Alternatives to the Great American Lawn
Reaves M and Hedlund P. 2006. Alternatives to the Great American Lawn. Cultural Landscape Guidance Documents
This white paper was created by Sasaki Associates with support from a GreenRED grant. The topic of alternatives to conventional lawns is a recurring theme among Sasaki's landscape architects interested in sustainability. Traditional, high-input turf grass has been recognized for having the potential for negative environmental impacts, following from excessive water consumption, nutrient runoff, pesticide and herbicide use, and equipment emissions. There is an increasing need for alternatives to traditional turfgrass that requires reduced inputs of resources and labor. This report summarizes the current developments in low-output, low maintenance turfgrass and turfgrass alternatives to support Sasaki's designers attempting to incorporate these concepts into their work. Details of species composition, cultural requirements, maintenance regimes, and appearance of turf blends and meadow mixes are the focus of this report. These concepts and practices of turf management can be applied to turf in national park landscapes.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Reaves, Mark; Hedlund, Peter
- Date of Issue
- 2006-09
- Units
- CRPS
- Keywords
- Buffalo grass, CRSS, cultivar, Emissions, Environmental Impact, fescue, landscape design, lawn, native grass, Species Composition, Sustainability, Turfgrass