The modern pure grass lawn is artificial... you need effort and chemicals to maintain a monoculture.

• Misuse and the inherent toxicity of standard pesticides cause short and long term poisoning, cancer and disease in people and wildlife. [a]
• Extensive use and overuse of fertilisers (due to lack of restrictions) causes water pollution problems and wastes resources. [b]
• Endless summer irrigation to keep lawns green wastes massive amounts of water and depletes water tables. [c]
• Lawnmowers, strimmers and other lawn machinery unregulated for environmental emissions, use vast amounts of petrol and are a significant factor in urban air and noise pollution. [d]

The lawn is a green desert. Adoption of a monoculture for a garden drastically reduces the habitats available for wildlife. Birds, bees, butterflies and other animals all begin to disappear. Often leaving an unstable ecosystem where common ‘pest’ species seem to flourish.

Aside from keeping animals or ripping up the turf to plant trees and bushes, build vegetable beds, a pond or a greenhouse there are many things you can do to keep the same purpose of a lawn whilst adding diversity and removing chemical and mechanical dependence. (Unless the area you have is subject to heavy traffic and abuse, where turf is probably the most suitable thing to use.) If you just want somewhere to sit, try making a bench a focal point of your garden.

Lawns can be made more edible, medicinal, beautiful and nice smelling by adding low growing aromatic herbs and flowers. The plants below have been specially selected because they will tolerate at least infrequent mowings. For best results don’t cut as often or as short as a normal lawn and try to lay off for at least 3 weeks in the summer to let the taller plants flower and set seed. You could try sowing them into small gaps in the grass or better still plant them out. For low maintenance choose plants that will like your local conditions.

Perhaps you could turn some of your lawn into a ‘wildflower meadow’. This will attract butterflies and insects as well as bringing nature a bit closer to home. Choose a sunny position on poor soil to get the most flowers. Mow only after the seeds have set (around August) and remove the clippings to keep fertility low.
Sow a mix of wild flowers into bare earth, or if grass is already established, grow in pots and plant out in Autumn or Spring, this is more work but gets better results. Most of the above taller lawn plants will do well as these edible ones below...

Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria: 120cm H. Likes moist rich soil non acid soils, a useful medicinal and culinary herb.

Sheep sorrel, Rumex acetosella: 30cm H. prefers suny and moist spot, sharp edible salad leaves all year round.

Red clover, Trifolium pratense: 60cm H. attracts butterflies, moths and bees, put round apple trees for better fruit, edible leaves, fixes nitrogen.

Alternatively you could purchase a conservation wildflower mix from a local supplier, you won't be able to eat them though.

For some more lawn fun see the guerrilla gardening pages.

Notes

[a] Many pesticides have never been adequately tested for toxicity to humans or wildlife. According to the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, 13 of the most commonly used lawn care pesticides can cause cancer, 14 can cause birth defects, 21 can damage the nervous system, 15 can injure the liver or kidney, and 30 are sensitizers or irritants. [3] The pesticide MCPA, used as an ingredient is some lawn pesticides, has been found to damage the blood brain barrier which protects against neurological illness.[4] Organophosphate pesticides have been shown to cause memory loss and short attention spans.[5] Other studies have linked long term pesticide use with prostate[6], brain and lung cancer.[7] It is estimated that each year in the US, 67 million birds are poisoned by legally used pesticides.[3] Pesticides are often misused especially by homeowners, increasing the risks.
[b] Fertiliser is often over applied, causing runoff problems in nearby watercourses, as well as the obvious waste of fossil fuels in its manufacture and transport.
[c] It is estimated that 44% of domestic water consumption in California is used for lawns[8] In many areas ground water tables are being depleted.
[d] The manufacture of garden machinery uses energy, depletes resources and creates pollution as do the engine fumes or the power plants producing the electricity they run on. In the early 90’s it was estimated that 580,000,000 gallons of petrol were used to run lawnmowers in the US every year.[2]