Use your lawn to frame a beautiful garden.

Americans love their lawns, and the bigger and greener, the better. But spending all weekend weeding, mowing, and fertilizing can be a high price to pay for that status-symbol rectangle of perfect green grass. Are there satisfying alternatives to the classic American grass lawn?

Greg Georgakalis runs a number of Massachusetts lawn and garden centers, including Goldstar nurseries, which caters to professional landscapers and developers. Georgakalis owns about 800 acres of sod farm, so it's within his interest to champion the idea of big, all-grass lawns, but his sense of landscaping style and love for nature leads him to suggest the following easy alternatives:

• Moderation. Many of us work hard to maintain gigantic lawns, and strive for perfect uniformity. But Georgakalis likes the look of small lawns, a thousand to two thousand square feet of manicured grass that serves a purpose- such as framing a nice garden.

• Framing. Green grass used as a framing device can really allow a flower garden to shine, and it's more interesting and eye-catching than a plain rectangle of lawn. Georgakalis thinks that many Americans take lawn care too seriously, when they should be getting creative with landscape design and creating beautiful spaces.

• Nature. Georgakalis believes that if you're sweating and struggling to create that picture-perfect grass lawn, you're working against nature. In the end, nature will win, since uniformity is not in her plan. Georgakalis suggest giving yourself less work and more variety by limiting your lawn to a nice, interesting strip of grass that's integrated into an overall landscaping design. This way, you'll have your own version of "the perfect lawn" rather than everyone else's.
  

American-Lawns.com

The Lawn Institute
www.turfgrasssod.org/lawninstitute/index.html

Do It Yourself: Lawn Info
http://doityourself.com/lawn/

Gardenweb
www.gardenweb.com

Landscape Direct
www.landscapedirect.com