My quest for an eco-friendly green lawn

Artificial turf has grown in popularity, but it has major drawbacks, says Beronda L. Montgomery, who is looking for a sustainable alternative

By Beronda L. Montgomery

I RECENTLY stood surveying my new front lawn with a landscaper. The grass is a fine-bladed fescue variety that grows slowly, partly because it is a shade-tolerant species situated beneath the cover of my front yard’s large oak trees. These grasses are efficient at photosynthesis and can produce enough sugars to grow in limited light.

It is important to know whether your lawn is populated by sun-loving or shade-tolerant plants because they have different nutrient requirements. All plants have relatively high nitrogen needs because chlorophyll, which is central to photosynthesis, contains nitrogen. Shade-tolerant varieties, however, generally have lower nitrogen …