Reclaim Your Lawn

Twelve things you can grow instead that are better for the environment and will save you time and money.

Photo by Preston Browning on Unsplash

Spring is in full swing in the Pacific Northwest. Trees in the neighborhood are blossoming, the raspberry brambles are growing leaves, and comfrey plants in my yard are waking up from their long winter sleep. The air is alive with life.

The air is also filled with the irritating growl of lawnmowers and weed whackers sculpting monocrop lawns. Of all the things we could grow in our yards, lawns are pretty dull. They are also bad for the environment. Here’s why:

• Non-native grasses require a lot of water to stay green in the summertime. Water is valuable, and we should use it wisely. Maintaining lawns that don’t feed wildlife, people, or soil is not the best use of our water, especially in places with droughts.
• Lawn growers often combat nature with herbicides. Because nature grows a range of plants, lawns have ‘weeds’ growing. Many of these ‘weeds,’ including clover, provide ecological functions and have medicinal properties. Clover makes soil healthier by fixing nitrogen. Clover flowers also provide food for pollinators. The use of herbicides kills off important biodiversity. Herbicides can also be expensive, and they often come from fossil fuels.

Photo by Zé Zorzan on Unsplash

• Grass grows fast, and maintaining the clean-cut look requires regular mowing. This takes time (and often fossil fuels to run the mowers) or money to pay someone else to do the job. Mowers typically haul grass clippings off-site, which takes away nutrients.
• With reduced biodiversity and nutrients hauled off-site, less fertile soils need amendments to keep the grass green. Commercial fertilizers (again, often made from fossil fuels) are used for fertility instead of using nature’s biodiversity.
• Pesticides (yes, you guessed it, often from fossil fuels) are also used to reduce bugs.
• Finally, the grass typically used for lawns has tightly woven root systems that keep water from absorbing into the soil. This makes lawns more like asphalt than a natural environment.
• The barely penetrable surface creates run-off where valuable water that could be stored in the soil to weather droughts instead carries herbicides, fertilizer, and pesticides into our waterways, polluting them. I recently tested the water in my home and found that it has pesticides. This is deeply disappointing, especially because I pay extra for organic groceries, only to come home and wash them in pesticides.

Photo by Palle Knudsen on Unsplash

Because I would rather have a biodiverse, healthy ecosystem that I don’t have to mow, I am steadily replacing every bit of lawn in my yard. If you want to replace your lawn, here are a dozen suggestions:

1. “Green carpet” or rupturewort (Herniaria glabra) is an ideal lawn replacement if you have a sunny spot and want a low-maintenance option. I am surprised more people don’t know about this excellent ground cover. Green carpet is evergreen, drought tolerant once established, and creates a thick ground cover mat that reduces weeds. Green carpet only grows a few inches tall, so it is an excellent low ground cover that never needs mowing. It also tolerates some foot traffic. My neighbor and I planted green carpet on the south-facing shared space between our yards.
2. Moss is a great lawn replacement for shady areas. Similar to green carpet, moss is low-growing and never needs mowing. Moss feels spongy underfoot, which is fun. It is low maintenance and doesn’t need a lot of water. However, if it gets too hot and dry, moss could dry up but will return when the rains come again. Despite the name, Irish moss (Sagina subulata) is not a true moss but acts like one and can also be planted in shady areas. I just planted Irish Moss under my grape arbor.
3. A culinary herb garden is another excellent option for replacing lawns. Herbs are often expensive in the grocery store, and they usually come in plastic packaging that can’t be recycled. There are annual herbs (herbs that need to be replanted every year) and perennial herbs (herbs that grow for many years). I recommend starting with perennials since they require less maintenance. Rosemary, thyme, and sage (growing on the drier “Mediterranean” side of my yard) are great hardy options. They don’t require a lot of water in the summertime, and they weather winter well in temperate climates. If you live in a colder area, plant them in a large pot to bring indoors in the winter.
4. Join the “grow food, not lawns” movement by planting edible plants in your yard. If you have enough space, nut trees are an excellent investment. They take several years to produce but will give you food for years and years. Nuts are also nutrient-dense foods that store well, so you can enjoy the benefits of nut trees even when everything is dormant. I planted hazelnuts from a local native foods nursery this year. Some trees, like walnuts, inhibit the growth of other plants nearby, so choose carefully. You can also grow perennial vegetables like asparagus and artichokes or an annual garden with greens, tomatoes, peppers, and peas in a sunny spot.
5. Another food option if you have enough space is a tree guild. Tree guilds are based on indigenous farming practices and involve planting multiple plants in mutually beneficial relationships. My plum tree guild has strawberries at the base as a groundcover to reduce the weeds, comfrey to provide fertility and attract pollinators, aromatic plants like chives and lemon balm to reduce pests, and calendula and poppies to attract pollinators. All these plants work together to create a healthy ecosystem.
6. Grow a medicinal garden! It is empowering to grow your own medicine. Plus, one of the benefits of growing medicinal herbs is that many of them also have beautiful flowers. Some examples of medicinal herbs include lavender, calendula, and passionflower. Many culinary herbs, like oregano and rosemary, also have medicinal properties. I love walking through my garden to pick herbs for an infusion and am working toward growing as much of my medicine as possible. This saves me some money on an intense health journey and reduces my dependence on unreliable supply chains.
7. Let clover fill in your yard. In addition to the ecological functions mentioned above, both white and red clover have medicinal properties. The leaves can also be eaten in salads, and the flowers can be dried and ground into flour for baking.
8. Replace your lawn with a wildflower meadow. Wildflower meadows are beautiful, biodiverse, and provide food for pollinators. They also provide beautiful cut flowers. Meadows are straightforward to maintain once established. They require minimal watering (especially if you plant native wildflowers), no pesticides, no herbicides, no fertilizers, and limited mowing. You’ll want to mow infrequently to keep woody plants from taking over the meadow. Otherwise, they can be left alone.
9. Fill your yard with native plants, especially edible ones. Native plants feed local pollinators and are adapted to your region, requiring less water to maintain. Most of them survive on just seasonal rainwater! Search for a native nursery in your bioregion for inspiration. Native nurseries are also passionate about restoring ecosystems, so they are a great resource.
10. Grow native grasses. Unlike non-native grasses, native grasses are easy to maintain. They don’t require inputs like fertilizer and lots of water to keep them looking great. To stay green year-round, select a mix of cool-season and warm-season grasses. If you want to have paths or a play area, you can mow a section. Otherwise, let them grow wild.
11. Create pollinator habitat. We need insects. I know they can be annoying, but insects pollinate our food. Without them, our food prospects are dire. Flowers are a good option for attracting pollinators. Native plants are even better because the flowers, edibles, and other native plants are what local pollinators rely on for food and shelter. Beneficial insects can also reduce pests. For example, dragonflies eat mosquitoes! Plus, dragonflies are ridiculously cool insects. Try planting black-eyed susan or meadow sage to attract dragonflies and reduce mosquitoes.
12. Learn about the plants that grow naturally in your yard. Many of them are visually interesting and have medicinal properties. Some of the volunteers that have joined my food forest include American speedwell, vetch, hawthorn, hollyhock, geranium, bachelor’s buttons, sticky weed, plantain, wild violet, Queen Anne’s lace, oak, mullein, yarrow, and dandelion. I have enjoyed getting to know them, learning about them, and watching them grow.

My urban food forest is a sixth of an acre, and I have replaced the lawn with all twelve of these suggestions. My yard is more interesting than when I moved in, provides more food and medicine, attracts more wildlife, and is easier to maintain than a lawn.

Which of these suggestions interest you?

Which are you already doing?

What else do you recommend?

Happy growing!