Conventional lawn is maintenance intensive, contributes to polluting runoff, carbon emissions,
and excessive water consumption, and provides few benefits and can even be harmful to
pollinators. Reducing lawn in favor of a diverse plant palette of native trees, shrubs, and
perennials and ground covers can transform our yards into an oasis for pollinators and other
wildlife. Lawn is best used for high traffic and play areas, pathways, and to help define and
showcase garden areas. Tolerance for “weeds and adoption of lower maintenance practices will
further reduce the environmental impact of lawns.
Here are some strategies to make our yards and lawns more climate-friendly and help reverse
loss of insects, birds, and other wildlife essential for healthy ecosystems.
Add native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants in layers to reduce lawn coverage, starting
with areas poorly suited for grass such as shade, slopes, and wet areas and consider making
room for growing fruits and vegetables. You can start small and expand over time.
Consider native sedges (Carex ssp) and fine fescues, which can provide a grass-like look,
tolerate moderate traffic, and be either mowed occasionally to 3 inches or not at all.
Reduce or eliminate use of herbicides and accept weeds in your lawn. Clover as a nitrogen
fixer will actually feed your grass while a mix of flowering weeds such as dandelions,
violets, and plantains will support pollinators and need less fertilizer to thrive.
Grasscycle—mulching grass clippings back into the soil—will add nutrients back into the
soil.
In the fall aerate to reduce compaction and overseed to cover bare spots and prevent soil
erosion. You can also mulch leaves with a mulching mower or add a top dressing of compost
to add more nutrients into the soil.
Allow cool season grasses to go dormant during the hot, dry months of summer rather than
watering.
Do a soil test before fertilizing and add only what is needed at the right time of year—fall is
best for cool season grasses. NEVER apply more than 3.5 pounds of nitrogen over a twelve-
month period, ideally with two to three applications and 30% to 50% water insoluble
nitrogen (to limit leeching).
For more information see:
Climate Friendly Gardening: Rethinking Your Lawn, Master Gardeners of Northern
Virginia, https://mgnv.org/climate-chang...
Turf Alternatives, Master Gardener Virtual Classroom, https://mgnv.org/mg-virtual-
classroom/bmp-class-video/turf-grass-alternatives-2020/
Lawn Alternatives, University of Maryland Extension,
https://extension.umd.edu/reso...
