Favourite no-mow growing 'lawn'

I live in Massachusetts.  Lots of buzz about clover and mint lawns here.  Creeping thyme is another good option.  

We're experiencing a VERY wet summer here - also very hot at the moment.  Typically, we wind up droughty this time of year.  So any plant that wants to be my lawn has to tolerate a wide range of conditions.  I suppose that's going to be true for most of us with things as they are in terms of climate fluctuation.

What else have you all tried that you really like?  

I don't want to mow a blessed thing anymore if I don't have to.  Zone 2, okay if it's once or twice a season.  I live on a big place (almost 300ac) where livestock and wildlife can take care of a lot of the land, and about 5ac set aside for the people who live here.

My boys are growing up, and my partner and I are now in our 50s.  We'll be grandparents come Christmas, so lots of little folk (we hope) to come and play over the coming years.  Can still do a lot but prefer to spend our time more wisely.

So, let's hear what you like for a living 'lawn' that isn't grass.

My favorite no-mow lawn would be made of these three native grasses:

Low-growing native grasses like these conservation grasses.  Buffalograss, Curly Mesquite, and Blue Grama.  Planting these three together might work.

Hello Nissa,

I am in the same area and I have noticed that some native species in my lawn are quite prolific groundcovers, despite never being planted or maintained. Various native species of cinquefoil and violets are the main candidates. Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia) is an excellent native plant that is adaptable, prolific, beautiful, edible, and tasty. It is one of my favorite plants to harvest salad greens, and the flowers are also delicious. It thrives in a mowed environment, and will likely thrive in a minimally mowed environment. Although I would caution that it can probably be outcompeted by taller natives and/or non-natives with no mowing at all, if it is not established yet in a particular area. However, it can do so quite rapidly. Common Cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex), is another native plant that is very adaptable, although I do not know of any edible uses for this species. It is very good for spreading outwards by runners. These two species also combine very well in my lawn, both providing pleasant flowers for pollinators.
Hope this helps!

Eric S.

Eric Silveira wrote:Hello Nissa,

<snip> Common Cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex), is another native plant that is very adaptable, although I do not know of any edible uses for this species. It is very good for spreading outwards by runners. These two species also combine very well in my lawn, both providing pleasant flowers for pollinators.
Hope this helps! <snip>

Eric S.

Cinquefoil is a member of the rose family and so is likely to be styptic (slightly) and definitely astringent.  It's also used in treating PMS and dysmenorrhea.  Apparently all parts are edible, so it's dead useful.  Prefers alkaline soils to acid ones, so not fond of being where most annual veggies are also.

Violets are prolific here at our place, which is nice.  I agree, they're lovely tasting.  They're also medicinal, so that's good.

Thanks!  

That's good to know about Cinquefoil! I will have to make more use of them now.

It is also fascinating to hear about the medical implications of Cinquefoil based on its family, I was unaware that the rose family shared such medicinal properties, especially due to its large size. However, I am happy to learn otherwise!

Thanks,
Eric S.

I’ve seen some pretty cool moss lawns in high rainfall areas.  I think they need plenty of shade to suppress the grass.