Get it right with lawnless gardens

Lawns are beautiful. But if you feel like you are working hard for your lawn but you never quite get that elusive lush and green carpet, there is a way out: Do away with it! Yes, discard the lawn mower, relax on the weekends and use that money for something else.

There is little doubt that lawns are important, especially in homes where there are growing kids. They provide a good surface for playing and running around.

For the landscape designer, the plain space carries the eye through the garden, establishing connections between the various garden elements.

Default cover

However, it is also true that most homes have more lawn than is necessary. More often than not, lawns are nothing more than the default surface cover for leftover spaces.

Given the high cost of lawn maintenance and diminishing leisure time, this is hardly a wise thing to do. No wonder lawn care is a nagging maintenance chore for many homeowners and the tired yards in many homes tell the story.

Am I reinventing the wheel? No. Landscaping without lawn or less lawn is not entirely new. Materials or plants that require less care have been used in many traditional garden styles to replace lawn and provide a similar effect.

Elaborate hardscapes

Japanese gardens often feature carefully raked gravel to mimic ocean waves; in Southwest America, prettily coloured crushed granite cover many yards; in other areas, low evergreen ground covers substitute for lawn grass. Should you consider going the path of lawn-less landscaping or you just want to reduce part of yours to a more manageable size, here are a few tips to light your way:

In a lawn-less garden, hardscapes gain greater visibility. Decks, paths, gazebos, trellises, fountains and retaining walls define the garden’s form and function.

The good thing with hardscapes is that although you will initially spend more to set them up, their long-term maintenance cost is nothing compared to lawn care.

Moreover, the value a well-thought out hardscape scheme adds to your property and the lifestyle is well worth the initial cost.

The key to success with hardscapes is to plan well. Most hardscape elements are relatively permanent, hence there is little room for design by trial and error.

It may be advisable to engage a professional to advise you and to help you draw up a detailed landscape plan that is tailored to suit your site, lifestyle as well as your personal tastes and preferences.

Lawn alternatives

Picking alternatives for your lawn is an important decision. Every plant you pick had better be worth the sacrifice you have made.

Mark you, you are running away from maintenance. The choices must therefore be suitable low maintenance evergreen ground covers.

Few plant types meet these requirements better than native plants. Native drought-tolerant grasses and wildflowers, once established, will make your life much easier and reduce your landscape maintenance costs greatly.

Mowing will be reduced to one cutting per year, and watering can often be eliminated completely.

Visit a reputable nursery and enquire for native grasses and evergreen ground covers. Another alternative is to go plastic. In the truly dry regions of the world, homeowners are rolling out artificial grass that looks just like a perfectly manicured lawn.

That stuff never grows, it never needs watering or fertilising, never gets diseases, and it lasts for years, yet it is almost impossible to tell it from the real thing.