How to Landscape a Yard Without Grass

How to Landscape a Yard Without Grass?

Landscaping is a great way to bring life into your home and boost your curb appeal — which consequently increases your home’s market value. Well-maintained grass is the foundation of a good landscape, creating a lush green look that livens up a dull yard.

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t landscape if your yard is short on grass. The first step to landscaping a yard without grass is pinpointing why you can’t grow grass in the first place. The most common causes include: 

• Your yard is too shaded and doesn’t get enough sun to support the growth of greeneries
• The soil quality is poor, lacks nutrients, or is not suitable for the type of plants you’re growing
• Your yard is drought-tolerant

For each of these common issues with yards that can’t grow grass, we list some tips on how you can go about your landscaping efforts. 

Tips to Landscape a Shaded Yard

Shaded yards can’t grow regular grass because of the lack of sunshine to support its growth. If your yard is located in an area that doesn’t get too much sun, you have the option to choose plants that don’t require regular sunlight. There are a variety of shade-loving plants you can plant in your yard, such as: 

• Red-Twig Dogwood: Shade-tolerant red branches with rich green foliage. Its height makes it suitable as a border plant. 
• Climbing Hydrangea: A climbing vine that can grow as much as 60 feet long. It’s best grown beside structures like walls and fences. 
• Northern Sea Oats: Ornamental grass that can grow 2 to 5 feet tall, which can be used to fill bald areas on your landscape. 
• Fine Fescue Lawn Grasses: Turf-type grass that can grow in shady areas. This can serve as your ground cover.  
• Other native plants: Look for forest-dwelling plants in your area that are low maintenance and can grow in shade. 

When landscaping a shaded yard, add some shade-loving greeneries for your groundcover, paths, sitting areas, etc. It’s also good to add a mix of low-lying plants, taller plants, native plants, as well as those with attractive foliage. 

Tips to Landscape a Yard With Poor Soil

There are different classifications of soil, and your soil type dictates what kind of plants you can grow in your yard. The reason you can’t grow anything in your yard is probably that you’re growing the wrong plants for your soil type or your soil is low on nutrients. Try growing perennials that aren’t sensitive to soil type and health. There are a lot of plants that can grow even on poor soil, such as: 

• BlackJack Sedum: An easy-to-grow plant that thrives well in poor soil. It can grow up to 3 feet tall and blossom with flowers up to 8 inches wide. They do well in partial shade but thrive better in sunlight. They create a very good accent for your yard. 
• Bleeding Hearts: An accent plant that will add a romantic aura to your landscape, bleeding hearts are heritage plants that can grow 6 inches to 2 feet tall and prefer shaded areas for growth. They thrive well even in poor soil. 
• Gaillardia Fanfare: Despite being suited for poor soil, this plant can grow unique and brilliantly colored blossoms. They can grow up to 2 feet in height and require lots of sunlight. 
• Lenten Roses: These grow well in poor soil, heat, drought, humidity, and cold. They can grow up to 2 feet tall even in shaded areas, making them a good option for landscape borders. 
• Oregon Grape: Ideal to use as a hedge or tall border in your yard, these plants can grow 2 to 4 feet tall and grow shiny, lush green leaves. They also grow small white flowers in the summer that turn into berries. 
• Periwinkle: A plant with leafy stems and star-shaped blossoms in the colors of blue, pink, and white. They are great for creeping ground cover since they spread across the ground instead of growing up. They also prefer shaded areas and can thrive in poor soil. 

Tips to Landscape a Drought-Tolerant Yard

If you live in an area that is extremely dry and doesn’t get enough rain, your priority is to conserve as much water as you can. There are ways you can save water while maintaining your landscape. One is through xeriscaping techniques. 

Xeriscaping for Drought-Tolerant Yards

Xeriscaping is the act of prioritizing water efficiency in landscaping. It is a technique that’s suitable for drought-prone areas, helping achieve a flourishing landscape with the littlest use of water possible. 

You can conduct xeriscaping techniques to effectively conserve water and help your landscape thrive in drought-prone areas. Here are some ways you can get started. 

• Amend the soil and work with compost and organic matter to improve the soil’s ability to retain water.
• Mulch the plants to keep moisture in the soil and slow down evaporation.
• Select the right plants that can withstand drought conditions, such as cacti, succulents, ornamental grasses, and inorganic mulch. 
• Group the plants according to similar water needs to program your irrigation system more efficiently.
• Reduce turf grass, which coincidentally reduces the need for frequent watering. 
• Water in the morning when it is cooler and there’s a lesser chance for evaporation. 
• Install a moisture-sensing device that automatically turns the sprinklers on only when the soil is dry.
• Get rid of weeds that can compete with the plants for moisture.

American Landscapes Can Help Bring Life Into Your Yard Without Grass

American Landscapes has a landscape design and installation service where we create a vivid landscape that will add value to your home and boost your curb appeal. Whether we’re working with yards with or without grass, our top architects and designers can deliver the most beautiful landscapes that will transform your home. Get started with us today by getting a quote!