Alternatives to grass

In my opinion, clover is just a weed. I just got done clearing up my garden with stray clover seedlings.

You don't say what part of the country you live it.

You can plant a variety of perennial plants that take little care.

Some lantanas grow very large, bloom often and take up a good area. So do periwinkles (the type that forms a bunch. They stay in bloom all summer. I just bought 3 periwinkles yesterday for .99 cents each, and once they take off they will about 15 sq feet

You can also attract beas by planting lavendar. They need little care and water once they get going.


Lantana...



Periwinkle...




Bunny ear lavender...

Where I live, Lantana and Periwinkle are weeds.
Lantana used to try and choke out the citrus trees.
I developed a hate for it spending summers pulling it out by hand.
Someone gave me some periwinkle flowers two years ago, now they are everywhere. I can't get rid of them. 
Despite my opinion, they are indeed both beautiful plants. And props to the constant blooms of periwinkle.

Sweet allysum is a nice ground cover. Low growing, sweet smelling blooms.
Doesn't do well in intense heat though.

Creeping basil is great. Spreads at a rapid rate. Blanketing the ground in a sea of green. Smells great and you can use it for cooking.

Pennyroyal, does the same. Lavender colored flowers that look like quarter sized fiber optic pom poms. Has hues of purple in its leaves and covers the bare soil with tiny foliage and a historical smell reminiscent of potpourri. 
Both shade the ground, keeping the moisture and coolness in for young trees and considerably cut back on any weed growth.

Marigolds (I think they're weeds too) will carpet the ground in green lacy foliage and forever blooming in orange or yellow blooms that look like dahlias. Their also edible, great with steak or in a salad.

Yarrow. The traditional white cluster of flowers that look like fuller versions of Queen Anne's Lace or you could opt for the newer multi colored clusters that come in red, pink, yellow, various pastels. Spreading by rhizomes, forming tightly packed areas of vibrant green, fern like foliage that looks like asparagus fern from a distance.

Day lilies. Not sure where you are in the world but day lilies grow with abundance where I'm at. Where there is sun, there are day lilies. A bulb that sprouts sword like leaves in a soft fan formation. Blooming spring and summer with large, strong flowers that come in just about every color and pattern imaginable.

Mints or chamomile are nice. 
Natures carpet, they are. 

Dianthus, or Sweet William are wonderful well forming flowers once established (which doesn't take long).
You could lattice in the areas around your trees and throw down some mulch. That would serve the same desired effect of a ground cover. And you're left with the option of plugging in some flowers or vegetables of your choice. 

Lettuce is always satisfying to grow. And serves as both aesthetically pleasing flowers and edible foliage. Vitamin green, winter density, rapeseed, kale (kale is the shiznit, comes in many neat forms - a strong looking superfood), amaranth greens are great for hot weather climates that would normally struggle with lettuces or brassicas. A bonus are their multitudes of different flowering styles.

It really all relies on your climate and zone, the amount of sunlight already available in the chosen locations and the soil. Take those few things into consideration and you can make yourself a low maintenance show stopper. (I just realized why I think so many beautiful things are weeds, the low maintenance aspect. I should embrace that this year.)

Most importantly, have fun with it. (:

I agree Daisy, while Lantana and Periwinkle are weeds, at least they bloom consistantly all summer, and tolerate drought and need little care. Another good choice might be potato vines (sweet potato vine). They take over, but it does cover the ground with pleasant green.
I remember when I bought a Crepe Myrtle there was a small potato vine seedling growing in the same pot, and I let it be.
Yikes, it grew into a monster, spreading out over a 100 square feet!
I remember one day I was gazing in the direction, and a sudden breeze blew through, flipping all the leaves on it to the underside contrasting underside for a moment. I literally gasped, it looked so magical.



I live in Austin Tx, where the summers are brutal, and we've been in drought for years. Where do you live?

Funny about marigolds, I can't stand them. They always remind me of kindergarden classes taking the seeds home to grow. Not that I have bad memories of kindergarden, just the yucky orange marigolds.

To the OP, while it might take some work to get some easy care perenials in the ground, it's worth it in the long run.

Oh, another good one it Jerusalem Artichoke. I've had good luck with them.

Oh yes sweet potato vine.
I've been told to try that this year.
Was gonna fashion a homemade self watering hanging basket.
Looking for that perfect trailing vine, sweet potato was the answer.
I've come to understand that sweet potato vine is quite the universal, adaptable plant. 
It would look great at the base of a tree or two. Purple flowers.
I wonder how much space we are talking about here. It could be possible to incorporate a plethora of blooms and unique foliage.
North Florida gets the blessing of more than one growing season but also the lament of freezing winters and scorching summers. The buckle to the sun belt.
I'm sure we could offer ideas all day ... Dahlias! Dahlias and sweet potato.
Also sure there's a difference between Oregon and California, England and Costa Rica. Go native. Plant accordingly.
Good suggestions Chai. 
Gotta go thin out some marigolds and periwinkle now. (;

It depends on how high you want the plants to grow under the trees.

If you basically want lawn height, I would suggest carpet sedum. It can be bought by the roll over here in the UK, and thrives on neglect, doesn't mind shade and flowers most of the time.



Link with more info re. Sedum:-

http://www.chesapeakehome.com/2010/08/03/sedums-the-perfect-plant/

Oh man, I would love to be able to buy a roll of sedum!

I just googled it and all the links were in the UK.

Out of curiosity, how much does a roll of sedum cost, and how much does it cover?

I've been planting and mulching the last couple of days, and put in some additional sedum. All those little odds and ends that come off the plant while handling it gets tossed on the ground elsewhere to propagate.

Well, there's a massive gap in the market you could exploit, chai!

It's quite popular here, and people (and businesses) use such matting for green roof projects, and even vertical gardens as well as shady areas where trees tend to kill off grass.

I think it works out about £4 or £5 a square metre ($8 ish) plus delivery charge.

Why not have a word with a green fingered entrepreneur out there and make yourselves a fortune.
Only slight doubt is....why hasn't this been done before where you are?
Maybe sedum doesn't do well in searing heat?

Worth researching, though.

Are these links any good to you, chai?

http://www.greenroofsolutions.com/plants.html

http://www.vegetalid.us/green-roof-systems/green-roof-101/what-is-a-green-roof

A meter is roughly equiv. to a yard here. $8 a square yard is cheap!

On the 2nd link, I saw that it costs $12-15 (about 8 pounds) per square FOOT. There are 3 feet in a yard, so that converts to more than $100 (60 pounds)

A little 4 inch pot costs 2 or 3 dollars. Sheeyut.

Sedum would do all right here, I have patches of it in various places, and it makes it through the summer fine.

I may have read it wrong, and it said per sq ft. It seems a bit expensive though, £60 a square yard. Blimey!

Seed.....lots of packets of seed. You could grow a vast area for 60 quids worth of seed.

Or cause a local pigeon obesity problem.

thank you very, very much. i have a lantana plant in a pot and i love it. though this is the first spring i have had it. not sure how it will do long term. ... i love the ideas you presented. thank you.

i'm in san jose, calif.

wow, what a terrific reply. thank you so very much. much to consider. but it will be fun, no doubt. i hope this post stays around and i remember to share the results. thank you again. really appreciate the great ideas. ... i'm a kale junkie. maybe that will work. but this is mostly a project for my girlfriend, and i think she will prefer something more colorful. which is fine, of course. i love colorful, too. thank you.

mmmm sweet potato vine with purple flowers ... awesome idea! thank you. the area is only about 200 square feet, but probably enough room to try more than one thing.

thank you. our initial idea was something lawn height, but we are just starting to consider the options. ... "thrives on neglect" sounds like our style. haha. thank you very much.

Chickweed is highly underrated.