Especially during long periods of hot, dry weather, maintaining a garden lawn can be hard work.  If you don't have a sprinkler system set up, or aren't able to take frequent care of your lawn for whatever reason, then you may often find yourself stuck with a lot of dying grass that doesn't look great - or long, untamed grass that you haven't had the chance to mow.  Equally, you may not feel you're getting enough use out of the lawn to justify all the work you're currently putting in.  Chances are that unless you have young children or pets, you don't really need a lot of grass.  But what are the alternatives, and are they as cost-effective as grass?  Here are a couple of suggestions.

Wooden Decking

The most obvious and common replacement for a lawn-dominated garden is to create or extend a wooden deck across the space.  It can then be utilised with garden furniture, tools, toys, or almost anything else you'd like.  Though you'll need to pay for it to be constructed - and perhaps designed, if you'd like something multi-tier or elaborate - the wood you'll use will likely be quite affordable, and easy to protect against weather damage with specially designed products.  It's a good and versatile long-term solution.

Cement/Concrete

While you may think poured cement or concrete sounds bland, that's actually not the case.  It can be coloured, textured and otherwise 'jazzed up' in a wide variety of ways - so if you're picturing a smooth, solid grey surface, think again.  Specialist companies are available to render, colour and texture the concrete; the end result can look as varied as stained terracotta, marble, or a crackled texture.  Whatever you choose, protective and texture coatings are available to protect your floor.  Aside from the aesthetics, poured concrete flooring can make for a good, solid base for your garden, allowing for even very heavy furniture - and a nice flooring to surround a pool, too, if you have one.  Just as great as all these advantages are that it's very low-maintenance - once it's set, you can more or less leave it be.

Tiling

A good option if you'd like a good deal of control over colours and patterns, you can simply tile your garden for an aesthetically pleasing effect.  This can be done by yourself, or by hiring contractors to lay the tiles professionally for you.  Either way, it's simply a matter of deciding on a colour palette and budget, and away you go!  Again, tiling will produce a nice solid surface on which all kinds of garden furniture can be placed - though it may require some maintenance depending on the specific product you choose.

You can combine climber plants and potted plant displays with any of these flooring types to keep a little colour in your garden - and don't forget, you can still leave a little lawn if you don't mind maintaining it.  These are just simple, visually pleasing ways to reduce your garden maintenance workload, and make that outdoor space more relaxing for you.  Enjoy!