Replacing your lawn: what to do and what to avoid

Due to an ongoing drought, this Pasadena homeowner replaced a thirsty lawn with a glorious array of perennials including yellow and red kangaroo paw, sea lavender, purple salvia and, near the front, gray dymondia for a flat ground cover. There is also creeping rosemary lining the stepping stones to the curb.

NEW: 6 lawn-free garden landscape designs for hot dry climates

Smart Replacements for Your Lawn

If you have finally decided that the big, green sponge in front of your home, also known as your lawn, has to go, we applaud you.

But before you hire a couple of guys to rip out the grass, consider your choices of what to do with the space when it becomes bare earth again. The bare earth, by the way, should be in fairly good condition because the lawn grass roots have loosened the soil and you have probably put lots of fertilizer and water on the space. So keep as much topsoil as you can.

3 potential lawn-replacement problems

Now let’s start with three things that could create problems after you remove that water-thirsty lawn.

1. Do not let Mother Nature replant the space. Unless you live in a rural area and decide to go ‘au naturel’, this usually results in a mix of unattractive natives taking over and your home may begin to look semi-abandoned. Moreover, your neighbors and the home owners association may come knocking at your door with complaints. If you want a native plant garden, pick the natives that look best and plant them before nature chooses for you.

2. Think twice about simply spreading a truckload of rock mulch where your lawn used to be and calling that “desert landscaping”. In direct sunlight rock mulch can quickly heat up to 150 degrees F. The result is that your house will be sitting in the middle of a furnace. Imagine what that will do to your air conditioning bill!

3. Before you roll out a carpet of artificial grass you should know that it, too, can heat up to 150 degrees F. in direct summer sun. Artificial lawn has come a long way and can look quite realistic, but some brands can create the furnace effect. What you save on your water bill will show up on your electric bill.

Now for some positive choices for lawn substitutes.

Replacing your lawn with ground covers
One beautiful replacement for your lawn is low-growing, drought-tolerant Lantana (Lantana montevidensis L. selowiana). This colorful fast-grower blooms almost year ’round. [more]

Replacing your lawn with beautiful perennials
Gorgeous drought-tolerant perennials can transform your water-slurping front yard into a water-wise thing of beauty. Here are some tips on how to plant a perennial garden economically. Frugal gardening is smart! [more]

Blue fescue deer grass agave hot gardens

Replacing your lawn with ornamental grasses
Drought-tolerant Blue fescue, taller dark green deer grass and a large aloe have been planted among large rocks placed to look like a dry stream bed create a beautiful desert landscape. [more]

Replacing your lawn with pavers
If a front garden of Rosemary or yellow Lantana sounds a bit over the top for you, consider using pavers to replace your lawn and space them widely enough to allow planting scented herbs in between. [more]

Replacing your lawn with a knot garden or maze
We have now seen several small front yards where knot gardens and mazes have been created from carefully trimmed boxwood. This formal design, popular during the reign of Elizabeth the First, complements…[more]

Still not sure about replacing your entire lawn? Then start small by replacing the water-guzzling lawn in your parking median. Just be sure to use low growing plants that will not obstruct someone trying to get out of their parked car. In this example, the homeowners kept “paths” between the small shrubs so it is easy to reach the sidewalk.