PBS News Hour – Some people are experimenting with more “eco-friendly” lawns, seed mixes you can buy with native grasses that aren’t as thirsty or finicky. Still others are trying to replace lawns, entirely or bit by bit, with garden beds including pollinator-friendly and edible plants.
America is unique in its fixation on the monoculture lawn and our English inheritance is our own little tidy green space. Drought, crashing insect populations, and other environmental problems are highlighting the need for more kinds of plants in spaces large and small.