Great Groundcover Lawn Alternatives

Front lawns have long been an integral part of Australian suburban life, but it’s time to consider alternatives. Helen McKerral looks at what is out there.
Let’s face it: most lawns are thirsty: even “drought-tolerant” ones need more water than many other plants and, while green lawn or bare earth are effective bushfire barriers, dry grass exacerbates fire intensity.
For busy gardeners with work and family commitments, lawns are high-maintenance: they usually require regular mowing, weeding and feeding as well as watering. Good soil preparation for new lawns often involves importing lots of soil. Most lawn varieties need scarifying or aeration; pests may need chemical control.
Environmentally, traditional lawns waste resources. They use all that food, water and (your) energy to boost leaf growth… only to have that very growth cut away as soon as it appears! If you wish to tread lightly on this earth, avoid lawn.
Some lawns, such as buffalo and couch, are invasive in certain regions and almost impossible to eradicate once they infiltrate garden beds. In cold climates, winter dormancy of couch and buffalo means they look bare and unsightly then. Finally, many areas are unsuitable for conventional turf lawns - damp, shady spots mean a constant battle against moss, mowing sloping sites is difficult, while few lawns thrive in the dry shade under evergreen trees.
Consider your Needs
Will the surface need to be sufficiently hard-wearing for moderate foot traffic, or is the visual aesthetic your main consideration? Can stepping-stones or a path be placed along traffic lines to allow the selection of a less hard-wearing alternative? Will pets share the area (finding and removing animal poo can be awkward in taller groundcovers)? If foot traffic is expected, must the surface be smooth, or is some unevenness acceptable? How much maintenance does your alternative need?
Will cover be sufficiently dense to smother weeds? Will excessive shade, root competition, sun, heat, cold, waterlogging, frost or drought pose problems?
Evergreen or Deciduous?
Deciduous lawn alternatives, like ladies’ bedstraw (Gallium vernum) may be fine in northern hemisphere gardens, when the ground is covered in snow all winter anyway. But in our climate, lawn substitutes that are deciduous for long periods allow weeds to invade while the plant is dormant. Plants that are evergreen, slightly deciduous, or deciduous for a short time, are better; this often depends on your local climate.
Practical Planting Tips
Follow these tips to ensure that your lawn alternative gets off to a good start.
Meticulously remove weeds before planting plugs or seeding – spray a general herbicide, such as glyphosate. If planting plugs rather than seeding, you can use a pre-emergent herbicide to kill weed seeds as well.
A few weeks before planting time, prepare soil with gypsum (if a heavy clay) or a little compost if lacking in organic matter.
Choose an appropriate lawn alternative – shade lovers for under trees, and sun-lovers for more exposed positions.
Buy as many plants or plugs as you can afford, especially if they are slow-growing (eg. dwarf Mondo grass) – this ensures quicker coverage and minimises weeds between plants during establishment.
Choose the right time of year – at the beginning of the growing season, rather than the hottest and driest summer months or the coldest, wettest winter months.
Water (and feed) regularly during establishment to speed coverage.
Protect young plants from pests.

Lawn Alternatives
Turf lawns are undeniably the most hard-wearing living surface, and no alternative can match them. Plants like creeping myoporum (M. parvifolium) and Grevillea ‘Royal Mantle’ and many succulents look terrific but are intolerant of foot traffic: I see them as groundcovers, rather than lawn alternatives. However, they are excellent choices to replace front lawns that are for display rather than use, especially when combined with stepping stones or a footpath. Other terrific groundcovers to try in such areas are prostrate correas, prostrate rosemary, Erigeron karvinskianus, Geranium sanguineum, Convolvulus sabatius, Stachys lanata, and succulents like Lampranthus, Mesembryanthemum, Crassula multicava, Aptenia cordifolia and Sedum acre.
Plantings of mixed ornamental grasses look great but the long fronds of some varieties are awkward to walk through – you’ll probably need a path as for the groundcovers above. Mixed meadow or prairie plantings of native flowers and grasses are popular in some countries; our beautiful Australian native grasslands include weeping grass Microlaena stipoides, redgrass (Bothriochloa macra), wallaby grass (Austrodanthonia spp.). They tolerate moderate traffic but are not yet widely available other than from specialist suppliers. Several cultivars of M. stipoides have been registered under PBR by the Department of Botany at the University of New England; ‘Griffin’ is a fine-leaf, prostrate turf variety recommended for acid soils in shade and semi-shade. Many native grasses are drought resistant, heat tolerant, relatively low maintenance and need minimal fertiliser.
With the exception of more resilient clover, the following alternatives all tolerate light traffic, provide an attractive visual aesthetic, and can be made more versatile with stepping stones or pathways in higher-traffic areas.
Clover lawns are so common that many people consider them interchangeably with turf lawns, but of course they are a broadleaf plant and not a grass at all. Hardy and hard-wearing, clover lawns are almost maintenance-free: they don’t need mowing and fix their own nitrogen so require little or no additional fertiliser. They aren’t recommended for children’s play areas, as the flowers attract bees.
Kidney Weed (Dichondra repens) is a good lawn substitute in tropical and subtropical regions. Provide full sun, moist, well-drained soil, and be sure to eliminate weeds thoroughly before planting as they will be difficult to remove once the lawn is established. It can become invasive in some regions.
Sweet violets (V. odorata, V. labradorica) and bugleweed (Ajuga) tolerate light foot traffic in a moist position (semi-shaded in hot, temperate regions). Native violet (V. hederacea) is less vigorous – use stepping stones.
Swamp mazus (Mazus pumilio) also likes a moist, even boggy, position. It forms a dense mat with small purple or white flowers. Although it’s an Australian native, it can become invasive.
Stonecrop (Sedum spp.) includes a number of fine-leafed prostrate species with good potential for light traffic areas. They need full sun and good drainage; many are frost hardy and drought tolerant.

Pratia comprise several mat-forming, frost hardy evergreen species with starry flowers followed by small berries. They need semi-shade in hot regions, damp soil, good drainage and dislike excessively wet winters. They’ll tolerate light foot traffic but are sufficiently vigorous to become invasive in good conditions. P. pedunculata is native to eastern Australia; P. puberula to Tasmania.
Babies’ Tears (Solierolia solierolii) thrives wherever there is moist, well-drained soil and semi-shade in warm regions – another vigorous (potentially invasive) grower that tolerates light traffic.
Mondo grass and dwarf mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus, O.j. ‘Kyoto Dwarf’) tolerate light foot traffic and need moist, well drained soil in a sun – part-shade position.
Dymondia margaretae resembles a miniature mat-forming gazania and thrives in the same hot, dry conditions and full sun. Very hardy, ideal for temperate coasts and tolerates moderate-high foot traffic.
Snow-in-summer Cerastium tomentosum tolerates very light traffic in a hot, sunny, well-drained position.

Other Plants
Many plants have potential as lawn alternatives but have not been investigated or developed because the traditional turf lawn has been the automatic choice for so many and for so long. Yet any vigorous, spreading endemic groundcover that is hardy in your region without extra water, and which is tolerant of some foot traffic, could be an alternative that saves money, time, water… and even the environment. Why not experiment?

Herb lawns
Fragrant herb lawns such as prostrate thymes (T. serpyllum, T. pseudolanuginosus), low-growing yarrows (Achillea) and oreganos (O. vulgare ‘Aureum’, O. v. humile) need full sun and excellent drainage. Thymes and oreganos are lightly deciduous in cool climates but drought tolerant; most yarrows are almost evergreen in warm climates. All attract bees when flowering. The flower stems of yarrows can be mown (but the remaining short stalks hurt bare feet).
Chamomile lawns need full sun, good drainage and regular water. Choose the prostrate non-flowering form, Chamaemelum nobile ‘Treneague’, for best results.
Corsican mint (M. requienii) and prostrate forms of pennyroyal (M. pulegium) prefer more shade and moisture, and tolerate light foot traffic. Native mint (M. diemenica) is a little taller. Mints are deciduous for longer periods and are best suited to warmer regions.
Moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia) prefers damp shade. It is strongly deciduous in cool climates and, like yarrows, can be invasive – use with care!

Use with Extreme Caution!
The following plants are used as lawn substitutes in various parts of the world but beware: many are horrendously invasive in Australia. Periwinkle (Vinca), ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) and ivy (Hedera) are too vigorous for most home gardens in many regions. Frogwort (Phyla nodiflora, syn. Lippia nodiflora) makes an excellent lawn but is prohibited in some states and has invaded bushland. Rupturewort (Herniaria glabra) forms a beautifully dense carpet that’s evergreen in mild climates and tolerant of light foot traffic; it also self-seeds vigorously. Arctotis and Gazania have invaded many coastal and southern areas of Australia.