Are you tired of time-consuming lawn care? Instead of bothering with mowing, fertilizing and scarifying from spring to autumn, simply design your garden without a lawn. Let yourself be inspired by 5 ideas for an imaginative garden design that can safely do without a high-maintenance green carpet.
How to design a garden without a lawn?
A garden without lawn can be designed, for example, with easy-care ground cover such as star moss or sand thyme, natural materials such as stone and wood, a Japanese garden, or water worlds such as ponds and streams. These alternatives significantly reduce the maintenance effort.
Ground cover as a lawn replacement - recommended alternatives to grass
In order to banish the lawn from an existing garden, decorative and easy-care ground cover plants are available as an alternative. The following perennials and dwarf trees have proven to be excellent replacements for lawns:
- Star moss (Sagina subulata), evergreen and with white flowers from June to August
- Low fat man (Pachysandra terminalis 'Compacta'), evergreen, mat-forming, white spring blossom
- Sand thyme (Thymus serpyllum), evergreen, hardy, pink flowers in summer, bee pasture
- Feather cushion (Cotula dioica), wintergreen, hardy, forms a velvety green carpet in sun and partial shade
Peel off the old lawn with a sod cutter (€59.00 at Amazon). You can rent this device from machine rental companies and hardware stores. To ensure that the ground cover roots quickly, cover the area with a mix of topsoil, compost and sand. Until the green plant cover closes, care extends to regular weeding and watering in dry conditions.
Stone and wood – easy-care design elements
Where lawns spread out in classic garden design, natural stones and wood take over in gardens without lawns. When you see a paved area with inviting seating and beautiful potted plants, you won't miss a lawn. Small areas with gravel or grit in harmoniously coordinated colors provide additional variety in the appearance.
You can create a homely, homely atmosphere with wooden floorboards made from weatherproof wood such as Douglas fir, robinia or larch. For easy-care, non-slip outdoor flooring, tiles and floorboards made of WPC, a wood-plastic combination that invites you to walk barefoot, are ideal.
Japanese garden has no lawn
If you create a Japanese garden, you won't have to deal with annoying lawn care. The true-to-original concept of Asian garden design does not provide for extensive grassy areas. Instead, the elements of moss, stone, water and trees dominate in Zen gardens.
Water worlds – picturesque options for the garden without lawn
In modern garden design, water has long since replaced the lawn as the protagonist. With a pond or stream you can give your outdoor area a natural, individual character. When a fountain babbles peacefully, the worries of everyday life disappear from your mind as if by magic. In this refuge, no one will shed a tear after a demanding lawn.
Tip
With the right lighting you can give your garden without a lawn an atmospheric color. Spotlights that are invisible during the day can be hidden between ground cover plants as a lawn replacement. When paving natural stone or laying wooden floorboards, think about installing suitable lighting fixtures. Your water worlds are transformed into magical eye-catchers at night with floating candles and underwater spotlights.
