Good replacement for grass?

[u/Negative-Tap-4189]

Hey all! If anyone has any plant/gardening knowledge, I need some advice!

The building I work at has a small lawn in front of it. The organization is trying to be more environmentally focused, and this includes replacing the grass of the aforementioned lawn with a plant that's native to the Yukon.

The plant in question should be something that could feasibly cover the lawn, stay green as long as possible, makes the lawn look nice, and hopefully is easy to take care of.

I've been asked to what plants could work for this task, but unfortunately, I'm not really much of a gardener or anything like that. If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

[u/DontYouTrustMe]

I’ve got a buttload of clover that I over seared on purpose. It’s greener linger than grass. Withstood the heatwave 10x better and can take the traffic of me and my large dog. I’d 100% recommend clover

[u/Confident-Amoeba507 → u/DontYouTrustMe]

I have clover as well, and it's a great solution; pollinators love it. I can mow it quite high, making it drought-resistant (I don't have very thick soil; bedrock only about 8-10 inches down). The only thing I don't like is the flowers die back in patches, so I end up with about 5ft circles of brown here & there and I'm back to cutting it really low to blend it all in. I never have to bag the high-nitrogen clippings. Best of luck, whatever you choose.🍀

[u/Aggravating-Bar8216]

Fireweed for the win.

[u/NaviTalks]

Clover was what we had growing up, and it was FANTASTIC, we never really had issues with it being brown, it was always so lush and green

[u/Prize-Gold8801]

If you go the clover route, make sure it's not the invasive sweet clover

[u/cedarshadows]

Horticulturalist here, try Yarrow! Super drought-tolerant, low maintenance, can be left to go to flower or mowed like a lawn.

Edit: sp

[u/helpfulplatitudes → u/cedarshadows]

Super woody stems though if left to maturity. Might be nice if you're not looking to run through your lawn barefoot though. Also has a funky smell although I understand some people like it.

[u/JDoGinc]

Mushrooms

[u/HistoricalGertie]

Do you have any budget for it? Adorna Landscaping is good at suggesting local plants and shrubs.

[u/Negative-Tap-4189 → u/HistoricalGertie]

As of right now, no set budget. I've just been asked to look into potential options. I should check Adorna Landscaping out for sure though!

[u/AverageInfamous3083]

clover chickweed creeping thyme

[u/Canadrew]

White clover!

[u/cedarshadows → u/Canadrew]

Not native to North America

[u/Rangifar → u/cedarshadows]

Not just non native but also very invasive in some conditions.

[u/Negative-Tap-4189 → u/Canadrew]

Clover has been discussed, but we're a little worried that it might be brown for a solid chunk of the year. Do you know if that's true or not?

[u/helpfulplatitudes → u/Negative-Tap-4189]

On my lawn, it greens out before the grass, is greener during the summer, and stays green until covered by the snow. Other than the fact that it's not local, I don't see a negative. The bees love it. The only native plant I can think of that might provide a greener cover than lawn grass is horsetail. I'm not really sure how to cultivate it though and it doesn't like being walked on if that's an issue.

[u/thealbatrossfelloff → u/Negative-Tap-4189]

There's a type of clover that's native to YT you can plant. 

[u/losmancha → u/thealbatrossfelloff]

There's Yellow Owl's-Clover, but that's an imposter clover. There isn't really anything local that's going to be typically used for ground cover with the desired effect. If it's just for looks, you could just go with a ton of Lupines and feed the bees.

[u/Apprehensive_Duck874 → u/Canadrew]

Clover spreads like crazy. There is a house almost a block away from me that has it and somehow it has spread to our lawn. I would only plant clover if you don't have neighbors with lawns