A short presentation on ecolawns or ecology lawns with helpful references and links for more information

1. Ecolawns
Linda R McMahan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Emeritus
Department of Horticulture
Oregon State University

2. What is an ecolawn?
• An ecolawn is a lawn
alternative that often
includes broad-leaf
plants mixed with
grasses
• Also may be called an
eco-lawn, ecology
lawn, or herb lawn
• Generally requires less
water and fertilizer
than all-turf
alternatives
Photographs are from Randy
W’s garden unless noted
otherwise

3. Ecolawn components
• Most mixes claiming to be
ecology lawns have
flowering plants as a
component—some just
have drought-tolerant
grasses
• Make sure you find out
contents before
purchasing your mix to
make sure it is what you
wish to use
Grasses, clover, and “English
daisy”

4. Very Low Maintenance
Alternative
"Perhaps 70 percent of
these home lawns are
never fertilized and very
few are ever treated with
herbicides for weed
control, . . .Sounds pretty
low maintenance to me. In
fact, total neglect might be
a better description.” Tom
Cook, retired Oregon State
University faculty, 2003

5. Research at Oregon State
University
• "When we irrigated these
'ecolawn' mixes once per
month in the summer, and
mowed every three weeks
during the growing season,
the lawn stayed green and for
the most part looked like a
normal lawn," said Cook. "We
never sprayed any of the plots
with pesticides.“
• Tom Cook, Retired OSU
faculty, 2003.

6. More photos from Randy’s
Garden

7. Photos from Diane S., another OSU
Master Gardener in Yamhill County,
showing her “herb lawn”

8. Care is relatively Simple
• According to “Low
Maintenance Turf”
Publication at Oregon
State University at
http://horticulture.or
egonstate.edu/syste
m/files/2005Ecolawn
s-2.pdf by Tom Cook
• Mow to 2 inches
every 3 weeks
• Water thoroughly 2-3
times in summer only
• Use little or no
fertilizer

9. More from OSU sources
• Very helpful site!
Low-maintenance
turf details (including
composition) at
OSU’s Department of
Horticulture Site:
http://horticulture.or
egonstate.edu/conte
nt/low-maintenanceturf
Photo from the website

10. Some seed mixes available
from Oregon companies
• The following seed
companies offer
mixtures based on
Cook's work: Nichols
Garden Nursery,
Albany, OR and ProTime Lawn Seed,
Portland, OR ("Fleur
de Lawn"
• Another local
alternative is Protime
PT-705 PDX seed mix
from Hobbs &
Hopkins Ltd.
• Other mixes may be
available—web
searches may be the
best way to locate
them.

11. More information . . .
• News article about lawn
alternatives at
http://oregonprogress.or
egonstate.edu/summerf
all-2001/strange-brew
• She dreams of a soft
groundcover wandering
gently among flower
beds. Where weeds now
reign, she sees a
textured carpet—a mix
of grasses, yarrow,
shamrock, clover and
sweet alyssum.
•
Photo: Tom Gentle, from the website

12. Ecolawn presentation at
Beaverturf website at OSU
• http://horticulture.or
egonstate.edu/conte
nt/ecolawns-pacificnorthwest
This is one of Tom Cook’s Presentations
available for viewing online at the website

13. An ecolawn brochure
• Download at
http://extension.oregon
state.edu/hoodriver/site
s/default/files/ecolawnb
rochurefeb13.pdf
Photo from the OSU Extension Hood
River website
• Ecolawn: The
Learning Garden. A
brochure created by
Steve Castagnoli and
OSU Master
Gardeners in Hood
River, OR in 2013!

14. Thank You!
• I might not have
answered all of your
questions. Visit the
links in the short
presentation to learn
more!
This presentation may
be used freely for
educational purposes.
© Oregon State
University, 2014