Botanic Gardens Native Lawn

Icon with meadow and tree

Sustainable Landscapes Trail at Cornell University

The Cornell Botanic Gardens Native Lawn project is a long-running research and demonstration initiative that replaces conventional turfgrass with a designed community of low-growing, regionally adapted native grasses and wildflowers to create a more sustainable, biodiversity-rich alternative to traditional lawns. Beginning around 2009, the project converted a non native, high-input lawn into a system that can tolerate foot traffic while requiring little to no irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, or hand weeding, and only one or two mowings per year—dramatically reducing maintenance costs and carbon emissions. The planting emphasizes species such as poverty oat grasses (Danthonia spp.) and other native forbs and sedges, aiming for at least 85% native plant cover to support pollinators and other wildlife while maintaining an acceptable lawn-like appearance. The site functions both as a public-facing landscape and a living laboratory, with ongoing “native lawn 2.0” experiments testing establishment methods, seed mixes, and even sod production to improve accessibility and scalability for broader adoption. Overall, the project demonstrates that native plant lawns can deliver comparable functionality to turf while providing major ecological benefits, including increased biodiversity, reduced pollution, and lower resource use.

For more information, please visit Cornell Botanic Gardens native lawn page here.

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Native Lawn in the Mundy Wildflower Garden.

Poverty oat grass in the native lawn.

Why is this site sustainable?

Annually in the U.S., $750 million is spent on grass seed, 100 million tons of fertilizer is used, 80 million pounds of pesticides are used, and 40 hours are spent on average mowing a home lawn. In order to offset the CO²emissions from the average 10 gallons of gas required, eight 2” diameter sugar maple trees would need to be planted here in the northeast. 25%- 40% of landfill space is taken up by grass clippings from mowed lawns, and per hour of operation, small gas-powered engines used for lawn care emit more hydrocarbon than a typical automobile. 10,000 ft² of turf requires 10,000 gallons of water each summer to stay green. And, 30% of the water consumed on the East Coast goes to watering lawns. All of this is justification to look at different ways we can manage our large, grassy areas.

Compared to traditional turf grass lawns, so-called "native lawns":

Require no fertilizer, which uses energy and emits a significant amount of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, during its production
Require no pesticides
Provide a diversity of native plants that supports increased biodiversity for pollinators and other invertebrates
Require minimal mowing, which reduces the amount of gas used and greenhouse emissions from lawnmowers.
Require minimal to no watering
Used as a teaching landscape for University classes and the public
Serves as a demonstration for encouraging the implementation of a native lawn in a home landscape

Poverty oat grass planting, a tall natural grass — *Poverty Oat Grass, used in the Native Lawn planting*

Native Lawn Construction and Function

Source: Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping Chesapeake Bay Watershed, USDA Climate Change Resource Center Tree Carbon Calculator

Beginning in 2009, a planting plan was created and seedlings were planted in May. A species list was developed using open and dry natural areas and power line rights-of-way as reference sites. Seeds were collected and propagated by staff and volunteers, then moistened and stored at 40 degrees for 60 days to achieve the best germination rate possible.

The lawn consists of a planting mix of low-growing grasses and forbs. The native lawn includes 13 species of forbs and 6 species of grasses. Some woodland and meadow herbs were also added. The lawn has been expanded annually each following year

Plant species were selected that are suitable for both full sun and shady as well as wet and dry conditions.

Danthonia spicata and Danthonia compressa (poverty oat grass) are dominant in the planting. Penstemon hirsutus is also widely planted.
The sun loving, dry site forbs include Phlox subulata and Antennaria plantaginafolia..
Bluets, Hedyotis caerulea add color to the mix.

Site Planting List

To research best practices for planting and managing a native lawn, two species of plants, Danthonia spicata and Danthonia compressa, were seeded at two different rates. One section of the lawn was planted with 600 PLS (pure live seeds) per ft²and another section was planted with 1,425 PLS per ft².

After the plants were established, stem density and cover were measured. The results showed that the plants seeded at the higher density had a stem density that was almost 4 times the stem density of the plants seeded at 600 PLS/ft².