sorry you waited so long till you got any response to your question, I hope you're still checking in.

There are great alternatives to lawns. In my case, I dug up different patches of the front lawn, bordered them with stones (abundant in our area, as you know!) and made beautiful garden plots for flowers and herbs, mostly perennials that require little maintenance. My neighbors tell me it looks beautiful. (I mention this because people always seem to worry about "what the neighbors will say"
when they want to do alternatives to lawns that are more imaginative and eco-friendly than paving them over with brick, concrete or paving stones.

Ground covers are another way to go that we're slowly but surely switching over to on our larger side lawn. Ornamental grasses bunched together look great and don't require mowing, white (and also red) clover (though white doesn't grow as tall) fixes nitrogen in the soil, and the roots go down deep so they help aerate compacted soil, plus they attract honeybees and look lovely. Various species of thyme spread readily and smell great when you step on them.
Sweet woodruff is another great smelling ground cover that grows and spreads.

good luck and have fun shifting your lawn into a more alive landscape that uses much less water and less of your time and energy on mowing.

And let people here know how you do with it!

green blessings,

Robin Rose