It will depend on where you live. In San Diego, I had naturalized nasturtiums at one house, and planted thyme and oregano at another (but sold the house before they really took off).

Thanks! There is one thyme lawn nearby. It is mixed with very large flagstone and looks like a million dollars. I investigate oregano. BTW I live in Canada in zone 6. :) Thanks raee

Do you need to walk on the groundcover? Will you have some paving stones in this section? Is the area is sun or shade? How big is the area?

I'm in Zone 8B so my plant selections could be very different than yours -- check with a local nursery. I have a crazy little dog so everything has to be tough.

In my shade garden I've successfully used epimedium and pachysandra to replace struggling lawn. In the sunny side of the yard I've used a combination of plants to create a mosaic appearance. There are several varieties of sedum, ajuga, cotoneaster and thyme. Over time, the stronger growers take over the others, which is fine with me. In both beds I installed paving stones so I can more easily weed, prune nearby trees and shrubs, etc. Hope this helps.

The idea of mixing in strategic paving stones is a brilliant idea. I will use that for sure. Ajuga is an option for me. I already have a large cultivar of cotoneaster in some spots. Thanks einportlandor

I’m in Zone 8 of PNW. I have 2 different places in my backyard covered with ”Brass Buttons” / Leptinella. Both receive afternoon & morning sun, both have good water from either in ground irrigation or drip sprayers. This cover takes light foot traffic.. visitors always remark on it - positively - and doggies love laying on it - so soft on tummies. Looks like mini ferns. There are varieties in color & size, spreads via runners & easy to control. Thers’s some thinning in too wet or cold winters but it thickens right back in spring. A photo of one area in my yard from last fall

@KW your garden is lovely! Can you tell us more about your plants?

@KW PNW Z8 - "soft for doggie tummies" is the best description ever!

Oh my gosh, thank you @turtlexings24 - you’ve brightened my day! I need that as it’s showery & chilly today after a high 60’s sunny Sunday here in Vancouver WA. I’ve made changes since last fall. The euonymus shrub against fence -at right in orig pic -is gone. The Fernspray Hinoki in pot in corner in new pic was in left round gold pot in original. It has bright yellow new growth & resembles a fern shape. Mature size @10' but slow growing & I've had it for @6 years.. Did I mention I move plants around? The taller orange stunner in orig pic is Fothergilla 'Mt. Airy' It's blooming now with those fragrant white bottlebrush looking flowers. Leaves will be a gray green rounded shape. it's related to Witch Hazel. The fall color is to die for - like a torch against the deep green of the ' 'Emerald Green' Arborvitae. The bare looking shrub in orig pic & in front of Fothergilla is a 'My Monet' dwarf Weigela. Pink edged leaves & flowers - deciduous - that plant is @ 10 years old so a true dwarf! Bright limey green ball in pot is dwarf gold barberry - can't remember which one but I do keep ID tags. The other stuff in pots is Coral Bells / Heuchera which I have all over both front & back yard in many dark red & purple colors which tolerate sun better. I love Coral Bellls & my hummingbirds do too! The other 2 plants in pots are different dwarf hinoki cypress. I love dwarf conifers too. That's a bamboo behind the fence in neighbors yard - clumping, not running & well contained along with a 4' deep cement retaining wall along that back stretch. There's a slope there that you can see in the Brass buttons & that round circle pavers area is two deep steps down from top pavers.

Depends! I'm in frigid zone 4 and for shade, I like Canadian or European gingers, hardy gerania, lamia (lamium, plural?), lily of the valley (which I can't grow because of my dog), spurges, coral bells, hosta... for sun, I like thyme for short (between pavers on paths) and cover crops like clovers and alfalfa for where I want to do soil remediation against decades of lawn. And if you are like me and have a reduced- or removed-lawn goal, don't forget your trees, shrubs, and perennials!

I live in Canada in zone 5-6 I plante thyme but it does not last forever it getggy and needs replacment for time to time I live vinca pretty purple flowers in the spring evergreen and looks great and grows well but not in a hot dry environment . So you need to know what groes well in your situation so vist the local garden store and ask questions .This is vinca BTW I hate grass so always choose anything but .

Exactly Patricia, anything but grass. I refuse to spend my limited garden time on lawn grass - it is boring and lacks imagination. Vinca certainly has been a good option already in some spots. Lovely pic.

I second the thyme and oregano that raee suggested. Both will grow forever and keep on creeping out if you let them. I've a huge pool of lilly of the vally that I have to mow around to keep it from eating the whole back yard, lol. Lobelia and bugleherb in some spots. Seedums can spread out like crazy too if they are happy. I've a troublesome area on a hill that Ive been filling with mint- it's intensely invasive, which makes it perfect for that spot.

Mint! Yes mint! I love that idea. I will gladly weed but not mow lawn grass - boring.

The suggestion of what groundcover might be best as a lawn replacement will depend entirely on where the OP is located geographically and what the soil and growing conditions are. Until we know that any suggestions made are just spitting in the wind.

GG, you missed that in her second post. She's in Canada zone 6. I'd rather know if she's in St John's or in Sandspit, but that's what we know for now.

The zone doesn't tell me much of anything :-) Actual location does. And we know nothing about the growing conditions either.

The more information provided by the OP, the better and more appropriate any suggestions will be. For example, while the leptinella will be hardy in Ca zone 6/US zone 5, it will not be evergreen and will look like cr*p until it starts to regenerate in late spring. So for at least 6 months out of the year you've got a pretty ugly mess on your hands.

Asking the same question for L.A. area. Watering will be restricted to once a week secondary to drought conditions. Looking for low water usage ground cover. Thank you!

@flopsycat1, how much foot traffic will it receive? The thyme and oregano should work but I'd also consider silver carpet beach aster, Lessingia filaginifolia ‘Silver Carpet, Ceanothus horizontalis (native), beach srawberry (native), Dymondia margaretae, Kurapia, creeping rosemary, Cerastium, Delosperma 'Fire Spinner', sedums/stonecrops.

All of these assume a full sun location and good drainage. And all will need some watering to become established.......anything other than rocks will :-)

@gardengal48 Thanks so much for your suggestions! No foot traffic at all. Considering weed barrier and much to limit need for maintenance, and retain moisture. The area gets full sun and appears to drain well.

With NO foot traffic, you can expand your selection to include some taller growing or easily smushed choices :-)) Check out the 'waterwise gardening' or California Friendly websites that encourage drought tolerant landscape choices for all of SoCal.

https://www.ladwp.cafriendlylandscaping.com

https://www.bewaterwise.com/assets/ca-friendly-maintenance-book.pdf

https://water.ca.gov/water-basics/conservation-tips/plant-and-landscape-guide

@gardengal48 (can’t get this to tag you) Thanks for the great suggestions!

Toronto Zone 6 here. I've had several ground covers that looked very good for a few years, then didn't.

Ajuga was lovely for a few years on my front allowance between road and sidewalk, then got mildew year after year. Spraying with sulphur didn't help much.

I finally ripped it out and replaced it with golden creeping jenny. Again, beautiful for a few years then it got sawfly larvae that ate it right down to the stem, several years in a row.

I finally re-planted the grass. Not happy about it.

@raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio silly question, maybe, but how does a full-clover lawn stand up to foot traffic? I always loved the patches of clover on the playground fields, and would love to have a full lawn of clover....what would be the downsides? Watering?

If, for example, you had the mail carrier walking through the clover taking the same path 6 days per week, clover would develop a stunted growth habit along the walking path. Pets can cause the same effect.

This from raee seems like a good option for me: "I have a neighbor with grass allergy, so she had landscaped her front yard with a variety of very low growing evergreens and stones. It always looks good!"