Living Without Lawn follows the evolution of a lifelong devotee of the crew-cut lawn to someone dedicated to a new aesthetic in which low-cropped grass plays an increasingly minor role. Author Russell Steven Powell’s shift in thinking began as a response to climate change, but quickly gained momentum as a way to add beauty and variety to the home landscape, promote physical fitness, and exercise the senses. Powell describes his five-year project to replace a wide swath of lawn in his front yard with a series of gardens, stonewalls, and sculpture — all without the use of gas-powered machines. He offers suggestions and opinions on dozens of annual and perennial plants based on more than 40 years of gardening in a variety of New England soils, and brings his experience as a visual artist to bear on issues of garden design.