In the Lawn Debate, Plenty of Common Ground

Healthy turf offers more than a pretty green carpet and playing field. Lawn can protect against erosion, provide oxygen, trap pollution and even slow fire.

Of course, some would rather not have a lawn. Some don't want the responsibility of caring for it. Environmentalists say turf can be responsible for runoff of nutrients and pesticides into rivers and streams.

I embrace another perspective, that lawns and their alternatives can both be good ideas. People who want turf for recreation and those who desire natural habitats can each have their way. But exposed soil must be covered, or it will erode. Here are some suggestions for covering the earth and ensuring that you are helping the environment:

Designs on Drainage

One way to put turf to use on a sloping property is with a sodded waterway, which can help control erosion.

Maintain a gradual slope, which will slow down the flow of storm water and allow it to percolate, filtering sediment and lawn chemicals.

A steep property might require contouring the lawn in a series of 25 percent slopes 10 feet long, broken up with five-foot-wide, almost level terraces to slow the water and divert it to the sides.

Soil coverage is crucial. Maintaining healthy turf and creating balanced native-plant communities will help control topsoil loss. Lost soil, in the form of clay and fine sand carried by storm water into lakes and rivers, makes water too shallow for aquatic life.

Growing Native

Another method of soil coverage is native grass.

Some grasses you can try that are native to the United States are buffalo grass, blue grama and crested wheat grass. All are indigenous to Midwestern and Western states. They will be looser and more open than a typical lawn but will need little care once established. Try them, and see which ones do well for you.

• Buffalo grass ( Buchloe dactyloides). Resistant to heat and drought, buffalo grass tolerates warm seasons and grows four to five inches tall. It can be planted from seeds but spreads slowly. A native of the Great Plains, it does not perform well in poorly drained or extremely sandy soils. It prefers well-drained clay loam, with supplemental watering in severe dry periods.
• Blue grama ( Bouteloua gracilis). Tolerant of heat and drought, blue grama withstands cold temperatures. It goes dormant and turns brown in severe droughts, but it will return to blue-green with some water in cooler temperatures. Blue grama, which is low-growing, establishes well from seed. It takes a little time to begin in spring and makes a fuller lawn when planted with buffalo grass.
• Crested wheat grass ( Agropyron cristatum). An exceptionally hardy clump-forming grass, it is used as turf in Wyoming and will become dormant during hot spells, as many cool-season grasses do in the Washington region. It doesn't need much mowing.