The Lawn Alternatives section of the Palo Alto Demo Garden demonstrates new or replacement plantings for conventional high-water-use sod lawns. It includes options such as turf for kids and pets to play on, groundcovers for low-foot-traffic areas, and grasses for creating meadows. The lawn alternatives have been selected to showcase plants that use less water, less fertilizer, and have lower maintenance than conventional lawns.
Explore these plants in more depth: Lawn Alternatives
Lawns
Smooth, mowable surfaces for kids and pets to play on
- Agrostis pallens/Native Bentgrass: a year-round green native grass, takes full sun to part shade
- Bolero Plus™: a year-round green fescue and bluegrass blend, takes sun to part shade
- Buchloe dactyloides/California Buffalograss: a green native grass that browns in winter, takes full sun to 50% shade
- Latitude 36™: a green, hybrid, no-seedhead Bermuda grass that browns in winter, takes sun to part shade
Groundcovers
Walkable, low-growing surfaces with little or no mowing for rock gardens, stone walkways, and large areas. Besides these below, there are many other choices including creeping mint, creeping thyme, chamomile, moss, and many thyme varieties.
- Dymondia margaretae/Silver Carpet: a durable, evergreen, slow-spreading groundcover, takes sun to light shade
- Fragaria vesca/Woodland Strawberry: an evergreen low-growing herb, takes full shade to full sun
- Lippia nodiflora/Kurapia®: an evergreen, mowable, creeping plant, takes full sun to part shade
- Thymus pseudolanuginosus/Wooly Thyme: a gray-green low mat, takes full sun
Meadow Grasses
High-growing grasses and fescues for a meadow-like landscape on flat to hillside areas. Takes very low to no foot traffic.
- Carex praegracilis/Meadow Sedge ‘Chisai’: an evergreen, California native grass that can be mowed or left unmowed, takes sun and part shade
- Festuca glauca/Blue Fescue: a gray-blue bunchgrass, takes full sun to light shade
- Festuca rubra ‘Molate’/Creeping Red Fescue: an evergreen, California native bunchgrass that can be mowed or left unmowed, takes sun and part shade
- Native Mow Free™: a green California native fescue grass blend that can be mowed or left unmowed, takes 50% shade and 50% sun
