The Grass Doctor

What are the advantages you think to having an ornamental garden as opposed to simply have a large lawn?

why do people in the UK prefer ornamental gardening as opposed to having mostly lawn? and in the US it is opposite?? Thanks for your answers!

Public Comments

1. Idont, I hate gnomes and fake squirrels,windmils and other tat. I just have a large lawn spotted with dog turds and a rusting Ford Escort
2. plenty of ornamental gardens in usa and plenty of plain grass gardens in uk (i live in both countries for 18+ years in each of them) it's just about the gardener's tastes.
3. Some councils in the UK are now taking steps to prevent these 'ornamental' gardens. We're not given as much space in the UK for parking so many people just end up paving/concreting their drives for their cars. Many people also either just don't have the time to maintain their lawns or just don't want to so an ornamental garden replaces the need for as much maintenance as a flowered garden would need.
4. Hi there, I would have to say that most people have ornamental lawns due to cost, maintenance, and environmental consciousness. A large lawn requires lots of water, (potentially pesticides and weed killers), and mowing (which pollutes a tonne if you have a gas powered mower). If you have an ornamental lawn, or a Xeriscaped lawn, you can reduce your impact on the environment, while saving time, water and money. Check out this great article on Xeriscaping: http://eartheasy.com/grow_xeriscape.htm And this article on lawn alternatives: http://eartheasy.com/grow_lawn_alternatives.htm Cheers!
5. The united states has very severe winters other than Florida and California.A lot of shrubs can't take say -5Celsius for several days and so the variety of plants is narrower than in the UK.A number of plants from Cal/Flo can survive just about in the UK,but they can't survive in other parts of the US. A large lawn and a few conifer type plants can survive plus or minus 50cel with min fuss.Temp extremes as not so pronounced here,so we like to fiddle around a lot more
6. The big advantage is diversity! Anytime you have a monoculture such a a lawn there is a greater risk of some fungus or bacteria or pest wiping out the entire planting. by using some of the lawn as an ornamental garden, you can actually have a healthier lawn area. I hope this helps.
7. i think it is more than to save a time and money.small things always looks nice than bigger ones.due to increase in rate of population it is always necessary to utilise the land