Just like politics, everybody talks about losing the lawn, but few propose practical and attractive alternatives. The best lawns to replace are at smaller homes, where the alternative must above all, take into consideration the needs of the resident user. That’s why this is the first of many examples I’ll be exploring in the coming months to help you better understand what to do in lieu of your lawn.
Here’s a great example of how the lawn can be phased out to create a series of smaller planting spaces amidst a field of pea gravel. This food and flower garden uses simple wood edging and natural soil, which is a far more economical than raised beds. You can still walk through it just as you could across the old lawn, so the change doesn’t interfere with your site-wide circulation. That makes this a really practical choice. This kind of layout with geometric beds in an attractive pattern is an old French idea known as a parterre.
