How Much Turf Grass Is Enough?

It is and understatement that a well manicured and healthy lawn brings peace and a sense of tranquility, while reducing heat islands and fulfilling needs for carbon and dust sinks.  Large, lush expanses of well manicured Kentucky Blue turf grass takes me back to my childhood, running, rolling and then stopping to rest on this magical carpet while watching the billowing clouds float by overhead.  However, the amount of water and natural resources needed to maintain these lush carpets coupled with the time and financial commitments coupled with potential environmental damages being caused by fertilizers running off into waterways should make all of us ask “how much turf grass is enough for my landscape needs?”

With our changing environmental awareness and changing lifestyles, it makes perfect and financial sense to determine exactly how much manageable turf areas you need and recreate the turf areas you don’t need. 

There are ways to create bio-diverse meadows that will benefit birds and butterflies, in place of those vast acres of single plant turf fields.  We should realize by now that our gardens and landscape are connected to the soul of the gardener or gardeners.  The art does not exist merely within the landscape. Whether it is replacing turf with stepable plants and groundcovers such as creeping potentilla or blue star creeper (see below for further list of turf grass alternative plants) to creating a bird and butterfly habitat filled with evolving seasonal perennials such as penstemons, blue fescues and purple cone flower.  Eliminating existing turf areas is a “one and done” project that will continue to pay forward, and when it is well designed, it will mean less work and more pleasure not to mention the financial savings you will enjoy.

This truly is gardening for the future, it is about building healthy landscapes and lifestyles and it is more than sustainable, it is regenerative.

Other Turf Grass Alternative Plants:

Ajuga reptans (Bugleweed)

Antennaria neglecta (Pussytoes)

Callirhoe involucrata (Purple Winecups)

Fragaria virginiana (Wild Strawberry)

Isotoma fluviatilis (Blue Star Creeper)

Lysimachia nummularia (Creeping Jenny)

Phlox subulata (Creeping Phlox)

Thymus serpyllum (Creeping Thyme)

Trifolium repens (White Clover)