Ditch the “Grow-Mow-Blow” Mentality of Lawn Care With These Expert Tips

Bay Area landscape designer and horticulturist John Greenlee of Greenlee and Associates wants us to ditch our lawns and lose the "grow-mow-blow" mentality—the conventional approach to lawn care, which relies on toxic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and no small amount of gasoline. "Millions of pounds of chemicals are put down on American lawns every single year," says Greenlee.

But that doesn’t mean he wants us to abandon grass altogether. Nicknamed "the Grassman," Greenlee, who has published several books on the subject, champions a wider and more native palette of grasses, species that evolved to thrive in specific climates. It’s an ecological and aesthetic shift from turf to meadow.

"We often forget nature paints the landscape in a hundred shades of green," he says. "Maybe we just need to adjust our garden palette to include softer greens, subtle gray-blues, and even blondes and browns with the finer textures."

Greenlee has brought this vision to life across California. At the ranch of Nancy and Tony Lilly in the hills of Sonoma, an area plagued by drought and fires, he struck a balance between beauty and resiliency with a water-wise meadow-garden. Its naturalistic layers sway with the mere suggestion of a breeze, with low lying plants and flowers interspersed among grasses. Pollinators buzz and flutter, birds inquisitively visit, drawn by a coterie of insects that find safety within its hospitable diversity. It is vigorously alive, whereas a lawn or a xeriscaped gravel garden dampens life’s presence.

"A water-wise garden can be more than a cactus garden or a rock garden," says Greenlee. The diversity of life above and underground means his gardens can thrive without soil amendments or pesticides and can sustain themselves with only a modest amount of supplemental watering once established. To prevent the landscape from drying out and becoming flammable here in Sonoma, some strategic irrigation is required during the hottest months.

The meadow-lawn feels right at home in the hills of Sonoma County. "It’s an opportunity to wear regionalism on your sleeve," says Greenlee. "It’s like architecture—we should be celebrating regionalism in our garden, not trying to deny it."

Dwell: What if your meadow-lawn doesn’t receive much water?

John Greenlee: What’s unique about grasses is they respond to how much water they’re given. If you keep your garden dry, the grasses aren’t going to grow very large. In that case, you’ll want to plant them closer together or it will look spotty.

How do you traverse the meadow?

Nancy Lilly: John designed the meadow with a meandering path of a low, slow-growing Carex Panza through it. This only grows about 12 inches high if not mowed, but we mow it to a couple of inches every month or so. It is soft underfoot and the grandchildren enjoy the adventure.

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