When I was a kid, we mowed our yard every Saturday with a push mower. At first my brothers and I argued over who was going to get to do it. Over time the argument became about whose turn it was to do it! It wasn’t as much fun as our Dad made it out to be. Of course it was probably more fun for Dad. He watched from the porch in the shade with an ice cold, iced tea. Well now that I’m an adult with my own lawn and no kids left at home to help with the mowing, I have rethought the whole green grass trend.
Why Replace Your Lawn
We have over 24 million acres of lawn here in the US and that number is growing with every new housing development that goes up. That means as we spread into forests and fields we are displacing wildlife and native vegetation habitats. We are losing the beauty and diversity of those habitats that appeal to wildlife.
Don’t get me wrong, lawns have their own beauty. The bright green of a freshly clipped lawn is inviting to most of us. Not to mention the smell of fresh cut grass. However, there are negative impacts to lawns.
The harmful effect of lawns is that it reduces the native plant populations. Lawns have very few varieties of vegetation and are a sterile environment to wildlife. They lack the diversity of vegetation that provides food and shelter for wildlife.
Another issue with lawns is the maintenance process of those lush green yards. We tend to fertilize and use pesticides to keep those lawns looking green. This pollutes the water sources. We mow using lawn mowers that burn gas. We use a vast quantity of water that is wasted by sprinklers. These all take their toll. This is both expensive, time consuming, and not good for the environment.
Considerations
Before you start ripping out your lawn and replacing it with that bag of wildflower seed you bought at one of the big box stores, there are a few things to consider. How much yard do you want to replace? Do you need some green grass for children or pets? How much sun and for how long does the area get sun? Is there water nearby to help establish seeding? Have you tested your soil? For most people, starting with a small area is the way to go. You can always add more later.
Alternatives to Lawn
Generally speaking, there are two types of lawn replacement alternatives: annual or perennial meadows or prairies. Annual plants or seeds require replanting each year. Whereas perennial plants or seeds come back year after year.
Most of the bags of seed you get at the big box stores are annual. In addition, they often have non-native species in them. These can potentially spread and become invasive. If you decide to use one of these seed bags, please review the seed mixture carefully to determine that they do not have aggressive species in their mixes such as:
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota)
Dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis)
In addition you can look up non-native species on the DCR’s invasive plant list at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/invsppdflist
Perennial meadows or prairies take hold more slowly. These alternatives to lawn usually require two or three years to establish properly. The first year the roots establish. In the second year you begin to see upward growth. Finally in the third year you are rewarded with the blooms. You can add annual wildflowers to give you some interest in the first two years, but after that there is very little to do with a perennial meadow. It will need to be mowed once a year at the beginning of spring, after the birds and wildlife have used your natives over the winter and occasionally weeded of unwanted plants. Some native plants to consider are:
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
In addition, the Virginia Native Plant Society has a book on their website on gardening with southwest Virginia native plants. It is free as a PDF at http://vnps.org.
So, whether you are tired of mowing your yard or want to help out our wildlife as their habitats are declining, there are alternatives to a grass lawn. Add a few native plants to an existing bed and expand as you can, reducing your lawn area. Remove any invasive plants you have and substitute native plants instead. Learning about the native plants of our area is a journey and takes time, so start small and replace your grass a few blades at a time.
Brittingham, Margret C., Sullivan, Kristi L. (2024) Meadows and Prairies: Wildlife-Friendly Alternatives to Lawn. Penn State Extension https://extension.psu.edu>meadows-and-prairies-wildlife-friendly-alternatives-to-lawn
White, Annalisa (2021) Why You Should Grow Wildflowers Instead of A Green Lawn. Furman Greenbelt Sustainable Living Community
