We love our lawns.
As the Englishman, Frank Scott, wrote in 1870, we see our lawn as our "home's velvet robe." (1) In fact, in his book, The Art of Beautifying Suburban Home Grounds, he stated that "a smooth, closely shaven surface of grass is by far the most essential element of beauty on the grounds of a suburban house." (2)
But these same lawns are:
* depleting reservoirs of water -- water that could be used for drinking or to grow food. [In some areas, lawns use more water than a family of four.]
* contributing approximately 410,000 tons of ozone causing pollutants and 1.6 trillion tons of carbon monoxide emissions per year in the United States as gas powered mowers and handheld equipment is used to keep these lawns manicured. [Lawnmowers and other gas-powered lawn equipment produces
5% of the nation's air pollution and uses 800 million gallons of gasoline a year.]
5% of the nation's air pollution and uses 800 million gallons of gasoline a year.]
* reducing the amount of available habitat for natural wildlife. [Suburban sprawl is a major threat to native animals, plants and insects.]
* causing about 70,000 injuries a year as people lose fingers, toes, or more while using their mower or other lawn equipment improperly. [Hospitals and emergency rooms treated 70,640 injuries related to power lawnmowers, hand mowers and riding power mowers in 1999.]
* using up our free time as we becomes slaves to watering, mowing, fertilizing, and weeding our lawns.
* undermining our national security as we contribute to our national "need" for petroleum based products such as fertilizers and weed killers (not to mention the gasoline that is used to power lawn equipment). [It is possible that political situations could affect our ability to fertilize our crops as well which could lead to a food shortage.]
* contributing to the pollution of drinking water and land in general. [Fertilizer contains toxic pollutants.]
But what alternative do we have?
There are several steps you can take to combat our current situation, from changing mowers to gardening with only native plants. Even taking one small step could mean a world of difference if
the whole nation were to follow suit. And by taking a little extra time and money up front, you can actually reduce your costs and labor dramatically and still have a beautiful yard.
the whole nation were to follow suit. And by taking a little extra time and money up front, you can actually reduce your costs and labor dramatically and still have a beautiful yard.
Alternatives
* Get a reel mower. Use a broom instead of that noisy leaf blower. And try out a pair of clippers instead of using a gas powered string trimmer. Several regions have programs called "Mowing Down Pollution" which enable you to turn in your gas-guzzling power mowers and other hand-held equipment in return for great rebates on people powered lawn equipment. (Just type "mowing down pollution" into your favorite search engine and see if there's a program near you.) -- Of course, if you
want to get really radical, you could try having a free range guinea pig. We had one for 8 months that kept our lawn looking like a golf course. Our lawn was trimmed and fertilized without any money or energy on our part. (It worked great until a neighborhood cat discovered our "lawn mower.")
want to get really radical, you could try having a free range guinea pig. We had one for 8 months that kept our lawn looking like a golf course. Our lawn was trimmed and fertilized without any money or energy on our part. (It worked great until a neighborhood cat discovered our "lawn mower.")
* Try a little xeriscaping. Xeriscaping means planting water conserving landscapes that are appropriate for their given uses. (For example, a rock garden isn't appropriate for an area where your kids will be playing soccer, but it might be the best option for a part of the yard that's hard to drag the watering hose over to.)
* Go native! The plants that are native to your part of the country are ones that are perfectly adapted both to the climate and the pests. You'll end up watering and fertilizing less and enjoying your yard more. (Did you know that Kentucky Blue Grass is not native to Kentucky?! It was actually brought in from Europe.) You can find out what plants are native to your area by plugging your zip code into the
Backyard Wildlife Habitat site. (Go to the Native Plants page and click on the kinds of plants you'd like to find. There will be a popup page that asks for your zip code.)
Backyard Wildlife Habitat site. (Go to the Native Plants page and click on the kinds of plants you'd like to find. There will be a popup page that asks for your zip code.)
* Water your current lawn more wisely. Avoid watering your driveway, sidewalk or street (or any other
non-growing thing that doesn't really need water). Water in the morning when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation. Only water your lawn when it needs it. (If you walk across it and leave footprints, then its time to water.) Collect rain water and use it to water your garden. (There are even more water saving ideas at the "Water. Use it Wisely" web site.)
* Compost. By composting your grass, leaves and kitchen scraps, you not only save landfill space, but you're creating a terrific soil amendment (=healthy soil that's full of good stuff for plants).non-growing thing that doesn't really need water). Water in the morning when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation. Only water your lawn when it needs it. (If you walk across it and leave footprints, then its time to water.) Collect rain water and use it to water your garden. (There are even more water saving ideas at the "Water. Use it Wisely" web site.)
Resources (in addition to the ones listed
Top ten Reasons to consider a reel mower (from the American Lawn Mower Company).above) Another helpful composting site. More great essays on Lawn Culture: The American Lawn, Dawn of a New Lawn, The Lawn Mower: Analysis of Suburban Artifacts (Interpretation), The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession, Have you checked your hay crop for irony lately?, |
Footnotes
(1) quote taken from Jeremy Rifkin's book, Biosphere Politics, (Crown Publishers, Inc. New York, c1991), page 166 (where he is in turn quoting Frank J. Scott from his treatise, "The Art of Beautifying Suburban Home Grounds." (2) quote taken from the article "Dawn of a New Lawn" by Andy Wasowski in Audubon Magazine |
I hate turf. As Eric has stated, it really is appropriate for dogs and kids. I can see that. Lawns relly are the SUV's of plants, though. They photosynthesize at an extremely high rate. To me, turf should be an accent and not a full course meal.
ReplyDeletei tore out my lawn as soon as i moved in, and planted drought-resistant mostly native plants.
ReplyDeleteanother benefit - provides more habitat for wildlife.
no kids, no lawnmower.
we've tried going native on the front "boulevard" (i'm not sure that that's what it's called. it's the section between the street and the sidewalk.) and i've learned that i really suck at laying out plants properly. i need michael to come here and do it for me.
ReplyDeletewhen it comes to arranging a room, i usually set the furniture out then keep rearranging till it's the way i like it. it's harder to do that with plants, though.
but we pretty much only water our lawn when the kids want to run through the sprinkler. the first few years here i went through constant guilt feelings every time i looked at the neighbors well watered, weed free lawn. i felt like i was somehow pulling them down or something idiotic.
but then i realized that though they do their lawn their way, they seem to hold no judgements against us on how we do our lawn. so we pluck out our dandelions but our lawn remains full of them anyway, and our lawn is generally a brownish green. (especially this year with almost no rain whatsoever until lately). and i'm content with that.
i'd rather have it all xeriscaped, but i think i'll do a crummy job.
if we get a new house (we're looking right now) i think i'm just going to turn the front lawn into an herb garden.
We never water our lawn, only cut it occassionally. But we have a stream at the bottom of our garden, so the bottom half of the lawn is usually always a nice green, no matter the weather, since it has it's own supply of water in the stream it can draw on. The upper half doesn't get this, so it does turn a yellow colour and dies off, and we just leave it. I never saw the point in watering it.
ReplyDeleteWe do water our pot plants in the garden though....
pot plants?
ReplyDeleteah - uk. never mind.
i like grass. and i am the only one on the block who knows how to properly grow, groom, and maintain it, or, i should say let it maintain itself.
ReplyDeleteId be happy to if I was local, Meg. As far as neighbors, I could care less about their yards as long as weed seeds are not blowing my way.
ReplyDeleteyeah, rob pays the kids to pick dandelion flowers and throw them in the trash. we figure that that way, even if we haven't pulled all the plants out, at least they're not spreading to other people's yards.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to kick http://www.soccercart.com/ soccer balls in this lawn... This field doesn't seem to have any hindrance to playing soccer with friends.
ReplyDelete