Maybe you could try convincing the husband that paths edging the garden would make the lawn much easier to maintain with a nice clean edge... no worries about running over plants with the mower... Once you get the paths, then you can start cutting a piece here, a piece there...
When I was at my last house, I had no lawn. My daughter was ages 10-18 there, and really wanted a lawn.. One day I brought home a piece of lawn that was about the size of a placemat and put it by the driveway.. I told her it was big enough for her to wiggle her toes or park her butt... She was not amused..
Now I've got more lawn than I want or need... and I have been chipping away at it over the years making and enlarging the beds. We live in a clearing surrounded by forest, so fire is always a danger. The lawn makes a good break, so I'm not inclined to remove it entirely... but I'm thinking about an island of plants in a couple of areas
