Middlebrook Gardens used natural grasses that go to seed. These feed birds, butterflies and bees. According to Alrie Middlebrook, "Everything in life, including our food sources, is tied to flowering plants."

She has instructed that it's best to keep heavy traffic off the area for about a year while the grasses develop. Once this "alternative" lawn is established it requires a lot less mowing.

Meanwhile Back East...

Project Native in Housatonic, MA
sells a flat with 25 plugs of native grasses and wildflowers. Here's what it includes:

Big Bluestem, Andropogon gerardii
Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalis
Culver's Root, Veronicastrum viriginicum
Foxglove Beardtongue, Penstemon digitalis
Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica
Indian Grass, Sorghastrum nutans
Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium
Mountain Mint, Pycanthemum muticum
New England Aster, Aster novae-angliae
New York Ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis
Ox-eye Sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides
Purple Joe-Pye, Eupatorium fistulosa
Wild Bee Balm, Monarda fistulosa

You can contact Prospect and
Refuge for an estimate to have a native meadow installed in the New York City area.