Substitutes for Shade Grass

Ornamental Grass

Unlike ordinary lawn grass, ornamental grasses produce a substantial volume of leaves and stems that only need to be cut back and cleaned up once a year. Grasses such as sedge, sea oats, wild oats and wind grass thrive in the shade. The tall, slender stalks add texture and visual interest to the garden all year long; even those that are not evergreen produce clusters of seasonal flowers and elegant, arching spikes of foliage that form decorative, snow-covered fountains throughout the winter.

Sometimes referred to as "living mulch," ground covers serve a number of practical and aesthetic roles. When used as a shade grass substitute, ground-hugging plants such as carpet bugle, Bishop's weed and wild ginger fill shady spaces with beautifully textured mats of dense foliage. While these rapidly spreading plants do make for easy-care gardens, they should be installed with care as they do tend to wander into areas of the garden where they may not be welcome.

While they are generally used to fill vacant vertical spaces, shade-loving vines such as English ivy, chocolate vine or climbing fig can be used as effective lawn substitutes, as well. These hardy, vigorous vines will scramble across the soil, taking root as they go; however, once they encounter a vertical object, they change direction and climb upward with extraordinary speed.

Many shaded garden areas have dark and damp conditions that are ideal for a number of well-adapted grasses; however, there are some shady spots that are actually dry. For example, the roots of large trees tend to soak up all of the available moisture and nutrients from the surrounding soil, creating dry, infertile areas where nothing seems to grow. In these situations, it may be best to eliminate the lawn entirely and replace the struggling grass with inorganic materials, such as gravel or paving stones or attractive organic mulches, such as bark chips, shredded bark or cocoa hulls. While these materials do need to be refreshed from time to time, they are low-maintenance, aesthetically pleasing and easy to obtain.