DITCH THE LAWN
A smooth, green lawn is a beautiful thing but it can take an awful lot of effort to keep it looking that way. As well as your time spent mowing, feeding, watering and weeding, a lawn has a financial and environmental cost. So unless you have a puppy or children to play on it, do you really need one? Or could you reduce the size of the one you’ve got? Think about those narrow strips or awkwardly shaped grass areas. Would they look better planted with groundcovers, shrubs or easy-care perennials? Also, lawn doesn’t often thrive under big trees so create large garden beds planted with shade-loving shrubs and perennials there instead.