To lawn or not to lawn
When designing residential landscapes, the most contentious conversation we have with clients is..... to lawn or not to lawn? Our response is usually a series of questions around your desired end use and your appetite for maintenance, your upfront investment paired with ongoing costs to your wallet and the environment.
Let’s unravel the thinking behind the traditional lawn and overlay the realities of living with the idyllic backyard cricket pitch.
We like to chew through the home’s priorities and desires and often ask a lot of questions.
Why do you need/want a lawn?
Do you have a dog?
Perhaps it’s a nostalgic link to the ¼ acre section. Do you want the end use to be simply an aesthetically pleasing open space or do you desire a place for the kids and dogs to be active?
Do you enjoy mowing or have a passion and desire to maintain your lawn?
Is it for the dog or children?
Do you have allergy sufferers in the household?
Or do you simply believe that a lawn equals low maintenance?
Lastly, do you have a dog? Have we already asked that?
If the answer is non-negotiable - I must have a lawn then let’s look at the options.
A beautiful well maintained lawn is absolutely achievable and a joy to walk on. Like a fabulous valeted car it can’t be rushed. The job must be researched and prepared well, installed with accuracy and maintained routinely. It’s an investment of love. Many find an investment in lawn pride cathartic and partner with experts to ensure a great looking manicured green space.
If that’s your cuppa tea then here’s a few tips in choosing lawn types for your ecology.
But first, installation
For a long term even finish make sure adequate drainage, irrigation and appropriate and ample quality soil is pre prepared. Ideally enlist the help of a landscaper or installer with the right know how and equipment.
We prefer a ready lawn type product or wool grow to produce an even consistent spread of foliage. These do require time to establish, so you’ll need to embrace a don’t touch approach before you can truly use it.
Using seeds is the most cost effective solution but does require a skill to spread evenly and a level of endurance to regularly fill spots from the birds who think it’s a grass seed buffet.
Timing is also key so avoid establishing a lawn in the extremes of winter and summer.
Tall Fescue Enviro: Mow longer, up to 50mm
The leaf texture of Tall Fescue is rather coarse compared to other turf grasses. This means that it stays greener in dry summer periods and tolerates higher temperatures.
Improved wear tolerance
Needs less water than ryegrasses
Rhizomatous and will recover easily from any setback
Coarser leaf than ryegrasses
Medium to dark colour
Needs less mowing
Superfine – The General lawn
Superfine has 2 grass types, Browntop and Fescue. These complement each other, showing a lovely soft fine texture.
One of the best all-round turf lawns
Good wear characteristics
Medium drought tolerance
Prefers reel mower with weekly mowing in summer
Can be groomed to perfection
Fescue – The Connoisseur’s lawn
The finest textured grass available that has a uniformed lush, deep green colour.
Can be maintained completely weed-free of broadleaf and grass weeds including poa annua
Slower-growing
Mow with reel or well-set rotary
Performs best if scarified each year
Lush deep green colour
Bermuda Grass, Cynodon Dactylon, “Couch”
This is the future for low input turf. Bermuda is a warm season grass, extremely hardy and requires less water and fertiliser than other grasses. It’s the grass most municipal sports fields use. Garden borders are a must, as couch spreads, so you need to define its boundaries . It’s a great grass for a coastal style garden.
Excellent drought tolerance
Less water and fertiliser requirements than other grasses
Perfect for coastal or hot dry environments
Goes dormant in winter, losing its green colour
Excellent wear tolerance
The best for pet/pee recovery
Ryegrass
Hardy ryegrass is a good choice for lawns exposed to frost and high foot traffic. It tolerates partial shade and full sun. Ryegrass helps to deal with compact soil as the roots break down and aerate the soil which improves water drainage during periods of heavy rain. It’s quick to establish and a highly competitive grass species that chokes out weeds.
Mow with a rotary or reel mower
Excellent wear resistance and damage repair
Perfect for high activity areas, kids and pets
Medium drought resistance
Perfect for sports grounds, berms
Alternatively there are some fabulous modern solutions to creating an open recreational space fit for purpose and location.
Creative Solutions
No mow
If you have a shady site where a lawn may struggle to be consistent in colour and health consider a no mow lawn using one of New Zealand's many native ground covers. Once established the lawn takes little to keep it lush and feels lovely underfoot.
Synthetic Lawns
Synthetic lawns have come a long way in the last few years and often they are hard to tell apart. Introducing pavers and planted borders beds in your lawn will give it more of a naturalistic feel.
Limestone Hoggin
Hoggin compacted lime stone free draining and permeable
Mixed media
One of our favourites is lava stone, hoggin and mixed loose planting that can create a textural open active areas, suitable to bean bag seating, kicking a ball around or putting your trampoline on (with your plan b already in place for when the trampoline retires).
Lawn comparison
As Landscape Designers, we can appreciate the beauty and utility of the variety of ground planes available to us which means we don’t have one preference over another. However we do lean more towards solutions that are water savvy, minimal on maintenance and beneficial to your ecology. Ultimately the choice is yours. How do you see your landscape adding to your wellbeing and your properties value?
