Backyard lawns often have been the background music in the garden, the understated foil to flower borders, trees and shrubs. Today, however, people are rethinking the notion of the sprawling, wall-to-wall, nondescript lawn. Not only can large lawns be wasteful environmentally in terms of water and the other resources needed to maintain them, but they also can be wasteful visually. The key to today’s smart lawn is to design it as a specific visual element that interacts with, and counterbalances, other elements in the yard, such as hardscaping and planting beds. Used in this way, the lawn gains importance, becoming sculptural as well as practical. As the following examples demonstrate, working with geometry and something of an artist’s eye can help focus a yard, marking areas for play or entertaining, or for just the pleasurable contemplation of a cool, peaceful patch of green. A sculptural lawn can be created from any number of turfgrasses, including types native to a particular region that may require less care. If done thoughtfully, and even with a bit of whimsy, limiting the backyard lawn increases its impact rather than diminishes its value.

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