Eco-friendly lawn alternative

Question: Hi, 
I recently moved into a house, and the front yard is pretty muddy and patchy with some grass this winter/spring. It’s also very uneven ground. I’d like to till, level and start fresh with some kind of new grass or clover or mix of different species, but I want it to be drought tolerant and good for the biodiversity of the yard. Ideally it would also be soft to walk on and hardy. I’m open to clover but I’ve heard it can create a monoculture and choke out vegetables. I read your article about drought tolerant lawns for Oregon, but I’m curious if someone can actually recommend a mix for me and tell me if any store or brand sells this pre-mixed or if I have to mix it myself?

Thanks!

Sincerely, 
Someone who knows nothing about lawns but is open to learning!

responder: Brian McDonald Replied March 27, 2023, 6:09 PM EDT
response: Hello Kenzie,   From your description, it sounds like an ecolawn might be a good choice for you. An ecolawn is simply a mix of different plants to reduce lawn maintenance. Notice, I didn't say eliminate lawn maintenance. The three key ingredients are a grass that is non aggressive (e.g., perennial ryegrass and/or hard fescue) so it doesn't take over, clover to provide nitrogen, and yarrow to provide more drought tolerance in the summer. Often other plants get added, like English daisy and flowers, but they are mostly for aesthetic reasons. These plants tend not to stick around for very long.  Locally, Protime Lawn Seed is a good place to purchase mixes of ecolawn seed. There may be other places on the internet where you can buy seed. I am sure you can buy the seed individually and mix them yourself as well.  https://ptlawnseed.com/collections/eco-and-alternative-lawns   Nichols Garden Nursery also sells a few mixes:  https://nicholsgardennursery.com/products/dryland-ecology-lawn-mix  I prefer the dryland mix as opposed to the northern mix because the northern mix has highland bentgrass that will dominate the stand and you will end up with a mostly bentgrass lawn.  The original ecolawn was developed by Tom Cook, Professor Emeritus, at Oregon State University. The combination that he developed is most closely mimicked by Fleur de lawn (PT 755). His mix only had perennial ryegrass as the grass but Protime has added a hard fescue and a sheep fescue to the original mix which should not cause any problems and may be helpful in some regards.  There are many different choices of seed mixes.  The important thing to understand about ecolawns is that you have to water it enough in the summer to keep the yarrow from wilting. The goal is to water as infrequently as you can to limit the growth of the lawn so you don't have to mow it as often. If you over water, you will have to mow it as frequently as a normal lawn.  Some of the problems include seeding all the different plants uniformly. Since the size of the seed varies so much, it can be difficult to seed each species evenly over the entire site. Some people have seeded by hand using a whirly bird seeder. This is one example.  Look up "Scotts Whirl Hand-Powered Spreader" on Amazon for an example.  Another problem is that if you get other broadleaf weeds in the lawn, you can't treat your lawn with a broadleaf herbicide because it will kill the clover and severely damage the English daisy, if present. And since you are not mowing your lawn much in the summer, the weed flower stalks will stick up above the lawn and look unsightly.  I don't know what you mean by "choke out vegetable" as I have never seen vegetable planted in a lawn setting. I have always seen them planted in a raised bed or a bed separated from the lawn.  As far as being "soft to walk on", that depends on how much you irrigate. If you don't irrigate enough, our clay soils in Oregon get very hard. If you keep your ecolawn watered adequately, it will be soft. The yarrow is very soft.  I hope this helps. Good luck.

responder: The Question Asker Replied April 18, 2023, 1:50 AM EDT
response: Hi Brian,Sorry it took me so long to respond, but thank you so much for the very thoughtful and detailed response you sent back! It was incredibly helpful and I’ll definitely be purchasing some seeds from one of the companies you listed.Thanks again!Best,Kenzie HarrisOn Mon, Mar 27, 2023 at 3:09 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote: