Beautiful No-Mow Yards is just what American gardeners need. And you can win it right here

In the last year or so, we're hearing that there are better uses for our land than turfgrass, that unless it's needed for sport or play, you can save on resources and probably your labor, too, by switching to an array of alternatives - meadows, vegetable gardens, native grasse, and so on. 

All good!  Well, mostly good - because that well-intentioned advice isn't easy to actually implement, without a LOT more information.  Which groundcovers? Which native grasses - and native to where, anyway?  How much do the alternatives cost, can they be walked on, and how much work does it really take to maintain them?

My mixed reviews of much of the lawn-free cheering has me wildly cheering the thoroughly researched and honestly reported definitive book about reducing or eliminating lawns by Evelyn Hadden.  Beautiful No-Mow Yards contains exactly the kind of info that's needed, and its gorgeous photographs (most by Evelyn and the wonderful Saxon Holt, too) are deeply inspirational to anyone looking to make their yards more interesting, more beautiful, and more wildlife-friendly.

Meet Evelyn

Readers of GardenRant are no strangers to this subject (see the many stories in our Lawn Reform category), but may not be familiar with the author.  Well, Evelyn is THE original lawn reformer, having written Shrink Your Lawn and created the Less Lawn website back in 2001.  She's a pioneer whose cause has caught on.

What's in Beautiful No-Mow Yards

• Photos and stories about gardens sunny and shady, flat and hilly, a "shockingly simple meadow garden", a "patio for pennies", rain gardens, edibles, ponds, terraces, hellstrips and more.
• "Smarter lawns" using fine fescue mixes, carexes, and other low-resource grass types, including where each type works best and what it takes to install and maintain them.
• Real gardeners and the truth about their attempts to replace their lawns, failures and all. 
• How-to chapters for killing the lawn, designing alternatives, and maintaining them.
• An illustrated guide to groundcovers by type.

Here's Evelyn's quick video introduction to the book.

Just one more photo from the book for now (more coming this afternoon, I hope), and a confession.  That's my garden on the cover!  And in the photo on the left, both by Saxon Holt.  (Though I suppose I should start saying "former garden," since I sold it three weeks ago. Sigh.)

Plus, I wrote the foreward, happy to help in any way I could because this book is soooo needed. 

So I feel like the proud aunt to Evelyn's baby. Her beautiful, superbly written baby.  Great job!

WIN THIS BOOK
Just leave a comment about lawns or alternatives thereto, and I'll choose one at random.  Entries close Friday at midnight Eastern.

Comments

[Carole]

Nibbling away at my lawn and replacing with natives.

[Kristi]

My lawn is gradually shrinking but I need more ideas about how to extend the process.

[DeborahB]

This book sounds terrific. I have removed many feet of lawn in our current place and the previous home. My current favorite method is to put down 6 or 7 sheets of newspaper right over the grass, and cover it with mulch. Some weeding is needed at first, especially if you don't overlap the newspaper sections much, but it really works. You can plant some things right away, especially shrubs and larger plants. Much easier than digging up all that sod.

[Deirdre]

By the time I'm done, the only lawn left will be grass paths.

[HCE]

About 10 years ago, I realized that my least favorite task in the yard was mowing the lawn So, I assigned that job to my oldest son. Several years later, he passed the job to a younger brother. About 3 years ago, I realized that my youngest son (who inherited the lawn mowing job from son number two) was soon heading to college. I've systematically been reducing the size of the lawn and replacing it with plants my wife and I enjoy. Need to hurry up...this is my last summer of discounted labor!

[Lisa]

I would like a beautiful green space that isn't dirt and isn't lawn. Looks like there are plenty of ideas in this book.

[Nell Jean]

I'm getting there, one clump of Gulf Muhly at a time.

[Sue]

Our yard is beach sand. We have been gradually diminishing the part of it that is lawn needing mowed. I would love some more ideas to speed that process along.

[Karen B.]

I surely need this book! I don't have much grass, but my "garden" yard looks more like "jungle" than "garden." Or maybe "weed patch." I need help!

[Eli]

Look forward to the book..so i can get my folks off of gas guzzlin monthly lawn care costs..

[Cindy @ enclos*ure]

This looks like a really useful book (and your garden is beautiful). Pls. include me in the drawing.

[Sue]

I have a tiny front yard with patches of weeds. Not very pretty but green. I'd love ideas for alternatives.

[julianna]

i have been plotting against the grass - taking it out stealthily by putting in an area of native flowers here, 5-7 shrubs that will grow into each other, there, vegetable garden over there, squash patch over here.. have realized that i haven't really made a master plan though.. it looks like a great book, congrats!

[Tami]

Can't wait to see more!

[Oriole K]

Can't tell you how many newspapers I have used over the years as first step in banishing our lawn. The only problem is that grass clippings are my husband's most prized and most easily obtainable mulch for his splendid vegetable beds.

[Chris N]

We have been slowly getting rid of our lawn since we moved into our house 16 years ago. First, half the back yard became prairie garden. It is now savanna garden because the bur oak we planted has grown up. Then gardens in the side yards. Next the small front yard went. We made berms and paths using the soil from the new patio area (Which removed lawn and replaced it with permeable pavers.) We are on a corner lot and have a lot of terrace (hell strip) area. That is turning to garden year by year. We are going to contact the city about putting in a rain garden in part of our terrace. That will get rid of some more lawn. My ultimate goal is to have a patch of perfect lawn about six feet in diameter that I can trim with sheep shears and weed by hand and that contains only lawn grasses, white clover and a few violets. No creeping charlie, plantain or dandelions. Oh, and maybe some scilla for the spring. A few crocuses would be ok, too. Why do I want the book? We are not done yet and can always use some more ideas!

[Lisa-St. Marys ON]

It looks like a fantastic book! Please send it to me! It is just what I need, since I don't own a lawn mower.

[Judith Layman]

My husband and I live on three acres in rural western Maryland. I've been cultivating--organically, vegetables, small fruits, native perennials and grasses (many grown from seed)--about 1/2 of the land for 20 years. There's still an acre field with the grass and weed mix that was here when we bought it, and it includes the pernicious bull thistle, which my husband tries to dig up by the root each year. A very large, curvilinear ornamental garden, becoming a bit too much for me to keep up, covers most of our "back yard."

I would be happy to peruse Evelyn's book and discover more suggestions (if she offers them) for large properties.

[CEN]

Do so need the inspiration for my little mulch yard-- we took out the grass last year.

[Cindy S.]

I have a vegetable garden in a large part of my front yard. The rest is just mowed weeds. I had to give up watering the grass years ago for lack of time. Now, it would be very hard to keep it alive because of water restrictions. This looks like a great book.

[Jean]

What a beautiful book. I live in the country, lots of grass to eliminate, would be a great challenge. When grass is not grass its called pasture, but I still have plenty to work with.

[emily]

The book looks awesome. I have very little lawn and less all the time. The big challenge is convincing other people to get rid of most or all of their lawn.

[Sonia]

Heh, like Carri, I am also slowly and nonconsensually replacing the grass in our front yard with no-mow options. Some guidance & inspiration would be awesome!

[Risa]

We are in the process of converting our tiny urban front yard from 100% lawn to a mixture of shrubs, a small tree, perennials, ferns, bulbs, etc. Each year I just make the perimeter a bit bigger. It's been a lot of fun so far, and, in spite of a few mistakes, it's going really well.

Would love the book!

[Ann]

My lawn gets smaller every year and I'm sure I could get rid of some more grass with inspiration from this book.