Consider the following options… No Traffic. There are two types of plants that you can include in an edible landscape. “It’s a lawn you can sit on. They’re just fantastic.”. LessLawn.com : lawn alternatives and no mow yards Welcome to LessLawn, where you'll find information on lawn alternatives and no-mow yards to help you design a natural, soul-satisfying landscape. “It’s becoming more available, which shows the growers directly respond to what they can sell.”, Quokka population will take over a decade to fully recover from bushfire, The best meteor shower of the year is about to grace our skies, Tasmanian devils look set to conquer facial tumour disease, The Australian Antarctic Division needs tradies. green turf. Many Australians have that one tree in their backyard they have a lot of affection for. NATIVE AUSTRALIAN plants are currently experiencing a revival. Annuals, which include most common vegetables, need to be planted each year. Add some seaside plantings and a few pieces of driftwood. There are many ways in which to expand patios to provide seating as well as containers for growing your favorite vegetables, fruits or flowers. “They’re all large flowers, they don’t have prickly leaves, they flower all year round, they love warmer weather but they grow in Melbourne as well. Bye-Bye, Lawn: Four Great Alternatives to Grass Landscaping Give your mower—and nature—a break with these alternatives to turf. There are two types of plants that you can include in an edible landscape. Explore and create with these great experiments! Edible Backyard is a series of gardening workshops run from Kath Irvine’s permaculture home garden. The principle behind a rain garden is that it is a place to hold water while slowly releasing it into the soil. Stones are also common elements of Japanese gardens. Have you ever wondered why we fertilize our yards and spray our grass with harmful chemicals that will make it grow faster and fuller and then gripe about the fact that we have to mow it again? Lawn Alternatives. It’s better suited to smaller areas. Cuddle a little piece of Australia with our soft toy range. Deva Luna works for a sustainable landscape contractor, EarthCare Landscaping, in Cupertino, California, and loves to replace lawns with native plants. PLUS receive a gift. Also, you don’t need to fertilise them and you don’t need to spend so much time and money on mowing.”, Native violets (Viola banksii) are the most unexpected lawn alternatives. ), which she says, loves a hot climate, as long as it has adequate water, and has one of best-smelling flowers around spring time. Better known as a flavor than as a ground cover plant, both the leaves and the red berries of wintergreen are edible and have a unique taste that can be added to teas or recipes. In shady sites, try bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix) or the grass-like Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica). Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Be sure to check with your local homeowner's association before replacing your existing traditional lawn — many areas have requirements and guidelines for what you can do in the front yard. ... Small white flowers will bloom in the spring, followed by red edible – but not tasty – berries. Some groundcovers are edible, such as strawberries or low-growing herbs. ), another eucalypt Karen recommends, only grows 3–5 metres tall, and it takes a long time for it to get to five metres. Typically, lawn alternatives are more suitable for low–traffic areas where the plants won’t get trampled on too heavily, or to fill the gaps between pavers, a role in which they excel. Blue Star Creeper. Also known as foodscaping or front-yard farming, edible landscaping is considered a type of landscaping in which most areas of a lawn on private or public property are used to grow food. Oregano. Garden designer Karen Sutherland of Edible Eden Design specialises in both ornamental and edible native plants perfect for your garden. Hi all. Instead of switching to organic lawn care, some might want to get rid of their lawn altogether. Rain gardens can up to 30 or 40% more than a grass lawn. A team of researchers has found a novel way to keep foxes away from 20 precious bandicoots introduced into a Victorian conservation reserve last month. A visit to your local garden center can provide a lot of good ideas. Required fields are marked *. Perennials, which include items such as blueberries, strawberries or rhubarb, will grow and produce … Founded 2001 by Evelyn J. Hadden So, here, we look back on the winning images from the past decade. Many Australians have that one tree in their backyard they have a lot of affection for. By capturing clean rainwater from the driveway, roof and sidewalks and diverting it into an attractive rain garden where it can slowly filter contaminants and soak into the ground, you will help the environment by reducing the amount of runoff that runs into our waterways and public sewer systems. One of the most popular species being the the coastal rosemary (Westringia fruticosa), which sprouts dainty, white flowers. Clover grows quickly, suppresses weeds, enriches the earth and aerates the soil with a deep root system. What’s the damage? Many also grow well in shady areas. By Su Byron and Marty Fugate 10/1/2019 at … For one person, a dandelion may represent an ugly nuisance: a blemish on an otherwise perfectly manicured lawn. Growing your own food allows you to choose what pesticides, herbicides and insecticides you use. Swap it for an interactive adventure garden or convert it to a low-maintenance living carpet. Look at this proud little guy. Tall fescues are coarser, drought tolerant and provide a … Both nurseries and florists have spotted the trend and are offering us more to choose from. Dichondra and is another alternative lawn option, which fits perfectly around stone tiles and paths, and like the native violets, needs very little water. “You can use it to make a tea, put it in different salsas, salads, place sprigs in cocktails and jugs of water. “People think gum trees and eucalypts are all really large but they’re not. ... yards where edible plants—vegetables and fruit-bearing trees and shrubs—replace a portion of turf. A handful of trims a year, depending on the plants and site, will suffice. Nitrogen that is produced naturally through the use of clover is much less likely to leach from the soil then synthetic fertilizers. 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