As pleasant as it is to have your own patch of perfectly cropped green grass, maintaining a lawn is time consuming, expensive and water intensive.

Lawns require constant watering and weeding, mowing every couple of weeks, and are prone to dying off in heat and drought.

If you want the benefits without the cost and hassle, there's a few options to consider.

Plant ground cover

There was no such thing as a backyard lawn before the 1850s, says botanist and historian Peter Macinnis. Around that time, the cylinder push lawnmower was invented, and highly curated grassy spaces became all the rage.

Woolly thyme makes for a great groundcover, and you'll never have to buy the herb again. ( Patrick Standish, CC BY 2.0 )

Before then, if you wanted some nice, short grass — for example, to play sport on — you'd need the help of sheep, goats or cattle. It's a reminder that grass is not easily tamed.

If you're not planning to do too much walking on it, you can ditch the grass and get a similar effect by planting a creeping ground cover like kidney weed (Dicondra repens) or woolly thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus), landscape designer Ian Barker says.

"Dicondra won't work if you'll have kids trampling on it, but if it's not going to get walked on all the time, it's a great lawn alternative," he says.

"Thyme is green, except when it flowers, which is once a year. It's quite tolerant and can handle full sun."

Pros

You'll never have to mow the lawn ever again

You'll never have to mow the lawn ever again Dicondra is native

Dicondra is native Ground covers are hardier than most grasses

Cons

Dicondra and thyme won't work in well-trodden areas

Dicondra and thyme won't work in well-trodden areas No grass for backyard cricket or playing children

Plant a garden or use gravel or pavers

The other option is to dig up your lawn and plant a garden, which is the solution Mr Macinnis recommends.

"There are low plants you can get that will do a lovely job and they'll look pleasant," he says.

What to plant will depend on where you live, but Peter suggests native grasses like kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra).

Mixing the plants up with a soft gravel, or a pathway of bricks or pavers will be both practical and pleasant, Mr Barker adds.

The trick to gravel, he says, is to get one fine enough so it doesn't stick in your shoes.

"At my house, I'm going to have a soft gravel to walk on through the garden beds," he adds.

"Really fine gravels with a series of ground covers can also look really good."

Pros

You could end up with a lovely new garden!

You could end up with a lovely new garden! Pavers, bricks and gravel need virtually no maintenance

Pavers, bricks and gravel need virtually no maintenance Natives like kangaroo grass don't require much watering

Cons

Ripping up the lawn and planting the garden takes work — and money

Go synthetic

Synthetic grass has a high upfront cost, but never needs mowing or water. ( Perfect Grass, CC BY 2.0 )

You can get rid of the plant life all together by using a synthetic lawn. Instead of grass, you'll have a series of green, plastic fibres held up by granules of black rubber.

Synthetic lawns are great for areas that will get trampled or are difficult to access, Mr Barker says, but they can get hot.

"The black granules of rubber in synthetic grass can heat to the point where they burn children's feet," he says.

"Also, while a grass lawn will cool your back garden, a synthetic one will heat it up. That can be a problem, especially in urban areas."

But, you'll never have to worry about mowing, watering or your grass dying off ever again.

Pros

Virtually no maintenance required

Virtually no maintenance required Synthetic lawns are always green

Synthetic lawns are always green Great for difficult to access areas or spaces where grass struggles to grow

Cons

Heats up the nearby area

Heats up the nearby area Expensive to install

Expensive to install Artificial

Artificial Less environmentally friendly

Use a slow-growing or hardy grass

If you're absolutely set on having grass in your yard, there are lower maintenance varieties available.

At his own house, Mr Barker uses a premium Zoysia variety, which was originally developed for golf courses.

If you really want a grass lawn, make sure to choose the right variety for the conditions. ( ABC Central West: Melanie Pearce )

While a typical lawn requires mowing every two to three weeks, he expects he'll only have to get out the mower a few times each year. And, the grass is drought tolerant.

"It's dark green by nature, and it can handle shade and handle sun. It's three-and-a-half times more expensive though," he says.

If you just want a lawn that will stay alive, buffalo grass is hardy in both sun and shade.

Palmetto buffalo has a soft leaf and requires less mowing; Sir Walter is a hardier but faster growing variety.

You'll end up with a lovely lawn, but don't say we didn't warn you about the work involved.

"Lawn is a slave. Grass is an anarchist. It does its own thing," Mr Macinnis says.

"There's an old Peter Reynolds song that goes, 'God bless the grass that goes through the cracks. You lay the concrete over it, and the grass grows back'."

Pros

It's still grass, which means it'll cool your garden area

It's still grass, which means it'll cool your garden area Great for kids/footy/backyard cricket

Cons