Why You Should Diversify Your Lawn – Top 5 Benefits

Lawns have become the most common form of landscaping for the average homeowner. But they are neither the least expensive nor the most environmentally friendly of landscaping options. Having a large, single-species lawn means that you are trying to maintain a monoculture. Monocultures do not occur spontaneously; they are a completely human-made product. They are incredibly difficult to maintain because nature will encourage diverse species to appear. You could spend all of your time and energy eradicating weeds from your turf, instead of accepting and enjoying natural biodiversity.

Biodiverse gardening: a different way of thinking

Embracing a biodiverse garden takes a different way of thinking, but it includes multiple long-term benefits for your lawn. Here are just a few of those benefits that you might be interested in:

• A more diverse lawn—even one with two or three different grass species—will have increased tolerance for drought and shade, as well as better resistance to disease and pest infestations. The problem with a monoculture is that every single plant has the exact same weakness, and if an invading population takes advantage of that one weakness, the entire lawn can suffer. A diverse lawn is able to resist more disease and will not be as severely damaged.
• It will be less susceptible to pests and disease, which means that you won’t have to apply as many fungicides and pesticides. And because different plants growing in your lawn won’t bother you, you won’t have to apply herbicides either. These chemical formulas are effective, but they kill soil microbes and beneficial insects, and overall are detrimental to the biodiversity of your garden.
• Planting diverse, and especially native, plants will encourage a garden ecosystem to form, with birds, bees, and butterflies participating in the cycle. Not only will your lawn benefit from the animal life, but you will also help the environment by providing food and habitats for possibly threatened species.
• Adding diverse plants will add visual interest to your lawn. Instead of just smooth green, imagine the different colors and textures you could add to your outdoor living space. Many of these plants, especially native plants, won’t need as frequent irrigation, so you will be able to conserve a precious natural resource as well as save some money.
• Some people diversify their lawn by adding clover to it. The reason for this is that clover can pull nitrogen from the air, unlike grass. If you have a partial clover lawn, you won’t need to fertilize as frequently, which means less cost for you and less contribution to greenhouse gases (a byproduct from producing synthetic fertilizers).

So there you have it – everything you need to know about biodiverse lawns. Please leave any comments below…