The dream of many is to have that great green blanket at the bottom of their houses, the long-awaited lawn that covers everything and allows us to enjoy nature while savoring a delicious tea.
Unfortunately, not always the dream can become a reality, either due to inconveniences of the terrain, because the lawn is too expensive, because it requires a lot of care or it requires a large consumption of water.
The good news is that there are alternatives to grass that will allow the outdoor space to look very green.
Grass substitutes
There are some plants that grow sideways, they are ideal to cover the ground as they spread out and as they are low plants they do not interfere with the passage. In some cases they get a kind of very colorful carpet that makes them attractive and a good choice.
Some of the options are: Gazania, Dichondra repens, Santolina, Cerastio, Alison, Ajuga, Alternantera, Verbena, Limpia repens, Thyme, Cat's claw, Lion's claw, Lamprantus, Sedum, Creeping rosemary, Cotoneaster, Ivy, and some others.
They are known as upholstery plants and they need less water than grass.
Another plant widely used as a replacement for grass is the Mouse ear. Its official name is Dichondra repens and it is a strong green plant whose leaves are kidney-shaped. One of their advantages is that they consume little water, but the disadvantage is that in cold climates they turn brown.
There is also the Holland Clover, which forms a dense green mantle. In this case, your garden will look very green, although it is not recommended near swimming pools as it is slippery. In this case, some shrubs may be a better choice, especially those that grow to the sides and achieve the desired wallcovering effect.
The new trend
In recent years, it has been seen a lot to replace the lawn with a decoration made up of pine bark. Although the same effect is not achieved, they are beautiful and much easier to care for as they do not require abundant watering and are more resistant to the appearance of weeds. This also helps make it less necessary to have a good lawn mower, which will save us money in this type of investment for garden maintenance.
The negative aspect is that, although we save on the one hand, these bark are expensive and it is common for dirt and debris of flying leaves to accumulate on them.