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Grassless lawn

I am in the process of creating a wildlife garden. I know it is a good time to be planting shrubs and trees but am unsure of what else despite research. 

 

I plan to plant a good selection of these;

Acaena buchanii, Acaena inermis 'Purpurea', Acaena magellanica, Acaena microphylla 'Copper Carpet', Achillea millefolium 'Aureum', Ajuga reptans 'Burgundy Glow', Ajuga reptans 'Chocolate Chip', Ajuga reptans 'Multicolour', Ajuga reptans 'Variegata', Anthyllis vulneraria, Argentina anserina, Bellis perennis (wild form), Bellis perennis (mixed cultivars), Campanula cochlearifolia, Campanula rotundifolia, Cardamine trifoliata, Chamaemelum nobile 'flore pleno', Chrysanthemum weyrichii, Dianthus deltoides ‘Flashing Lights’, Erodium x variabile, Erodium castellanum, Fragaria vesca 'Golden Alexandria', Geranium pyrenaicum, Geum urbanum, Glechoma hederacea, Glechoma hederacea 'Variegata', Houstonia caerulea, Houstonia caerulea 'Millard’s Variety', Leontodon saxatilis, Leptinella dioica, Leptinella dioica minima, Leptinella squallida, Leptinella squallida 'Platt’s Black', Lobelia angulata, Lobelia oligophylla, Lobelia pedunculata, 'Alba Super Star Creeper', Lobelia pedunculata, 'Blue Star Creeper', Lobelia pedunculata 'County Park', Lotus corniculatus 'Plenus', Lotus formosissimus, Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea', Mazus reptans, Mentha requenii, Nierembergia repens, Oxalis adenophylla, Oxalis corniculatus, Oxalis magellanica 'Nelson', Parachetus communis, Phylla nodiflora, Pilosella aurantiacum, Pilosella maculatum 'Leopard', Pilosella officinalis, Pilosella tardans, Polygala vulgaris, Potentilla neumanniania nana (P.verna), Potentilla reptans, Primula - Wanda hybrids, Prunella grandiflora, Prunella vulgaris, Ranunculus repens, Ranunculus repens 'Buttered Popcorn', Ranunculus repens 'Gloria Spale', Sagina subulata var. glabrata aurea, Selliera radicans, Taraxacum pseudoroseum, Taraxacum rubrifolium, Thymus serpyllum, Trifolium pratense 'Susan Smith', Trifolium repens 'Garnet', Trifolium repens 'Son of William', Trifolium repens 'Chocolate Splash', Trifolium repens 'Purpurescens Quadrifolium', Trifolium repens ‘Dragons Blood’, Veronica armena, Veronica austriaca 'Ionian Skies', Veronica officinalis, Veronica prostrata 'Goldwell', Veronica prostrata 'Mrs Holt', Veronica prostrata 'Lilac Time', Veronica prostrata ‘Nestor’, Veronica repens, Veronica repens 'Sunshine', Veronica spicata 'Dwarf Blue', Veronica spicata 'Dwarf Pink', Viola hederacea, Viola labradorica, Viola odorata, Viola sororaria.

Is this possible this late on? Will they be damaged by frosts?

Any information on planting times would be most appreciated!! 

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Posts

  • *plan to plant a selection of these to create a grassless lawn

  • MrsGardenMrsGarden Posts: 3,951

    Thats certainly a list jodieel!  hope it goes well, remember to post photos throughout. image

  • I think I'd plant them in the spring - if we get a long cold spell when the land is covered with snow, as we did last year, they might not fare too well if not established. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    How big is the site, what's the soil like and how much sun does it get?

    There's a lot of plants there with differing needs.

    I can't immediately see the wildlife connection though any single flower may well provide for insects.

    I'd spend the winter doing some research, see what will grow on your soil and aspect, pick out those that are good for wildlife if that's what you want, some will be, and plant in spring



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • I'm interested to hear how your research is going, jodieel. I recognise your list of plants as from the grassfreelawns website as I've also been researching with the hope to turn a largely shady, consistently damp, isolated patch of lawn by the front of our house into a grass-free flower lawn.

    There's certainly a lot of plants to consider, and then getting hold of them will be tricky as many aren't common garden centre plants, but researching is filling up the winter days when there's not much else to be done garden wise!

  • Hello!

     

    So I waited until March to plant up, as you all know it turned out to be such a mild winter. I could not have hoped for the lawn to have taken as well as it did.

     

    The idea is to plant as many different species as possible to help prevent any one species dominating. Some are also herbaceous so getting a balanced selection is important. It is suggested to pick at least 12 species - I managed to find 22 different species in the wholesale nursery I use.

     

    Now I'm trying to attach some photos but it does not seem to be allowing me to pull in from my documents... Any suggestions?

     

     

     

     

  • image

     This was taken in March after planting

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     And these were taken in July

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