Alternatives to Lawn Care

Your backyard is an extension of your home. Outdoor living is a trendy and chic way to increase living space that many homeowners are embracing. As a result of this interest in creating beautiful and lush surroundings, municipal water demand can more than double in the summer months to account for outdoor water usage. There are ways to reduce the amount of water needed in your outdoor space, including using alternatives to a traditional lawn. To help create your own unique, water-efficient space, Water for Tomorrow offers FREE gardening seminars and at home gardening consultations. For more information, to register to attend a seminar or for your own at home gardening consultation please click here.

If you want to get started on converting your landscape and lawn today, this video is full of valuable information, illustrating the six steps to converting your existing yard into a water-efficient landscape.  

Down & Dirty

Groundcover

One of the easiest solutions to problem areas of landscapes, steep slopes, deep shade, and wet soils, is the use of groundcovers. Once established, groundcovers can bring the most barren landscape to life with lush foliage, interesting textures and eye-catching blossoms. More and more gardeners are turning to groundcovers because they spread quickly to cover large areas, need little if any maintenance once established and are easy on the pocketbook.

There are a wide variety of groundcovers including perennial plants, shrubs, evergreen trees, ornamental grasses, ferns and herbs. Many groundcovers are drought tolerant and thrive in exposed, dry locations while others tolerate wet soils and deep shade. For locations where little else will grow or access is difficult, plant one or more groundcovers and the area will be transformed in very little time.

As with all plants, improving the condition of the soil, removing any weeds beforehand and selecting the right groundcover for the location to be planted will help ensure success.

For more information about groundcover selection, access and download our Plant Guide by clicking here.

Consider Clover

Another alternative to grass is clover. It is an economical alternative that can eliminate the need to mow and it stays green and beautiful blending in with landscapes in your community. Clover also attracts beneficial insects that will prey on pesky garden bugs. Clover's popularity is on the rise, and as such it is readily available at stores in seed form.

Try adding 20 to 25 per cent Dutch White Clover to the grass mix. Clover stays green all summer, even throughout hot, dry spells and is a nitrogen fixer.