Is it Time to Ditch the Lawn? Why Low-Water Garden Design Is Taking Over in 2026
Losing the turf makes sense in drought-prone areas (and what to replace it with)
In the face of climate change and rising temperatures, homeowners are looking at ways of making their gardens more sustainable. One method, especially favored by those in drier parts and by time-poor gardeners, is reducing water usage.
From ditching the lawn to watering more smartly, we asked experts in their field for their tips on low-water garden design and easy techniques homeowners can use in their own front and back yards.
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How You Can Embrace the Low-Water Garden Design Trend
In drought-prone areas, ensuring your garden stays alive over the hotter months, let alone thrives, can be a costly and laborious task.
Read on to find out how you can not only reduce time and money spent watering, but also have a great-looking yard that you want to spend time in.
Replace Grass With Layered Planting
Lawns have long been a key part of back and front yards. From formal gardens to a family’s relaxed outside space, lawns can add much to both the design and usage of your yard. Providing a cool, soft and durable surface for children to play on, lawns can also add a calming element to your home.
However, lawns can struggle in dry weather and quickly deteriorate in a heatwave. In areas of low rainfall, swapping thirsty turf for drought-tolerant plants can therefore be a wise choice.
When it comes to deciding what to plant instead, Neil Diboll, President of Prairie Nursery, Wisconsin, advises, ‘The plants one chooses for replacing a lawn will depend upon the local climate, latitude, longitude, design goals, native versus non-native plant preferences, etc.’
If you are concerned that the choice of low-water plants can be limiting, you need not worry. From heat-tolerant ground cover to drought-tolerant climbers, shrubs and ornamental grasses, you can still have a stunning water-wise garden. For example, one of my tried and tested drought-tolerant favorites is Russian sage or Salvia yangii, as it is also known.
Hardy down to USDA zone 5, its lavender flowers held aloft on silvery stems, bloom from mid-summer onwards and are known to attract pollinators. You can find beautiful Russian Sage plants at Fast Growing Trees.
Height layering with plants and seasonal blooms can add a sense of depth and structure to both new borders and patios and terraces. Through placing taller specimens or climbers at the back, mid-height perennials or shrubs in the middle and low or trailing plants at the front, you create a three-dimensional space that can add interest and impact.
Once a planting scheme has been decided, you can remove the turf through various methods. Neil says, ‘If replacing an established lawn, the turfgrass can be dug up and removed, after shaking off the valuable topsoil that lodges in the sod, so it is retained on-site for the new planting.
Alternatively, the area can be smothered with cardboard, old carpet or rugs, or black plastic, for 2-3 months to kill the turf prior to installing one’s plants.'
Neil is President of Prairie Nursery in Westfield, Wisconsin, renowned for growing of native plants. Neil is an ecologist and an expert on using Prairie and Savanna plants in contemporary landscapes for ecological restoration. He is the author of 'The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants, ' available from Amazon.
Embrace Decorative Hardscapes & Mulch
Another way to embrace the low-water garden design trend is through the use of decorative hardscaping. For example, adding a new pathway can be a great way of creating visual interest and structure in a front or backyard, and furthermore, does not need watering.
Using hardscaping materials instead of turf can also be effective in a drought-tolerant design. Here in the south of England, I see more and more gravel designs being introduced as a way of coping with periods of drought and hot weather.
Ideal for supporting many drought-tolerant plants, gravel gardens can look particularly impressive when planted with Mediterranean specimens.
For your beds and borders, one easy addition to make that will help reduce any moisture loss is mulching. Briefly defined as the layering of material around your plants, on top of the soil, mulches can be both biodegradable, such as this Timberline All-natural Pine bark mulch available from Lowes, and non-biodegradable.
With benefits including weed suppression, boosting the soil and reducing evaporation, you can see why mulching is so popular.
Native & Low-Maintenance Plants
Native plants are very much on trend and are perfect for replacing a thirsty lawn or bed of ornamentals. Already adapted to your local area, native plants commonly require less watering and feeding, saving you time, and can add effortless style and even support the local wildlife.
When choosing these plants, Neil suggests, ‘For lowest maintenance, use rhizomatous flowers that spread by underground rhizomes to form an almost weed-impervious sod. However, it is important to note that some of these rhizome creepers can take over adjacent areas and may be considered a bit thuggish.’
Some examples he suggests as groundcovers for dry soils include ‘Field Pussytoes (Antennaria neglecta), Stiff Coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata), and Ashy sunflower (Helianthus mollis).’
Neil continues, ‘Carex pensylvanica is commonly used as a lawn replacement in light to medium shade in well-drained sandy loam and loamy soils under oaks or a dappled shade under other deciduous trees (not under conifers).
A common name for this species is Oak Sedge, due to its prevalence under the lighter shade and more open canopy under oaks.’
With its fine, rich-green foliage, and considered cold-tolerant in zone 3 and above, Pennsylvania Sedge Grass (Carex pensylvanica) is available to purchase from Nature Hills.
Watering Smarter, Not More
Using less water in your garden is one of the most impactful ways you can make your backyard more sustainable. You can reduce your garden water usage through several methods, including harvesting and collecting rainwater in rain barrels, watering at the right time of day and using irrigation systems.
Sarah Menz, a master gardener with a Master's in Sustainability, advises, ‘Drip irrigation is a very precise and efficient method of watering. It allows you to slowly apply water directly to your plants’ root zones, where hydration is most needed for plant health.
'Watering at the roots significantly reduces the amount of water lost through evaporation, as the water quickly absorbs into the soil rather than splashing into the air or onto plant leaves, where it can evaporate due to sunlight, wind, and warm temperatures.’
Sarah continues, ‘By watering your garden with drip irrigation, you can also eliminate water runoff, which occurs when more water is applied than the ground can absorb. Drip irrigation becomes especially easy to manage when combined with a smart sprinkler controller or smart hose timer, which allows you to set a watering schedule that automatically adjusts according to weather and other conditions.’
In addition to collecting rainwater and using an irrigation system, watering at certain times of the day can also help reduce water usage. Sarah suggests, ‘The best time to water plants is generally in the early morning (5 a.m. to 9 a.m.), before warmer temperatures can lead to evaporation and wasted water. Watering during midday, especially in the summertime, can lead to rapid evaporation and unnecessary water waste.’
Garden irrigation systems can consist of drip pipe or soaker hose setups, but simpler DIY irrigation options can also prove surprisingly effective.
Suitable for watering new hedging plants, raised beds and vegetable patches, irrigation systems such as this Rachio WiFi Smart Sprinkler Controller available from Amazon, can help not only save water, but time as well.
Sarah is a master gardener and holds a Masters in Sustainability. She is passionate and knowledgeable in sustainable solutions, water conservation, and irrigation technology. She advises on all things agriculture, gardening and eco-friendly practices.
Colour & Texture Make Up for Grass
There is nothing quite like a well-kept, verdant lawn, but you can also create a rich, abundant style through the use of combining foliage and textures.
For example, a combination of feathery ornamental grass foliage and glossy leaves, such as the Sweet & Lo™ Sweet Box from Nature Hills, can provide a rich tapestry and depth to an outdoor space.
In the gardens I have managed over my career, I have often used a combination of grasses like Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima), and perennials such as Gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri ), hardy geraniums and Verbena bonariensis to create a colorful, lush and dynamic border.
Perfect for drought-tolerant gardens, Mexican feather grass is considered hardy in zones 6-10 and moves elegantly in the gentlest of breezes. Prized for its soft, flowing, fine foliage, you can purchase Mexican feather grass from Garden Goods Direct.
Along with caring for the environment, interest in reducing chemical exposure and microplastics is increasing.
Not only beneficial for the local wildlife, creating a non-toxic garden will give you peace of mind that your children and pets will not be surrounded by harsh or hidden toxins.
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