The best lawn alternative is one that replaces an intensive monoculture with a wider diversity of plants. The first question to ask is: "do I need a lawn, and why?" Because ultimately, diversity also means plants with different heights, often well above 4-6" in stature. Maybe it's time to let go of the lawn-type landscape and go with a short meadow garden that has far more ecosystem services to offer.
Learn more at monarchgard.com, which hosts jam-packed online classes and useful pocket garden guides on a wide range of sustainable landscape design subjects that empower and build confidence to garden with nature and not against it. There's also a self-paced design workshop that takes things to another level.
Monarch Gardens is a prairie-inspired design firm. It is managed by Benjamin Vogt, author of A NEW GARDEN ETHIC: CULTIVATING DEFIANT COMPASSION FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE, as well as PRAIRIE UP: AN INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL GARDEN DESIGN. Benjamin's work has been featured in The American Gardener, Dwell, Fine Gardening, The Guardian, Horticulture, Midwest Living, and the Wall Street Journal, as well as a variety of books including American Roots. He is a sought-after speaker on landscape ethics and natural design, combining dad jokes with passionate activism and practical advice to reprairie suburbia and unlawn America.
9 сен 2024
