Have you considered using a grass alternative? For many of us in North America, grass is our default planting. If we can’t figure out what to do with an outdoor space, we plant grass, for grass, we assume, can grow anywhere.
Why Plant Grass Alternatives Instead of Turf Grass?
Mosses, thymes, yarrow, chamomile, and others perform most of the functions that turf-grass does: you can mow them, walk on them, barbeque on them, whatever.
Getting rid of all the grass even in a small area and installing a new, different, planting can be a major undertaking of course but in most cases, the investment will pay off within a season.
Ornamental grasses differ from turfgrasses in that they’re not meant to be mown. Instead, they grow into distinctive shapes — tufts, sprays, and stands, or flowing, shimmering sweeps.
The clumping grasses can be kept in check in several ways. The first and most important is to buy a grass appropriate for your region, and to tend it so that it will not produce excessive seeds.
In lower, cooler areas, moss can make a beautiful groundcover. It is not as resilient as most grasses, but it’s certainly able to withstand occasional foot traffic.