The suburban lawn is a powerful symbol of the American dream, and many people cannot imagine a domestic landscape without one. Despite the exuberant appearance of a green and wide grass, the grass have some serious ecological effects.
Turfgrass is a monoculture that covers more than three times more area than any food crop in the United States. Maintain that the massive monoculture results in pollution and the health risks of fertilization and kill weeds and kill weeds, and uses almost a third of all residential water.
Reducing or eliminating your grass grass is the most sustainable option. But if the alternatives to a grass grass do not work for your situation, an alternative grass may grow.
Traditional lawn
A lawn is defined as “a short area or lawn.” A traditional lawn achieves a uniform appearance when using one or more similar grass species.
Any kind of narrow leaves that tolerate feet traffic and low cutting heights can be a grass. The popular species for a particular region depends on climatic, soil and light conditions. In the US, these are the most common varieties of Bluegrass, Ryegrass and Fescue. Bermuda herbs grow in the warmer parts of the country.
Alternative lawn
Many alternatives to the grass, such as low -growth terrestrial covers and grasslands, are marketed as an alternative grass. The meadows are mainly grass, and some ground covers, such as chamomile, can be cut. But strictly speaking, an alternative grass would be a cut mixture of ground cover species (including herbs) that can tolerate some pedestrian traffic. Mixtures that do not contain grass can also be called herbal céspedes.
The Oregon State University developed some of the first alternative grass. They contained a mixture of grass pastures and low -growth broad blade plants and drought resistant. These mixtures served the same function, which provides an open and flat space to walk and play, in the landscape as a traditional grass. They were maintenance, requiring to cut every three weeks and water only once or twice per season. And they were not fertilizers or pesticides that received a sustainable period on a proof period of several years. They are a sustainable alternative to the traditional grass, but do not provide the orderly appearance of a golf course.
Alternative Céspedes Options
Today, there are some commercial mixtures of herbs and lawn available available from companies such as Pro Times and Sunmark.
Gardeners can also experiment with their own mixtures using guidelines developed by OSU. Whether you use a commercial mixture or mixed with the home, you can adjust the composition with survived with new species every year.
Look at the law
Whether you want to plant an alternative to the grass or the alternative grass, consult your local codes and the rules of association of housing owners.
Despite the environmental benefits of eliminating the grass, many communities have surprisingly strict and specific regulations that require traditional grass. Before planting, you may have to participate in some community activism. But it can also be lucky: many communities, specific in California and Southwest, have incentive programs to reward homes that cultivate anything other than grass.
Editor’s note: Originally published on October 8, 2019, this article was updated in June 2025.
