How do you market imperfection?

The topic of lawn substitutes is everywhere these days, my blog included.  I write about them, speak about them, am interviewed about them, and yes, even plant them in my own garden.  But here is the dirty little secret no one wants you to know…

There is no substitute for a lawn.

Nothing else looks so pristine, green and lush, yet takes such abuse.  And while caring for a lawn means keeping to a regular maintenance schedule, it’s certainly less complicated than babying along a lawn substitute that may take years to grow in.

Lovely photo of a front yard meadow featured in the Bringing Back the Natives Tour.  But does it look like a lawn?  Not really.

So what’s a self-respecting proponent of lawn reduction supposed to do?  Two experiences lately have got me thinking – instead of searching for the ultimate groundcover to mimic a lawn’s perfection, why not choose ground covers that aren’t meant to replicate its monotonous, manicured sameness?  How about a little diversity?

Experience number one:  Here is a photo of the lawn around the grounds in the B&B we stayed at during a recent trip to Mendocino. 

 

Not certain what the white flowers are – an ornamental strawberry? – but honestly, even the dandelions look cute to me. And nothing seems to mind being stepped on, or so I assume, as I ignored the paths to stride across it every morning in my zeal to get to the homemade breakfasts before the chocolate chip muffins were gone.

The second experience came via my computer visiting Susan Harris’s Sustainable Gardening Blog.  In April, she had an interesting post updating her own lawn replacement project and followed this up later with a video tour of her garden, chronicling her successes and failures.  Her photos inspired me.  All the advantages of a lawn, with just enough imperfection to make it look like a garden.

 

This perfectly imperfect lawn belongs to Susan Harris

So how do I sell this idea to my clients?  “Hey, here’s a bunch of groundcovers; let’s shove ‘em in anywhere and don’t worry about the weeds!”  Hmm, hard to charge the big bucks for advice like that, particularly in California, land of golf courses and 24/7 landscaping.

I’ll come up with something.

Comments

[Laura Livengood Schaub (InterLeafer)]

Nicely put, Susan, and you address what we all come up against, time and again. I'm interested to see how Juniper 'Icee Blue' works as a (visual) lawn sub in my new front yard...only 4" high, soft-textured and a lovely blue-green color...but you can't play soccer on it!

[VW]

I'm interested in lawn reduction for my yard, but not complete removal. I like the idea of our front yard fitting into the neighborhood with a bit of lawn. Unity is good. And we have 3 kids that need space to run and tumble. And lawn in the middle is pretty. So I'll try to strike a nice balance. I hate dandelions, though, and letting our front go to weed wouldn't make the neighbors very happy.

[Susan (garden chick)]

Laura, I love blue in the garden - send me some photos when your plants start growing in and I'll happily post. But don't you find that just the word juniper makes clients cringe? Hard to explain sometimes there are good ones and bad ones; they're all damned as the Devil's spawn.

VW, having seen pictures of your house on your blog, I have a hard time picturing you with no lawn as well. I'm not anti-lawn. I prefer the term thoughtful-lawn. Like everything that falls under the sustainable category, I think it's more about making informed choices instead of just doing things the way they've always been done. For me, the hard part is when I knowthe right thing to do - take shorter showers, don't order the Maguro at a sushi restaurant - but still don't want to do it.

[Rob(ourfrenchgarden)]

That front yard from the 'natives' tour is far more interesting than any lawn to me.

Is enough attention spent improving whats underneath the lawn?

Rob

[Germi]

It all depends where you are gardening, doesn't it?

Here in Los Angeles, it gets crazier and crazier to justify a lawn. Front yard gardens are my passion - I never put lawn in the front for clients - only in the back, and only whatever they absolutely need!

In my own home, I'm super hardcore. Anything that isn't planted is gravel. Lush is for weaklings! hee hee... :-)

Love this topic - I can talk about minimizing lawn forever! Thanks for the opportunity to comment!

[Susan (garden chick)]

Rob,
I agree, that's why I took my own lawn out, but not all feel that way. And I have to admit, for some of the neighborhoods I design in, the no-lawn would not fit in so well. But even in those neighborhoods, people are interested in less lawn, which counts for something.

Germinatrix, fun to hear from you, I've been following you on Twitter! Do you post photos of no lawn designs on your blog? I love seeing what other designers are up to.

[Tammy]

Great post. To sell imperfection shouldn't be as hard as it sounds. After all, shabby chic is still hot and people have been scooping up beat up furniture for decades.

It isn't imperfect, its character and individually unique. Green living has no place for grass addiction =)

[lostlandscape]

When I think about perfection in a garden I think about that Tolstoy line about happy families, that all happy families are happy in exactly the same way, but that unhappy families are unhappy in ways unique to themselves. (I know I mangled the quote...) Give me something other than Stepford Wives perfection, please!

A couple streets down from me over 50% of the lawns are now either brown from people stopping watering them or have been replaced altogether. Unfortunately half of those have been replaced with big ugly crushed rock. We don't live on a cinder cone, people! How about a layer of some fine DG and some interesting no-water shrubs, instead?

[wayne]

I sometimes wonder why I ripped out all the grass in our yard (not big).

I also wonder what a house with no lawn does on the market????

Hopefully by the time we move (many many years???) I will have it all filled in, but I wonder who would want such a garden. My doubts of all my work affecting our ability to sell the house speaks volumes of what I assume most folk want for a backyard.

[Shirley Bovshow "Edenmaker"]

So glad I found your blog! Great stuff.

I am planting a variety of Buffalo grass that was developed for dry desert areas called, "UC Verde" that needs only 20- 30% of the water that regular, or traditional fescues need here in So Cal. I know it sounds hard to believe, that is why I am planting it myself- I need hard evidence.

I will be planting the plugs this weekend and invite you to follow my progress with it on my blog.

The grass can be maintained "natural" with no- mowing, growing to about 6- 8 inches tall or can be mowed like a regular lawn.

There is a website at www.grassrootsprogram.com that will be launched on June 5th with information regarding "lawn alternatives" Im excited about the potential of not having to pass up a "lawn experience" if varieties like this are viable and available to the dry and drought area gardener.

I look forward to visiting your blog in the future!

[Susan (garden chick)]

Shirley,
Thanks for the tip! I love specific information and have yet to find a good lawn alternative grass that stays low enough. Your Southern California climate is not that different than the inland part of East Bay where I garden and design, so I will follow your blog posts with interest.

[Morgaine Chya]

If there is a residential lawn, it should serve a purpose that drought-tolerant planting cannot duplicate.
If space for kids to play is important, think about restricting the lawn space to the backyard. I don't know anyone who lets their kids play in the front of their home without adult supervision. It's a sad reality that snatch-and-grab abductions of kids occurs.
A monotone/monotexture green in a landscape provides a place for the eyes to rest, and serves as a backdrop for the more colorful plants in the landscape.
Several plants can serve that purpose. Except for the once-yearly flowering period, Ceanothus species provide a monotone green, shiny look similar to what lawn provides.
In addition, depending on the species, one plant can fill up a 20' diameter space. Ceanothus does better, and lives longer, with minimal irrigation once established.
Also, Ceanothus provides black, rich, oily seeds which provide birds with the energy they need to go into nesting season.
A great lawn substitute is Carex preaegracilis (similar to C. pansa but more readily available). I have an installation where a large "lawn" is actually C. praegracilis. The homeowner irrigates three times a year (in the summer, once a month), and mows about4 times a year. His large, robust dogs have not been able to harm the C.p.; not even wear any trails in it.