Though it’s outside, there’s really nothing all that natural about the picture-perfect lawn. Artificially grown, watered, fertilized, and maintained, it’s a strange picture of modernity.We’ve made our case against the “normal” patch of featureless fescue, and if you agree with us, perhaps you’re ready to change up the backyard for something new and less wasteful.
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But we understand that it can be hard to buck convention. Old habits die hard, and changing things can be difficult when you’re doing it alone in your community. Even if you’re你的邻居或房主协会(HOA)通常不会同情你的观点,因为他们足够清楚地看到,一块不起眼的草地对生活质量来说是多么不必要。
改变是缓慢的。因此,在此期间,如果你绝对必须在你的房子前面有一个草坪,但想摆脱无用的草生长业务,有很多选择,你可以考虑保持地面覆盖。
地被植物当然不需要局限于草。从园林绿化的角度来看,地被植物的定义是一种低生长、低维护、多年生、蔓生的植物,它可以防止地面裸露。
Note: This is a different plant than acover crop.
Related Post:Cover Crops
The world of plants that fit the ground cover bill is diverse and fascinating, and some are specialists where grass falls short. Do you have shady areas that are looking a bit naked? Maybe a slope too steep and eroding to support turf? Peruse this list of non-traditional, fabulous ground covers that might be exactly what you need.
1. Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
- Any USDA Zone
- Most delicious ground cover
Yes, it’s that same oregano that makes your pizza sauce sing! This perennial herb grows beautifully in full sun in any zone, but it does best in areas with warm weather and well-draining soil.
Related Post:5 Perennial Herbs for Fresh Garden Flavor All Year Long
Though any type of oregano will do, try creeping oreganoO. vulgare‘Humile’ for a low-growing, mat-forming variety. Oregano can tolerate some foot traffic but won’t put up with heavy use for long, so plant it where you can enjoy the scent without stomping on it too much.
One of my favorite memories of childhood is the oregano patch that escaped into my parent’s backyard. We always joked that their yard was barely one-third grass with all the lovely wildflowers they allowed. Every time my dad mowed, the aroma was delightful. I recall running over it often without affecting its growth.
2. Chamomile
- USDA Zones 4 to 9
- Best ground cover to harvest as tea
Chamomile releases the scent of apple and daisies with every footfall, and if you live in zones 4 to 9, you could easily grow that beauty to cover your yard. Interestingly, the plant historically used to cover those smooth, castle fields of opulence wasn’t the Kentucky bluegrass of modern suburbs, but chamomile and thyme.
Chamomile loves both full and dappled sun and requires very little mowing which results in a dense green cover dazzled with starry white blossoms.Chamaemelum nobileis a creeping variety that is lawn-suitable. A dwarf, non-flowering variety,C. nobile‘Treneague’will give you a fragrant, dense, evergreen mat that some say is the perfect lawn replacement.
为了种植洋甘菊草坪,你需要清除杂草。他们不能很好地容忍竞争。确保土壤通风良好。黏土和岩石土壤不是它们的菜(哈)。甘菊一旦形成,至少在12周后可以适当地踩一下,但如果每天都踩,就会有磨损的迹象。
3. Thyme(Thymus spp.)
- USDA Zones 5 to 8
- Drought-tolerant ground cover
If you don’t have the time to mow your lawn regularly, perhaps it is time to replace it with thyme (if you’ll forgive me for that atrocious sentence)! Consider transforming part of your landscape into an aromatic thyme garden.
Thyme is drought-tolerant, often used in the sizzling heat of full-sun rock gardens, and available in a huge array of scents, leaf patterns, and bloom colors. They are hardy through zones 5 to 8, though growers in zone 5 may find that thyme won’t survive the winter as perennials.
It may take a bit longer to get established, but once it does, it should be hassle-free. For areas where you intend to walk, look for creeping varieties likeThymus praecox‘Coccineus’or wooly thyme(Thymus pseudolanuginosus).
Also, if you have children running around your yard, the sensitive, delicate beauty of many types of ground cover won’t be able to handle their active games. No need to bar kids from being kids outside, though. Just plant appropriately! Both thyme and clover (see below) can handle walking, running, or somersaults.
4. White Clover (Trifolium repens)
- 美国农业部第3至10区
- Low-maintenance and pollinator-friendly ground cover
三叶草可能被视为传统草坪上的一种杂草,但如果它是整个草坪呢?白三叶草保养成本极低,非常适合传粉昆虫,在干旱中茁壮成长,不长得很高,气味很好闻,而且不需要浇水或施肥。作为一种豆科植物,它是一种固氮植物,所以你可以把它想象成自己创造肥料。它在3 ~ 10区,在全日照或部分荫凉下都能生长得很好,而且对土壤质量不挑剔。
Related Post:6 Reasons Why I Chose Clover as a Living Mulch
There are two downsides that I see to clover. The first is that it is a little less durable than a grass lawn, but this can be easily remedied by planting grass and clover together. They’ll back up each other and give you a surface that will take the worst of what your kids and dogs can throw at it.
The second downside is that it’s consideredinvasive in the United States. Clover is originally a native of Europe. I have somewhat ambivalent feelings about its invasiveness, however, as it is a fantastic fodder crop, wonderful for bees, and in my opinion, far better than grass alone. There’s absolutely no chance of eradicating clover, but if you’re intending to plant an entirely native patch on your land, be aware that clover does spread and isn’t likely to go away anytime soon.
As a side note, be sure you’re planting white clover. Red clover while edible and medicinal, grows to be feet taller than the comfortable strolling-height of its more diminutive cousin.
5. Lily Turf(Liriope)
- USDA Zones 4 to 10
- Most grass-like ground cover
Also called monkey grass (though there’s a totally different family of plants that also shares the common name) and lilyturf, this easy-care perennial is a fantastic choice for borders and those awkward areas of ground between sidewalks and the road, or around trees.
If you don’t need your yard for kickball games, you could even plant this flowering relative of narcissus in the whole yard. It forms a dense cover that barely requires maintenance. It is actually damaged most by overwatering and certainly doesn’t need to be mowed — though it’s not a plant you should plan on walking over.
Grow it in full sun or partial shade in zones 4 to 10 and enjoy your extra time without maintenance. There are a few different varieties ofLiriopeincludingL. muscari(clumping),L. gigantea(giant), andL. spicata(spreading).
⚠️Caution:Lily Turf can be invasive in some areas, particularly the spreading variety. Please research your area and make sure you select non-invasive varieties before planting this one.
6. Sweet Woodruff(Galium odoratum)
- USDA Zones 4 to 8
- Best ground cover for acidic soils
Many of us probably have some evergreen trees with bare spots surrounding them. The acid soil produced by their dropped needles is not always welcoming for growth. There are some plants, however, that can thrive in that environment, particularly if your pines and spruces are open enough to let some light hit the ground.Check through this list of native plants它们可以忍受酸性土壤(可以选择野生姜和鹿蹄草来获得额外的食用奖励)。
Related Post:Acid-Loving Plants
Also useful for shady, acid areas is sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum).This European beauty is a non-native but very pretty ground cover that gives off an attractive aroma and grows in shade from zones 4 to 8. With starry, compound leaves and delicate white flowers, it can fill that bare patch with grace.
照料这种植物很简单。它不需要浇水、施肥,也不需要真正的干预,只需要控制住它的奔跑。就像这个列表中的所有爬行植物一样,如果不加以控制,它可以入侵周围的地区。
7. Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea)
- USDA Zones 5 to 9
- 快速增长的地被植物
I know, the name makes you feel like there’s a mustachioed man secretively staring at you from a fifteen-passenger van, but this pretty ground cover deserves a better reputation. Many people spend a lot of effort trying to poison it out of their lawns as a weed. It’s truly a shame because this “weed” does just great as a lawn in its own right.
它长得很矮,有紫色和绿色的叶子,有药用价值,开着可爱的紫色小花,能在阴凉处茁壮成长。为什么每个人都讨厌这种可怜的植物?如果你住在5到9区,你可能已经在你的院子里种了。我建议让它做它该做的事。
An issue with ground ivy, as it is also known, is keeping its invasive nature contained. If you’re interested in growing only native plants in a certain area, be on your guard against the aggressive runners. Also, it’s apparently toxic to horses, so plan accordingly.
8. Most Shade-Tolerant: Moss
- All USDA Zones
- Most shade-tolerant ground cover
Recreate that dreamy, dense carpet of spongy green that covers forest floors with a moss bed of your own. These soft-to-walk-on carpets require no mowing and can even tolerate some foot traffic. If you’re going to be trampling them a lot, I would recommend using flagstones for the heavy-use areas and letting them fill in the gaps with their luscious green.
Related Post:Shade Plants: 15 Garden Greats To Grow In Full Or Partial Shade
Moss does require some specific situations for its best growth. The optimal choice for your area is native types that want to grow there anyway, so you’ll have to do some local research. Don’t harvest mosses from the wild. If you can, try to harvest them from your own lawn (they’re probably there) and use that as your base.
You can use a blender to make amoss slurryto propagate them (or to use asgreen graffiti— but that’s a whole different topic). Generally, they need acid soils, compact earth, shade, and enough moisture to keep them from drying out and turning brown.
9. Lithodora (Lithodora diffusa)
This ornamental takes a few years to spread out, but Kane here at Insteading is a big fan of it because it does a great job of blocking weeds. The blueish purple flowers show color much of the year in the Pacific Northwest and do a good job of attracting pollinators as well.
While the 4 inch or gallon pots you buy at the store will say these spread 24-36 inches wide, we’ve seen them spread up to 5 feet in diameter after 4-6 years. It spreads in a thick carpet shape and will cascade nicely over rockeries and planter edges. It grows too tall to serve as a pathway but does a good job of withstanding foot traffic if you do walk on it.
10. Let the Meadow Return!
Maintaining a traditional lawn is a lot of work. You’re essentially forcing a monoculture to exist on land that wants anything but that! If you have the space for it, and the freedom to do what you want on your land without your HOA getting their panties in a bunch, consider returning the majority of your lawn back to what it was originally. For many of us, this could be a prairie, meadow, or desert xeriscape depending on your location.
- All USDA Zones
- Most low-maintenance ground cover
这种回报可以简单到让“自然的事情”发生在你的财产上。鸟儿会把一些当地的种子拉出来,风会把其他的带进来,最终,你会看到更多的种子,而不是乏味的老草。我父母就是这样打理草坪的。为了不让它长得太高,他们还是会给它割草,但到了中学收集野花的时候,我从自己的后院找到了20个标本中的15个!
Related Post:5 Compelling Reasons to Turn Your Lawn Into a Meadow
If you want to restore your land to a healthy, biodiverse zone of totally native plants, however, you’ll need to take out the old and bring in the new. Some beautiful and useful plants just can’t get a foothold if grass and clover are in the way. You will need to research what local, native plants could live in your area. Websites likeGrow Nativecan help you rediscover what your land once grew.
Meadows benefit from being mowed (or scythed) only twice a year. So the weekly task of mowing the lawn is one you won’t need to put on the to-do list! Instead, you can welcome the hosts of butterflies, bees, pollinators, and birds that benefit from the food-rich habitat you’ve returned to your patch of Earth. For more information and motivation to convert at least part of your yard into a beautiful meadow,check out this article.
We may have inherited a legacy of carefully nursing non-native grasses into a bizarre, artificial carpet of featureless green, but we don’t need to accept that as our lawn-fate. Make your yard more than just an obsolete status-symbol, and transform it into something beautiful, aromatic, edible, and biodiverse.
Have any of you dared to spurn convention and gotten rid of your lawns for something better? If you have to deal with an HOA, what are your strategies for trying to make them see the light? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
Richard Meyersays
Dear Wren and Family: Thank you so much for sharing this part of your lives with others. There is so much that Americans take for granted as “givens” that aren’t ‘given’ but adopted for some reason and then they become cultural dogma. Your article made so much sense.
Part of our family are from around Springfield, MO; are you or others among your country friends open to have people visit for a few hours to see how you homestead? If not, that is certainly understandable. God bless you all.
Wren Everettsays
Hello, Richard–
Thanks so much for such a nice comment. So much of our version of homesteading is inspired by looking at the modes handed to us–like grass lawns, for example–and trying to choose to follow the good design found in creation that often seems to run counter to convention!
We’re not currently welcoming visitors to our homestead–still lots of work to do!–but I will continue to write articles based on what we’re learning here on Insteading in the meantime. If you are interested in seeing some Missouri-based homesteading that’s years more ahead of us, check out Doug and Stacy’s homestead. (https://www.youtube.com/user/growinginfaithfarm) They’re a wonderful off-grid couple currently working on making a homestead resource center for those interested in learning more!
Annasays
在明尼苏达州,许多这样的植物无法过冬,尤其是在少雪的年份。甘菊的种子大量繁殖,并在意想不到的地方冒出来。这意味着它有潜在的侵入性。为什么不选择土人呢?我们的院子里树下是原生的林地植物,阳光下是草原,还有几块栽培的菜地。在我们的狗旋转耕作后,我们把最后一块草坪削成了木片,现在我们不割草,不加杀虫剂,很少浇水。我们还养了很多本土昆虫,让鸟儿喂养它们的后代。与当地人建立一个生态系统!
Wren Everettsays
Thanks for your comment, Anna–it’s good to have the tip on Minnesota-specific growing conditions. It’s impossible to write the perfect list of recommendations for every growing zone and country, as I’m sure you could imagine. I’d be delighted if everyone would do the research on their own to find out what works best for their specific land–chamomile is native somewhere, after all! I hope this article just provides the inspiration to get folks out of the useless non-native grass-growing business.
And I’m totally in agreement with planting natives, as you hopefully read with my last point. On our homestead, if it’s not a garden or an orchard that is covering the ground, it’s a meadow of native plants!
Tammy Hardinsays
Hi! So happy to find your article! I’m with you 100%! I have always felt this way and have always encouraged people to just let those dandelions grow! No poisoning here. I am currently renting but hopefully will be able to jave my own meadow soon. Thanks for publishing. I hope you reach many and change the way of thinking.
Wren Everettsays
What a delightful comment, Tammy! So glad to find some solidarity on this subject, and I truly hope that you can find your permanent place sometimes soon. We need more people like you!
Braja RuthAnne Tarletzsays
Why you not mention perennial peanut? That is what we use un Hawaii. I would think it would be suitable / growable in other areas on the mainland with similar climates.
Wren Everettsays
That’s a great suggestion for growers in zone 10! Any much further north, and the beautiful, flat-growing foliage of perennial peanut may lose the “perennial” part, haha. As I’m sure you could figure, it’s impossible to list every perfect plant in the world for every zone–I hope people can use this article as inspiration to find what’s best for their land. Thanks for the tip, Braja!
Timsays
Thank you for this great article Wren.
我住在科罗拉多州的布鲁姆菲尔德,听说那里的土壤是重粘土(膨润土)。
While I experimented with planting clover and drought tolerant seed last summer it did not take very well. I am wondering if you have a specific ground cover recommendation for this type of soil ? I’d love to replace the lawn with lower maintenance low water option.
Wren Everettsays
嗨,蒂姆!谢谢你的夸奖。
Believe it or not, moss does well on clayey soil–some species like rock moss and burned ground moss/purple moss actually do really well in full sun, dry conditions, too. I’d also recommend contacting folks at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge (https://www.fws.gov/refuge/rocky_flats/) to see what native grasses and plants are indigenous to your area and best adapted to grow well (the xeric tallgrass prairie native plants that they preserve there may be just what you’re looking for!).
Lindasays
Hi Tim! I’m in Aurora, CO and grew up in Parker. Although my front yard is the usual turf, the back yard is blue grama grass. I chose that over buffalo grass because I didn’t want it spreading into the flowerbeds, but it does clump. Im now considering creating a mixed lawn of buffalo and blue grama… like my parents grew… and perhaps let the buffalo work its way into the flowerbeds between the plants and groundcovers. I’m sure the thyme, sedum and veronuca will turn it back.
The way to overcome bentonite clay is to mix in large quantities (25 to 30%) of bagged mulch or top dressing, along with bloodmeal and a generous supply of micorhhizal fungi. I probably spelled that wrong… it’s a fungus that bonds with plant roots, delivering nutrients from the soil while absorbing chlorophyll from the plant. Our native grasses pretty much depend on it, when starting fresh in open ground. All your soil ammendments should be tilled or dug in to one shovel length deep… or as close to that as you can get.
Good luck!
Rose Nadersays
Photo/Attachment:
我家后院的草比一条草裙还长。我必须买一台割草机,并花钱请人使用。我住在PNW,冬天多雨,从7月到9月太阳很热。几年后,牛至叶和甜叶草最终会在草地上蔓延开来(我热切的希望!)我75岁了,真的不会种树了。但我可以在一些地区开一些工厂,希望有好的结果。我家的土壤是粘土,但在山上排水很好。My spinone only runs across it 2x a week.
Wren Everettsays
Sweet Woodruff does best in both shade and acid soil, so keep that in mind as you plan your grassy conquest. Oregano does eventually spread and take over areas, but it takes time, too–battling grass will really slow it down.
If you’re really serious about getting rid of grass for good, I have an idea. First, the grass needs to be killed off–trying the solarization method will keep chemicals out of your world (here’s a link to directions here–>https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Gardening/diggin-it/2011/0822/Soil-solarization-A-chemical-free-way-to-get-rid-of-weeds-and-unwanted-grass) Basically, you’d need to cut the grass as short as possible, soak the ground with water, then cover it with plastic so that the hot summer sun can cook the grass into oblivion. Then, once the grass is out of the way, you can start planting your new ground cover with much better success. Even if you just do a small patch at a time, it will get the process started.
I hope that is helpful!
Lynn Marshallsays
Hi Wren,
We too live in the PNW, Willamette Valley, zone 8b I believe. We are seriously considering doing away with our weedy, skimpy, mossy lawn and going for ground cover. Even though I grew up with a clover lawn and love it, we’re in a neighborhood and I expect our neighbors wouldn’t be too happy at the introduction of clover or other “invasive” plants.
The less mowing the better. We are an older couple, grown kids and no pets so there’s not too much consideration for wear and tear, I imagine we’d mostly walk on it when we tend to the flower beds.
I feel the slower growing options would take too long to achieve what were hoping. We’ve heard about blue star creeper but really don’t know if it would be a good option. What are your recommendations?
Wren Everettsays
嘿,林恩!谢谢你的问题。我的大部分植物知识来自于我在密西西比河以东的园艺和博物学家的经历,所以我不能就我所知道的植物给出个人的建议。然而,我确实查过波特兰地区的一个苗圃,那里的地被植物非常适合你的位置——一些适应生长区域,另一些是本地的。Check out this list and see if one suits your needs–https://xeraplants.com/plant-type/ground-cover/. I also would recommend contacting a nature center like the Hoyt Arboretum to get their recommendations on native plants that want to grow in your lawn anyway. Then, invite your neighbors over to see how lovely plants-other-than-grass are and see if they’ll change their nosy tune!
Lynn Marshallsays
Thanks so much for the website Wren; we’ll check it out. Hoyt Arboritum is a great idea too! It’s bound to impress the neighbors.
Deborah Winslettsays
谢谢你写了一篇令人愉快且写得很好的文章。