To sow an alternative lawn?

[AssassinsEyebrow]

I'm so fed up with the summers killing off my lawn - it's not just this year, at least 2/3 of it die every summer now (never used to!)

I'm thinking of resowing it now with clover because I've seen some posts online with photos that show clover lawns survive the heatwaves. Has anyone here done this and can you tell me how your clover lawn looks now?

Open to other lawn alternatives too!

Yes, the wildflower lawn went a bit sideways due to lack of knowledge on our part, so we have stuck in amongst others verbena, echinacea, comfrey (I know this is a bully but we could do with the bushiness and will keep on top of it) yarrow, bergamot, foxgloves, mint, borage,eryngium and hardy geraniums. There's other stuff out there but I can't remember, that's what I can see currently, all doing well with minimal input.

I didn't expect so many replies!

@5foot5 Ive had to reseed it annually the last few years, parts of it just arent recovering anymore and i dont think grass is tenable anymore

@RafaistheKingofClay bee stings are a good point, i think I could mow the clover though if it's attracting too many bees for feeling safe to walk on - I'm usually barefoot in the garden!

Lots of ideas for other ground covers which i hadnt thought about, I'd love to have some chamomile patches and creeping thyme - thinking about a tapestry style lawn out front and then mainly clover in the because clover is meant to hold up better under paws & feet better?

Some gardeners on insta also say clover holds up better than grass against dog pee which is a bonus

Lots of food for thought!

Clover lawns are lovely. We had one last year and it looked absolutely glorious, but then DH accidentally mowed it too short and everything died. Now back to having dead grass until we can resow in the autumn (assuming we get some rain). It's really straightforward to do clover, just add a load of topsoil and clover seed to existing lawn and keep it wet, whereas some of the other alternatives sound like a bit of a faff. Just make sure you don't cut it too low - or go for the micro variety.

I drove down our road last week and every lawn is dead. Then I saw 1 green fake one and honestly I'm now considering just having someone around to do me a large fake lawn.

Fake green grass?

I don't think I would consider that due to environmental concerns.

Even if I would, I suspect an artificial lawn laid properly would cost many thousands that I wouldn't be willing to spend.

Go and sit on a fake grass lawn in a heatwave and then decide. They get unbelievably hot, and they're not the panacea they were thought to be for many reasons.

I dug a large circle in our front lawn and planted a herb wheel. We've also stone chipped the lawn areas that struggle due to the poor soil. It looks much better and keeps the moisture in the ground for the trees and shrubs. The remainder of the lawn is being taken over by clover on our side and the neighbour's side (which I also look after) is mainly scrubby grass, dandelions and some creeping red stemmed stuff (can't remember the name). Her lawn looks poor and I don't know what to do with it. I might try to improve it next year by planting some drought resistant lawn alternative.

We planted a mixture of carpet perennials- creeping thyme, sedums, baby tears, pratia and isotoma fluviatilis. It’s been quite the project but totally worth it as it’s literally like walking on a tapestry of tiny flowers!

Please, please, please don’t use artificial grass. It’s hideous stuff, terrible for nature, and dogs and children.

Please no plastic lawn
Aside from the environmental impact it's so horrible

I've been pindering this, would love it if anyone would like to share a picture of their alternative lawn for inspiration!

What I find so bizarre is that my lawn and every other lawn on our development for some wild reason, has stayed dark green all summer, despite our temps reaching 40° at one point. Not doing anything different except having clay soil! It’s a pain in the rear in winter when it rains heavily though, so I wouldn’t recommend it. Maybe just get sprinklers on a timer for next summer? I know it won’t help if there’s a hose pipe ban but it’s better than getting clover and stepping on creatures hiding under the little leaves as that is what happens when you have clover (I know from experience! Had mice in a clover patch once!)

We have a “wildflower” lawn that is low-growing mowable plants, mostly clover and self heal with grass, moss and other plants. It lasted well in the heatwave although I did try to water and shade it at least a little. It looks amazing for about three weeks a year when it is in multi-coloured flower and covered in butterflies, but the rest of the time tbh it just looks as if it has gone well past weed killer and just really badly needs returfing…

Our "lawn" now has a lot of clover and creeping buttercups, and a fair bit of moss. I'd like to properly change it to non-grass things, especially things like creeping thyme or chamomile that will smell nice when touched, BUT in nice weather I spend a fair amount of time sitting out on it, on a picnic blanket cos otherwise I get a rash. Would alternative lawns stand up to that sort of treatment?

So not so much a lawn then as a very pretty field! 😊 I would love to do that but I need a clear and safe surface to walk on and I can't see it working with my walker so we're stuck with a lawn that's a mixture of grass and very low growing flowering plants . We have all the plants you mention (as well as shrubs of various sorts) in various beds dotted about the garden. Our comfrey is by the pond in a boggy patch (which obviously isn't boggy at all this year) where it can romp away as much as it wants and has been covered by a succession of bee types since the end of February. They love it.

How does your ‘mind your business’ cope in the winter? Also how did it cope in the heat? Is it planted in shade or full sun? Can you walk on it? I have some in a shady corner and it’s absolutely lovely but I’ve not tried walking on it yet and not sure if it’ll survive winter?

I’ve sown a combination of grass seed and clover - grass is now brown hay, and the clover is lusciously green. Over the summer I watered it lightly a couple times a fortnight as it was still fairly freshly seeded.