10 Ground Cover Plants to Replace Your Lawn

We removed our lawns in front and back yard in 2013. The city was offering cash to replace with drought-tolerant landscaping, so we had rules to follow. We selected mostly plants native to our region for front and back yards, and in the back, we also have raised beds for growing food. The native plants are growing beautifully, A couple didn't survive, but the ones that did are fantastic. We now see a lot more wildlife in our yards: birds, bees, butterflies, lizards, and other critters. It is so much more interesting than the lawn. We no longer need a gardener to mow and blow, and our water bill is a lot less.

Having lawns in arid deserts seems like such an impractical thing to do

I have an advantage in my state--in Maryland, it is now illegal for HOAs to mandate grass. Yes, you can turn in your own HOA if they try to penalize you for replacing your grass! But, no HOA was criteria 1 for me when house shopping. I've been experimenting on grass replacements for years: put in a veggie garden, let the wild violets take over, extended flower beds, sectioned off a wildflower area, etc. Experiment will continue next year.

My childhood home had a beautiful lawn (that the neighbors complained about non-stop) that was a mix of regular lawn grass, creeping charlies, white clover, red clover, violets, and moss. The bees absolutely loved it and I have fond memories of trying to find four leaved clovers in the summer when I was little. I'm not quite old enough to have a lawn of my own yet but I'm so excited to be able to create a lush, biodiverse ecosystem around my dream house :)

When we built out in the country, we simply left our "lawn" wild, as it was. That was 15 years ago and it's fascinating to see it change over the years.

Be careful with “wildflower” seed mixes if that’s your desired aesthetic. Lots of these contain invasive plants that shouldn’t be in the U.S. like Dame’s Rocket, Baby’s Breath, Cow Vetch, White and Yellow Sweet Clover, and Garlic Mustard

About 10ish years ago I convinced my dad to stop "mowing" the barely 6foot square of grass infront of our house. we live in a city; the rest of our house front is a car port; the concept of a lawn is ludicrous. So he dug out all the grass and we planted a plethora of random flowers, succulents, and small bushes around a couple big rocks. Within a few years, many people in the neighborhood followed suit either inspired or because they reached the same conclusion. Now I just need to find a solution to the neighborhood dog potty on the curb and I'd be set.

In Florida, I dug up my postage stamp sized patch of turf and planted a native ground cover called Sunshine Mimosa. It was a little work getting it established, but once it takes hold it's probably there to stay. It has touch-me-not leaves and the prettiest pink puffball flowers, right out of Horton Hears a Who. Lovely!

My "lawn" is all-volunteer. It was bare dirt when we bought the house, now it's full of clover, oxalis, mosses, and grasses depending on the amount of sun in the exact spot. We did absolutely nothing to the space and it's so pretty :)

Do NOT plant lilyturf. It is extremely invasive, due to its berries that attract birds to spread them. A nice alternative would be any native grasses in your area, such as longleaf woodoats for the southeastern US. Also a nice groundcover you missed is Woodsorrel!! It’s incredibly similar looking to clover, with a nice lemony taste. Woodsorrel is also exclusively native to the Americas.

Ground covers were just on my mind... I'm 74...and I do not want to go out there anymore mowing... My front lawn has been removed... NOW THE FUN BEGINS... YOUR INPUT WAS INVALUABLE TO GET MY IMAGINATION PRIMED...Thanks...indeed! 🙋🌹GA USA 👍 7-29-22

Sunshine mimosa is also a good native groundcover (native in FL at least) and perennial peanut (a nitrogen fixer that isn't as invasive as clover) is also. Certain cities have conservation laws where you can replace your lawn with native groundcovers and the HOA can't do anything about it (they might still try to so be sure to check your local laws.)

My favorite type of cover for areas like walkways is actually mint. It's edible and smells great when you walk through it. If you put a few plants together in partial shade they will spread rapidly.

I've always thought I'd do clover when I finally own some property, but these are also great options that I will consider!

Creeping Charlie, moss and wild strawberry grow by their own on my grass. Can't complain 😀

I hope I can do something like this to a house of my own in the future as someone who has a grass allergy. this has really opened my eyes to all the possibilities!

4:20 if you ground cover your yard area with clover be sure you or anyone living in the home isn't allergic to be stings and that you wear shoes when outside. Bees love clover and they love it all season long. Bees stings to the feet are highly possible with clover ground cover

Please don’t plant invasive ground covers. Your neighbors may resort to using Roundup when the Creeping Charlie spreads to their property. Many beautiful, noninvasive ground covers are available. I have zero grass and many types of thyme and sedum. Wild Strawberry “volunteered” on my yard last year; I love it, but I’ll do some research to make sure it isn’t a problem plant for my area.

I've had success planting Vinca Minor (Periwinkle Plant). It makes a thick mat, with dark green leaves, which grows only 3" tall (no need to mow). It spreads quickly. In the spring it produces pretty lavender flowers. It can grow in partial sun, partial shade, or full shade. I have it planted on the East side of the house, where it receives the morning sun and is shaded the rest of the day and it loves it there. Also, it is deer resistant. The only warning I am aware of is that it can be toxic to pets. Although, I don't know how much they would need to eat to become ill. I have both a dog and a cat and neither have been attracted to this plant.

Megan commented on letting the WILD VIOLETS take over... I have systematically left the violets and removed vegetation from around them season to season... And the expanded low growing Green carpet they make is fantastic!! NO MUSS /NO FUSS...🙋From steamy Georgia USA. 👍 7-19-22