Lawns: turf will flourish with thyme

I have been experimenting using my favourite groundcover as a lawn. Cotula squalida, a creeping evergreen from New Zealand is one of the best performers I have come across. It makes a great alternative lawn because it reaches only 2.5cm high and is happy in a semi-shady spot.


Ajuga reptans, Vinca minor, Pachysandra terminalis or Hedera helix are other good choices to carpet a shady area but I would avoid the larger leaved Ajuga 'Caitlins Giant' in this situation

There is no need to avoid some of the classic alternative lawns - camomile 'Trenague' is wonderful on the right soil, and interweaving thymes is a design classic for a reason.

This lovely thyme lawn is part of Kaydale Lodge Garden in Australia but the principal works just as well in the UK

In the sunnier parts of my garden the fast-spreading Acaena microphylla is romping away. Acaena 'Copper Carpet' is a great choice and has made a lovely evergreen carpet in my mothers front garden (very clay soil, which only gets sun for half the day) Despite the lovely ornamental burrs which give this plant its charm, it is soft underfoot, and slightly springy. The slightly glaucus colouring of the finely cut leaves, makes this an elegant choice that tones in well with red brick, slate and grey stone.


But you don't have to take such a radical step. This weekend's Times discusses a number of simple, significant changes that you can make to the way you manage your lawn to will make it easier and cheaper to look after

If you are growing an usual lawn in your garden, I would love to hear about it and see some piccies!

Planting on inverted turfs for a worm friendly garden

Why is it that when clearing a garden lawn, so many landscapers feel the need to dig up the lawn and cart it away to a tip, only to import tonnes of topsoil for the new planting beds?


Inverting turfs to create soil and planting areas is a traditional method of gardening that seems to have been forgotten.

If you are stripping a lawn, perhaps to include more planting, or to make your garden less work to maintain, you want to try and reuse your turf within the garden.

One of the simplest ways to reuse your spare turf is to invert it in the bottom of a planting bed and cover it with soil. By doing this, you will allow the turf to break down under the soil to form lovely humus.

You will save money
(as you will not have to buy in topsoil)

but most importantly, you will not loose your lovely garden worms.

Alternative Garden Lawns - fake turf

Fake grass has come on leaps and bounds in the past few years. No more cheap, bright green plastic reminiscent of the butchers counter...

You can now get fake grass with a non directional weave and up to four different coloured 'blades' for a more naturalistic look.


The first reaction of any gardener is normally - fake grass...NO WAY... but I have to admit that the new generation of fake turf is really a rather impressive product and can look very naturalistic

Is there any way environmentally conscious gardeners and landscapers can justify its use in the garden? Lets look at some hard facts:

Fake grass is made from crude oil and is not biodegradable. Although it can be recycled, yet more energy would be required to convert it into something new.

However, natural turf lawns are also very greedy on resources, and so fake grass saves on a huge number of resources too:

• Fake grass doesn't have to be watered.
• Fake grass doesn't have to be fertilised or sprayed
• Fake grass doesn't have to be mowed.

So does removing mower emissions, reducing chemical runoff, reducing water use and the noise pollution from mowers offset the resources required to produce and dispose of this material?

In terms of cost, there are huge differences: Fake grass costs around £29.99 per square metre (or up to £100 per square metre installed), A natural turf lawn costs only 10% as much - but there are higher associated maintenance costs so the two options even out over 10-15 years.

Another factor to consider is the effect of the lawn upon biodiversity and the garden environment. Obviously fake turf does not create a rich habitat for wildlife. It does not photosynthesise, and therefore does not aborb Co2 from the atmosphere.

In addition, because it doesn't transpire, you would loose out on the beneficial insulating and cooling qualities of a natural turf lawn. Fake grass is made from polyethelene and so it can get pretty hot in midsummer in fact a real grass lawn is on average 50% cooler. Contrast this with the cool feel of natural grass under your feet and this may be a factor in your choice.

A better compromise might be to consider drought tolerant turf - e.g. Buffalo Grass, chamomile or Bonsai fescue to cut down on the extreme water demands of a natural lawn. You could reduce emissions by using a solar charged mower, like they do at National Trust Nymans, or use a push mower and cut down on noise and emmissions whilst getting fit at the same time! You could go for a no-mow lawn such as cammomile or thyme...

There are plenty of options to consider when it comes to finding the best lawn solution for your garden - and different solutions will suit different situations. What is clear, is that a compromise is neccessary for a greener garden.

It is a good idea to reduce the size of your lawn, or get rid of the lawn if you can... and if you must have a lawn, just take a moment to thingk about how you can care for it in a more environmentally responsible way.

UK Fake Grass Suppliers
Easigrass
As Good As Grass

US Fake grass Suppliers
ALG Grass
Envy Lawn

More information and images available at Artificial Lawn information

A HISTORY LESSON IN THE ANTI-LAWN TRADITION

The anti-lawn movement has been around now for several decades. A great article in the New Yorker tells the History of lawns and the rise of the anti-lawn tradition in the USA - with a few suggestions for further reading

ALTERNATIVE GARDEN LAWNS - MOSS

Many people spend a lot of their spare time fighting to remove moss from their garden lawns - but actually if you think about it, moss is a great alternative to a traditional lawn, especially for shady gardens.

In fact mosses tend to thrive in areas where traditional lawns suffer. They love compacted soil. As nonvascular plants they do not possess true roots and they get their nutrients and moisture from the air by capilliary movement. Mosses also seem to prefer poor quality soil with low nutrient levels - they really are wonderful plants.

Before you head straight off to buy some moss, one word of caution: mosses love acid soil, so this is one of the rare occasions when it is actually worth testing the acidity of your garden. A ph of 5.0 to 6.0 is ideal

Moss forms dense, low growing mats in the garden. I can see why they are so revered in Japanese gardening - and think it's time we caught on to their potential...

The best moss to use as a lawn alternative in shady areas is Fern Moss (Thuidium delicatulum). This moss will tolerate dappled sunlight and morning sun but not direct afternoon sunshine. For an instant effect, these moss plants are available by the square metre to be laid like turf.

Alternatively you can use smaller plants or plugs which will grow and knit together over time.


FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MOSS

Join the Japanese Garden Society

Visit the Garden at The Bonsai Nusery in Cornwall which has a great moss garden (along with other fantastic traditional japanese elements)

Check out George Schenk's brilliant book on Moss Gardening

MOSS SUPPLIERS

Moss Acres USA

ALTERNATIVE GARDEN LAWNS - CLOVER

A popular replacement for traditional lawn turf is Clover - and I can see why...


LOW MAINTENANCE
Does not need to be mowed as often as traditional lawns which cuts down on labour and lawnmower emissions making it a cheaper, greener alternative.

NO FERTILISERS
Clover is a fixes nitrogen so it grows well even in poor soil and doesn't require fertilisation which makes it a sustainable option as well as a less expensive option.

COLOUR
Clover has long roots enabling it to access water at deeper levels. This makes it drought tolerant and so it stays green even in the driest summers. Clover also tolerates dog urine without bleaching yellow.

INEXPENSIVE
No need to spend money aerating, irrigating and fertilising your lawn!
Clover tolerates compacted soil better than lawn grass does.

In addition, clover produces beautiful little flowers - and you can feel smug in the knowledge that you are improving biodiversity in the garden.

Although clover lawns do not stand up to heavy traffic as well as traditional lawns, they are fine for most garden areas and work particularly well in more shady areas where traditional lawns would be patchy.

The best clover for lawn use is the Dwarf Dutch White which can reach a height of about 4". Try it today

ALTERNATIVE GARDEN LAWNS - CHAMOMILE LAWN

Chamomile lawns actually pre-date lawns of neatly clipped fine grasses and have a long tradition in English gardens. The most famous chamomile lawn is the one at Buckingham Palace which dates from the reign of George V although they were also very popular with the Elizabethans.
Camomile is a low-growing aromatic herb which is tough enough to be walked on an looks very much like a grass lawn.
Providing you use the low growing flowering variety ‘Trenague’ your lawn will never need mowing and it releases a sweet fragrance when walked on (especially strong fragrance after rain).

Another advantage of a Camomile lawn over a grass lawn is that it does not turn brown in dry weather!

ALTERNATIVE GARDEN LAWNS

Large, expansive lawns can be beautiful if they are well maintained but the cost to the environment can be high.

Fuel for power mowers, fertilisers and pesticides but most importantly water consumption make traditional lawns the resource squanderers of the gardening world.

Reducing the size of your lawn can benefit the environment - and it gives you loads of extra room for plants!

Various groundcover alternatives to grass are being trialed at the moment which we will analyse over the next few months

If you use alternatives to traditional rye grass lawns in your garden, we would love to hear from you...