Lawns increase the cost of garden maintenance. If constant mowing, fertilizing, sprinkling and scarifying is a thorn in your side, simply forego a green space. This guide explains how to tastefully design a front garden without a lawn.
How do I design a front yard without a lawn?
A front garden without a lawn can be tastefully designed with sturdy ground cover plants such as English chamomile, Roman chamomile, star moss or cushion thyme. Alternatively, you can choose a lush cottage garden with flowering beds, a cross and stylish accessories, or an Asian-inspired design with gravel, stones, moss or water.
Ground cover as a lawn replacement - the best tough plants
Where beautifully flowering or evergreen ground cover plants spread, don't shed a tear for the old lawn. The following species and varieties are walkable and reliably suppress annoying weeds:
- English chamomile (Anthemis nobilis), does not bloom, smells seductive and does not need to be mowed
- Roman lawn chamomile (Anthemis nobilis v. ligulosa) delights with cream-colored flowers and is mown once a year
- Star moss (Sagina subulata) covers the ground with fluffy green cushions that invite you to walk barefoot
Creeping herbs are ideal candidates for banishing boring lawns from the front yard. Cushion thyme 'Golden Dwarf' (Thymus x citriodorus) covers the area with a fragrant carpet of gold-green leaves, over which violet flowers are enthroned from July to August.
Lush cottage garden instead of boring lawn garden - this is how it works
With ground cover plants as a lawn replacement, the basic green chord in the front garden design is largely retained. If you are aiming for a complete turnaround in your appearance, we would like to recommend the cottage garden concept to you. Floral thunder reverberations dominate here instead of evergreen monotony. We have summarized the essential components for the garden concept for you here:
- 4 identically shaped beds lie at a crossroads
- Path surface made of natural stones, bark mulch or last pieces of lawn
- Planting as a combination of beautifully flowering vegetable plants, perennials and flowers
- Eye-catcher in the center: hydrangea, small tree, rose-covered obelisk, fountain or statue
- Enclosure: picket fence, low dry stone wall, hedge of flowering or evergreen bushes
Creatively round off your newly designed, lawnless front garden with authentic accessories. The old wheelbarrow from the flea market is stylish, planted with colorful flowers. The small wooden bench under a rose arch invites your visitors and neighbors to chat comfortably.
Tip
The lawn has long been a discontinued model in modern front garden design. Creative home gardeners look to Asia, where Japanese gardening traditionally avoids lawns. Stylish components for the floor covering can be gravel, small stones, moss or water.
