Lawn Alternatives

Why plant a lawn that needs to be mowed 40 times a year when you could have a type of lawn that needs to be mowed four times a year, says alternative grass guru John Greenlee. "You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand that then you've got more time to do other things--like gardening."

Save money, time and resources

Meadow lawns are more expensive to plant than sod initially because many native grasses are difficult to grow from seed and thus potted plants are necessary. "Lawn is the cheapest thing to plant but it becomes the most expensive thing in the garden to maintain. So once you've planted a meadow, you'll get your money back--usually within the first year--from reduced maintenance, reduced water, fertilizer and all of those other things that a lawn requires."

And meadow lawns are easy to maintain. Keep a nice, manicured look on this alternative lawn by using clippers, a string trimmer or a mower once every three months. If you don't want to do this level of maintenance, cut the lawn at least once a year to help warm the soil and invigorate new growth.

Lawn alternatives

There are several plants that work well as lawn alternatives. An important thing to remember is that all the plants will share the same light and water requirements, so select plant material accordingly.