Alternative Lawns

While grass is the most versatile and popular plant used for a lawn, it is not the only plant that can be used.

Chamomile and Thyme can both be used for lawns, as long as they do not receive a lot of wear. Both of these can look very attractive and do not need cutting, but can be very expensive if planting a large area.

To encourage wildlife into your garden, you could sow a mixture of meadow grass and native wild flowers. This can look attractive and requires very little in the way of maintenance. If sowing this kind of lawn no fertiliser should be used in the preparation. Various mixtures are available for different soil conditions. Sow in the autumn or early spring and once established cut just once a year in October after the flowers have seeded. This ensures that you will have a continuous supply of the flowers for the next year. The only maintenance required is the pulling out of the odd strongly growing weed.