Lawn Care - Alternatives to Green Lawns!

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If after giving it some deep thought, you just don’t want to deal with grass maintenance, but you still want to create a great looking lawn using plants, flowers, trees, and shrubs, you should consider alternative options to grass.

Who says a lawn has to be green? Other alternatives include:

Clover leaf lawns
Gravel lawns
Rock lawns
Mulch
Wild vines
Mixed plant lawns

If you have a small front lawn and do not want to plant grass, any one of these alternatives will work for your lawn. Eliminating the grass factor does not mean you will be getting out of doing yard work. You will still have to weed, plant each season, and make sure that your current plants are healthy.

Clover leaf lawns

Using small leaf plants that grow quickly and densely will the illusion of grass without having to mow. Clover leaf is a good plant to use especially if you live in an area that receives a lot of rain. You should plant these plants in the fall. You should prep the lawn and seed as you would a grass lawn. Within a few weeks, you will have a lawn covered with this pleasant looking green plant.

Maintaining these plants is easy. Make sure they receive plenty of water and trim them back on the sides of your lawn to keep them looking clean and neat. Since these plants do not grow very tall, you should not have to trim the tops.

Gravel lawns

Sometimes fine gravel that is mixed with different colors can be a nice complement to the trees and flowers that you have on your lawn. You can buy bags of gravel at your home and garden store.

Before spreading the gravel, you should prep your soil and weed it thoroughly. Spread gravel evenly on the ground with a rake. If you have drainage issues, you should reconsider laying gravel because you may end up with bald spots each time it rains.

You will have to weed more often in order to keep the lawn looking clean. Gravel lawns can look clean, simple, and will cut down on the time you will have to spend seeding and prepping your soil.

Rock lawns

A rock lawn is similar to a gravel lawn, except that you will be using rocks to decorate your lawn. You can spread a layer of gravel onto the soil and then arrange your rocks. You have many options here and you can combine mulch and rocks together to create a unique lawn.

Mulch

Mulch can be used on your entire lawn. You can buy different types of mulch that will match the rest of your landscaping.

You should be prepared to weed more often and change out the mulch every few months.

Wild vines

Wild vines are similar to clover leaf in that they will grow on their own without too much supervision. You may have to trim the vines occasionally to make sure the lawn looks clean.

There are many types of vines to choose from that will grow all year long.

Mixed plant lawns

If you want, you can mix your favorite plants and vine flowers together to create your own lawn. Be prepared to do your research, however. You should only mix plants and flowers that can work well together. Other wise, you will have plants and flowers competing with each other. The results could be very unpleasant.

As you can see, there are many alternatives to grass green lawns. You may want a traditional lawn, but areas where you can incorporate these suggestions. Your lawn should be a representation of who you are, so have a little fun and create something beautiful. Over the years, you may want a change. Adding new features to your lawn will only enhance its beauty.

Make sure that you have the right materials and tools before planting your lawn. You should be patient for the first few weeks as your plants, flowers, and grass are growing. Within a month, you should see some results.

Terry Blackburn. Internet Marketing Consultant, living in South Shields in the North-East of England. Author and Producer of blog http://www.lawnsurgeon.blogspot.com. Author of "Your Perfect Lawn," a 90 Page eBook devoted to Lawn Preparation, Lawn Care and Maintenance. Find it at http://www.lawnsurgeon.com

I would be very interested to have your comments on this Article.

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