Rewild your lawn

With the approach of fall, people often think about reseeding their lawn. Instead, why not rewild it by replacing a small section of your yard each year with native plants.

Since native plants to our region are more drought-tolerant, they can save water. These additions will cut your use of herbicides and pesticides. Another benefit of these plants is that they help address habitat loss, restoring the ecosystem. An added benefit is that they provide much-needed sustenance for a wide variety of pollinators throughout the growing season¹. Maybe, the best reason is these plants don't need to be mowed as often, keeping the air cleaner.

Moss Moss

Grass is still an obvious choice for children's play, pet exercise and foot traffic areas, but many plants other than traditional turfgrasses allow mowing and feel good to walk on. ²

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¹https://extension.psu.edu/turfgrass-alternatives
² https://extension.psu.edu/lawn-alternatives

Where to do this
The strip between the sidewalk and the street, known as the verge, is a great place to start. Other good places to replace grass are areas along walking paths or borders.

Native Alternatives to grass
For walkable, native alternatives to grass, consider blue star creeper, sedge, or veronica (speedwell). These groundcovers are soft, durable, and low-maintenance options for high-traffic areas.

Pennsylvania Sedge

Other good alternatives include blue violet, creeping phlox and common juniper.

Each of these plants has different characteristics and requirements that impact where they should be planted. Some may do well in full shade or full sun. Others may thrive in well drained or moist soil.

We can’t tell you what to plant and where to plant it. For that information, see the references below to determine what works best for your property.

Blue Star Creeper