Lawn Gone! ─ Low-Maintenance, Sustainable, Attractive Alternatives for Your Yard

A colorful guide covering the basics of replacing a traditional lawn with a wide variety of easy-care, no-mow, drought-tolerant, money-saving options that will appeal to today's busy, eco-conscious homeowner.

Americans pour 300 million gallons of gas and 1 billion hours every year into mowing their lawns, not to mention 70 million pounds of pesticides and $40 billion for lawn upkeep. No Wonder the anti-lawn movement is thriving, as today's eco-conscious consumers realize that their traditional lawns are water-hogging, chemical-ridden, maintenance-intensive burdens. Lawn Gone!, from award-winning gardening blogger Pam Penick, is the first basic introduction to low-water, easy-care lawn alternatives for beginning gardeners, written in a friendly style with an approachable package. It covers all the available time-saving options: alternative grasses, ground cover plants, artificial turf, hardscaping, mulch, and more. In addition, it includes step-by-step lawn-removal methods, strategies for dealing with neighbors and homeowner associations, and how to minimize your lawn if you're not ready to go all the way.

PAM PENICK is a landscape designer, garden writer, photographer, and award-winning blogger who has replaced many lawns in her lifetime, including her own. She is a contributor to Garden Design, Fine Gardening, and Martha Stewart’s blog At Home in the Garden. Penick lives in Austin, Texas, and blogs at www.penick.net/digging.