Grass lawns first appeared in Europe in medieval times, status symbols for the rich that had to be kept trimmed by fairly labor-intensive methods, often by grazing livestock and certainly not by polluting lawn mowers and poisonous weed killers.

The booming lawn care industry is more than eager to convince us that our grass can be greener by selling us all the synthetic fertilizers, toxic pesticides and leaky lawnmowers to make it so.

 There are alternatives to a carpet of monochromatic grass for one’s property. Try groundcover plants and clover, which spread out and grow horizontally and require no cutting.

V arieties of organic groundcover are:  Alyssum, Bishops Weed and Juniper.

Common organic clovers include:  Yellow Blossom, Red Clover and Dutch White, the best suited of the three for lawn use. Groundcover plants and clovers naturally fight weeds, act as mulch and add beneficial nitrogen to the soil.

Other alternatives to grass lawns are:

•  Flowers
•  Shrubs
•  Moss Plants 
•  Ornamental Grasses

Flowers, shrub beds, moss plants, and organmental grasses can be strategically located to add color and interest while expanding the low maintenance areas of your yard.  

Moss plants are low-growing and can form dense mats, moss plants can be considered an alternative ground cover for landscaping and planted as shade gardens in lieu of traditional lawns. Moss plants do not possess true roots, instead deriving their nutrients and moisture from the air. As such they like wet surroundings and also soil with a pH that is acidic.

Ornamental grasses, many which flower, have numerous benefits over conventional grasses, including low maintenance, little need for fertilizer, minimal pest and disease problems and resistance to drought.

Organic lawn care advocates advise mowing high and often so that grass can out-compete any nascent weeds. Also, leaving clippings where they land--so they can serve as natural mulch helps prevent weeds from getting a foothold.