Lawn alternatives

Yes! It’s ok not to have a lawn! If you’ve made this bold choice, I have some ideas for you, but first you need to ask yourself why you don’t want a lawn. Is it the cost and time involved in keeping it looking great? Is it for environmental reasons or are you just bored with the idea of a lawn? Before you take the plunge, here are a few points to consider:

• Lawns are great for small children to play on.

• They soften and balance the house and any hard landscaping such as paving, stones and timber decks.

• There is nothing more relaxing than lying down on a soft lawn when the weather is pleasant!

The solution for you may be not to get completely rid of your lawn but to reduce its size and increase the size of adjacent garden beds. At home I decided to break up the lawn area with a variety of garden beds and a large pathway of ornamental stones that stays dry during winter and adds visual interest. It’s important that you really consider how to still add some greenery to your garden space to avoid it looking too harsh and barren. Over the years I’ve seen many gardens that have large areas of immaculate paving that have missed the mark by not being softened by greenery.

To keep your garden looking great without relying on the traditional lawn nature strip, front lawn and back lawn, here are some alternatives.

• Plant lush groundcovers such as Star Jasmine, Mondo Grass or Dichondra (these are best for areas where you don’t need to walk over).

• Paving, decking and ornamental stones (make sure you balance by incorporating some greenery such as some potted plants).

• Add a meadow style garden with small paths or stepping stones. (Beautiful, but high maintenance!)

In recent times I have seen some councils replace their lawn nature strips with native grasses such as Poa and Lomandra to encourage insect pollinators and promote biodiversity, with the bonus of only requiring pruning once or twice a year as opposed to constant edging and mowing. This has been done effectively in my neighbourhood and looks great as an understorey planting to the mature gum trees.