Interesting news this week on the BBC, "Grass-free lawn opens in London park" something like "a grass-free lawn in the land of lawns". A somewhat free translation, but this "patchwork" meadow, as the journalist calls it, can now be visited in a public park in west London. It is the result of four years of research at the University of Reading, which has had the collaboration of the Kensington and Chelsea administration.
According to the researcher and promoter of the project, Lionel Smith, the initial objective of this idea was to create something more beautiful and sustainable than the so common lawn.
In this case it should be noted that by sustainable he refers to promoting and increasing biodiversity and the presence of pollinators in green areas. Since in the UK, lawns in public parks do not usually have irrigation systems, as is common here.
Although it seems like a place to contemplate and not to be used, as a lawn could be, the chosen species tolerate traffic and the proposal seeks people's interaction with these species, promoting sensory experience based on the smells and aromas of some of the selected plants.
To create spaces with ground covers that replace lawns, not only for biodiversity reasons as in this case, but also to enjoy more sustainable gardening in terms of water consumption and the care that lawns require, at Sala Graupera we produce some species that can perform this function very satisfactorily.
One of these is [Pratia pedunculata](http://www.salagraupera.com/es/cataleg/general/item/pratia-pedunculata-3)
This plant, which grows no more than about 5 cm high with a horizontal spread of about 30cm, has considerable tolerance to trampling, and can be a very interesting option for this purpose.
Other characteristics to highlight of this species are its profuse flowering which, in a deep blue, goes from early spring to late summer. And it has medium growth, unlike other ground covers that usually have slower development.
It is ideal for those less sunny places where grass never quite thrives well, as Pratia has good tolerance to partial shade. It is also a species very resistant to frost and undemanding in terms of soil type, which makes it a very versatile plant suitable for many situations.
Here is the link to the BBC news