When many think of a basic landscape design, one of the first elements that often comes to mind is grass. Grass is a foundation for many landscapes, serving as a baseline that allows for numerous other options around it – but what if your yard or landscape area doesn’t offer grass as an option or you’re interested in designing a landscape without it?
At Lawn Care Experts, we’re proud to provide numerous landscaping services, ranging from lawn maintenance and numerous areas of lawn care to several other prominent landscaping themes. If you’re not interested in grass or your landscape isn’t suitable for it for some reason, what are your options for a beautiful landscape? This two-part blog series will go over the varied landscaping elements that you should be considering in addition to grass, plus look into general themes for those who have no grass or very limited grass on their property.
Common Landscaping Elements
There are several different components that might make up a given landscape depending on your property qualities, desires and budget. They include:
- Grass: In numerous types, sizes and themes.
- Trees and shrubs: Will vary widely depending on your area.
- Flower gardens: Often involving both perennials and annuals.
- Mulch or ivy: These ground cover options are ideal for both adding texture and protecting soil.
- Fences: For a combination of property boundary marking, privacy and aesthetics.
- Lighting: Often involving spotlights, smaller fixtures or others that both light the area at night and draw attention to certain themes.
- Walkways, benches, gazebos: Hardscape elements that help define the space.
- Terraces, decks or patios: Structural elements that help utilize slopes and make way for hosting guests.
- Water features: From ponds or rivers to waterfalls and other advanced options.
As you can see, there are numerous elements at your disposal here beyond your grass. So if grass either isn’t possible or isn’t desirable in your landscape, here are several broad theme areas for moving forward anyway.
Shaded Yard Themes
One of the reasons grass isn’t an option for some landscapes: There’s too much shade blocking it from being able to grow properly. You could still utilize grass, but you’ll regularly deal with yellowing and other related issues because it does not get enough sunlight, even if you water it properly.
In these cases, it’s best to define your landscape using plants that do well in the shade. Here are a few good options that have attractive foliage, plus additional elements:
- Tall plants: Taller options like the astilbe, Japanese painted fern and others will lend some vertical spacing to the landscape.
- Native plants: At your local nursery, ask for native forest-dwelling plants that can grow in your area. These will be adapted to growing in shade and will usually require limited or no maintenance.
- Low-lying groundcover: There are various plants that don’t get taller than 18 inches or so, ideal for covering bare soil where grass otherwise would.
- Paths or seating: A shaded yard is ideal for sitting and relaxing, use hardscape elements to create pathways and seating options.
For more on how to design a landscape without grass, or to learn about any of our landscaping services or lawn maintenance themes, speak to the staff at Lawn Care Experts today.