placed on top. The best way to secure the moss is with landscaping pins (Hassani, 2024). When you first plant the moss be sure to water frequently until it is established.

When caring for the moss, keep an eye on it during dry periods and give it water if it starts to look and feel dry.

Meadow-scaping & Tapestry


Meadow-scaping gives you more of that wild look. If you have a space that doesn’t involve foot traffic or you want to create habitat for insects and pollinators this is the perfect option for you. Meadow-scaping combines native wildflowers and grasses to create your own meadow at home.

To start your diy meadow oasis you must keep in mind these considerations, your climate (this will help you decide what native plants grow in your area), and if you want to use seeds or potted plants (Readel, 2024). Seeds are the cheaper option, but will take longer to get that full and luscious appearance. When selecting your plants, be sure to go native, if you live in Western Montana I have made a plant guide that has many native plant options. Native plants will be more resilient and require less water.

When considering this alternative, keep in mind that more maintenance is required. Since you will be using native perennials you have to think about all seasons. Most native perennials have year-round interest. If the look of the plants in the fall and winter doesn’t appeal to you you will want to dead-head spent flower blooms and cut the perennials down to the ground in the fall or spring. Weeding will also be required, as the plants get fuller and fill up the space more they are better at choking out the weeds, but unfortunately weeds always find their way in.

Tapestry lawns are similar to meadow-scaping, however, you are focusing on more ground cover plants. Tapestry lawns are like creating a collage or mosaic with plants. It is just as colorful and pleasing to the eye as a meadow lawn, but with far less maintenance. The goal is not to acheive perfection like with a traditional lawn, tapestry lawns are meant to be “a dynamic display in which bloom cycles pass from one species to the next, and plants will naturally spread out, expanding or diminishing through gradual competition with each other,” according to Kevin Lenhart, design director at Yardzen, a custom landscaping design firm (Cheng, 2022).

Before you are mesmerized by the aesthetics of tapestry lawns, there are some things to consider. For one, they can not tolerate as much foot traffic as a typical turf lawn (Cheng, 2022). This is your art piece so consider your palette, it will be benefical to have a '“backbone” plant, try low-growing Carex, which is a type of sedge. After that it is all up to you, what colors you want and your climate. When caring for your tapestry lawn it would benefit to add a drip irrigation system. It shouldn’t need too much water depending on plant choice, but the drip system will be more efficient, where evaporation is no longer an issue (Cheng, 2022).

As climate change becomes more prevalant in our everyday lives, we think to ourselves, “What can I do to do my part for the environment?” Traditional turf grass lawns are monocultures that don’t naturally occur on earth and use an obscene amount of water. By deciding to go with an alternative lawn you are adding biodiversity and uniqueness to your home that is also aesthetically pleasing. Looking at the long-term benefits of these alternative lawns you save money and water in the end. It is possible to help the planet and have a beautiful, flourishing yard.



References

Buiano, M. (2024, January 26). How to grow and care for creeping thyme-a no-mow alternative to turf grass. Martha Stewart. https://www.marthastewart.com/creeping-thyme-lawn-8549925

Hassani, N. (2024, August 13). Moss lawns are the perfectly low-maintenance-what to know about creating one. The Spruce. https://www.thespruce.com/create-low-maintenance-moss-lawn-2152704

How much water can you save by going with Turf Grass? - lawn kings inc.. Lawn Kings Inc. (2022, December 15). https://lawnkingsinc.com/how-much-water-can-you-save-by-going-with-turf-grass/#:~:text=A%20standard%20lawn%20of%201%2C000,gallons%20of%20water%20per%20year.

Norrington, B. (n.d.). The lawn is the largest irrigated crop in the USA. UC Geography. https://legacy.geog.ucsb.edu/the-lawn-is-the-largest-irrigated-crop-in-the-usa/#:~:text=The%20analysis%20indicates%20that%20turf,irrigated%20crop%20in%20the%20country.

Pine, L. (2024, November 14). 9 reasons why a clover lawn is better than a grass lawn. Lawn Care Blog | Lawn Love. https://lawnlove.com/blog/why-choose-clover-over-grass/

Readel, A. (2024, October 20). Meadowscaping is the lush lawn alternative you need to try in your yard. Better Homes & Gardens. https://www.bhg.com/what-is-meadowscaping-7376841

Red Clover. Mount Sinai Health System. (n.d.). https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/herb/red-clover

Vinje, E. (2023, March 24). Creeping thyme lawn (pros and cons and how to plant). Planet Natural. https://www.planetnatural.com/thyme-lawn/































Sophia Shinpaugh
Previous

We Love an Open System