Low-Maintenance Lawn Alternatives: Ground Cover

Scotch moss ground cover around pavers in a yard
Image: Kristen Rudger, landscape designer

If you want a yard that demands less time, money, and water, consider these low-maintenance lawn alternatives.

Americans have long had a soft spot for lawns. Turf grass covers nearly 47 million acres in the U.S., according to the Lawn Institute. But there's plenty that's not green about all that green:

If you're looking for an alternative, consider replacing some or all of your high-maintenance turf with ground covers that form walkable "carpets," and innovative grasses that require little or no water or mowing once established.

In turn, you'll:

  • Reduce the need for irrigation.
  • Stop washing harmful chemicals into the watershed.
  • Add depth and texture to your landscape.


Look for attributes that meet your needs: child-durable, deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, shade-loving. Mixing them up is not only aesthetically pleasing, it's also good for the landscape: Diversity increases resistance to pests and disease and reduces the need for fertilizer and pesticides. Here are some popular choices.

Creeping Perennials


Ground cover Characteristic
New Zealand Brass Buttons (Cotula squalida) Forms a mat.
Creeping Jenny (Convolvulus arvensis) Has an extensive root system that makes it quick to spread and tough to kill. That's OK if you're looking for tough, but a problem if it creeps where you don't want it.


Ground cover Characteristic

Creeping perennials cost $6 to $10 per plant. A 15-foot-by-20-foot area with plants two inches apart (for instant density) requires 300 plants. But if you're patient enough to wait a year or so for them to spread, you can buy fewer plants and space them 12 inches apart.



Low-growing clover doesn't need regular cutting, nor does it need fertilizer, but an occasional mow will encourage new growth and discourage bees. If you don't mind the bees, consider letting your clover bloom, which benefits the bees and the environment.



Laura Fisher Kaiser

Laura Fisher Kaiser

Laura Fisher Kaiser is a contributing editor to “Interior Design,” a former editor of “This Old House,” and has written for such titles as HGTV.com and “The Washington Post.” She and her husband have renovated their Folk Victorian in Washington, D.C. -- and lived to tell about it.