How many hours every week do you mow the lawn? How much fuel to you go through to mow your lawn? Do you enjoy all of the noise that comes from mowers? Your neighbours’ mowers? If you’ve ever had doubts of doing away with the traditional lawn in favour of something lower maintenance, more colourful or better than the environment, know that you have our full support! This blog debunks the many myths about going no-mow on your yard.
No-Mow Lawns Take Too Much Time to Maintain
This one can’t be further from the truth. In the peak of the growing season, we watch our neighbours haul out the lawnmower weekly spending well over an hour mowing and whipper snipping a modest size lawn (for reference, we’re talking about two 30’ x 30’ lawns). This time doesn’t include other maintenance like regular weeding to keep the space looking prim and proper. Meanwhile, as our gardens have grown, we spend roughly 20 minutes each week pulling the odd weed - and this number is shrinking as our live mulches fill in year after year. Depending on if you opt for a varied perennial garden or complete lawn replacement in the form of a low-growing, green ground cover, you can plan to have as much or as little weekly and seasonal maintenance as you like.
Grass Alternatives Aren’t Functional
Our co-founders set out to go grassless when their children were young and with a large dog tearing up the yard routinely. The grass wasn’t holding up to their needs and expectations! While it’s true that not all ground covers are created equally, we’ve found that there are plenty of durable plants that can tolerate high traffic and weather of all conditions. White Clover, Creeping Jenny and Stonecrop are some of our favourites and can stand their ground even after years of abuse.
Grassless Lawns are Unattractive
We suppose this one is a subjective point, but we would argue that there are ALOT of unattractive, poorly maintained grassy lawns out there begging for some love! Beauty is ultimately in the eye of the beholder. A no-mow lawn doesn’t imply a single aesthetic: if a lawn of low, green plantings is the look you’re going for, plant something like clover. If you like a little seasonal colour, combine ground covers such as flowering mother-of-thyme, stonecrop and mosses. Want to attract pollinators and experience more movement and life in the garden? Pair shrubs with flowering perennials. With so many combinations available, why not do a trial run on a small strip of the yard to see what you’ve been missing out on.
The environmental benefits of going no-mow will take a blog of their own, but to name a few: Well planned no-mow lawns of course require no mowing, cutting down dramatically on air and noise pollution; no-mow lawns require little to no additional watering once established, even during droughts if plantings are well planned; no-mow lawns promote biodiversity… and the list goes on. Between those sustainability perks, more time to yourself and the space you’ll save by not owning a lawnmower and accessories, not to mention the long-term savings of reduced maintenance requirements, this is a movement we think everyone should try!
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