Replacing a thirsty lawn with ornamental grasses

We have seen many attempts at replacing green lawn areas with Red Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’) planted in red sandstone rock mulch. All too often we have been disappointed with the results. Usually, the red Fountain Grass is planted too far apart and not given sufficient water. The effect overall looks sparse — unlike the photo which shows fountain grass filling in a large space.

Fountain grass likes regular watering to look its best and should be cut back to about 8 inches in winter. One very positive thing that can be said about the ‘Rubrum’ variety is that it does not naturalize easily and does not become an invasive pest plant. White Fountain Grass, also known as Buffelgrass, however, is an aggressive pest plant, banned in several states. Do not use it.

Golden Mexican Feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) mixed with ice plants and large green agaves make this a very drought tolerant front yard. In mid-winter the owner trims the grass back to six inches tall. Now that’s low maintenance:one day a year!

Start with a partial lawn replacement border

These homeowners decided to replace only part of their lawn by installing a wide border using red Fountain grass as a basic element. Also planted: Lambs ears, white roses, society garlic and star jasmine. This border could be easily expanded to fill in the entire yard which is actually quite narrow.

Or replace the lawn all at once

Agave, deer grass, blue fescue, rocks Hot Gardens

A popular desert garden landscape style done beautifully. This lawn has been replaced with a simulated dry creek bed full of a mix of large and smaller rocks. After rainstorms, water accumulates in the creek bed and soaks into the ground, rather than running off into the street. Surrounding the creek bed are clumps of short Blue Fescue, plus tall, dark green Deer Grass and a very large Agave.

Deer Grass alone can be a non-thirsty replacement for a traditional grass lawn if you have a large enough space to work with. Deer Grass (Muhlenbergia rigens) is an American Southwest native grass that thrives on its own from California to Texas.

This drought tolerant plant grows in clumps to 4 feet high in one season with flower spikes that rise 2 feet higher in Fall. Because it is such a large and imposing plant you only need a few to fill in a front yard. It looks best when planted with a few large rocks and stately agaves for companions.

For a slightly smaller scale Deer Grass, try the Purple Muhly variety (Muhlenbergia rigida). It grows to 2 feet tall and has spires bearing purple flowers in Fall. Both varieties of Deer Grass are very drought tolerant, but look better with some additional watering.

Replace a thirsty Fescue lawn with native drought tolerant grass

Buffalo Grass (Buchloe dactyloides) is growing in popularity as a fescue lawn substitute. This native of the American Great Plains needs much less water and the newer varieties almost never need to be mowed. It greens up in spring, grows to 5 to 10 inches in height, depending upon the variety, and turns brown as the weather cools in Fall. Buffalo Grass requires the least amount of irrigation among lawn turf grasses. And it is called Buffalo grass because it was the grass eaten on the open range prairies by wild American Buffalos (Bisons.)

Replacing your lawn — read this for what NOT to do
Replacing your lawn with perennials
Replacing your lawn with ground covers
Replacing your lawn with ornamental grasses
Replacing your lawn with pavers
Replacing your lawn with mazes and knot gardens
Replacing the lawn in your parking median