@clive I live in NM now where lawns are a real exception, and I love it. I don’t miss having one at all. The kids sometimes say they miss having one because we would kick the soccer ball around and throw the frisbee a lot, but we have other things now (and can go to a nearby park for those things).
@clive I know very close to zero about this subject, but heard t'other day that in fire-prone areas lawns are good for soil retention and compared to many other types of plant life not so flammable. Anything to those claims?
@clive Indeed. Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t has been on this for a bunch of years, and he and Al Scorch have been hosting a show called “Kill Your Lawn” where they help people rip out turf lawns and replace them with beautiful native plants. Worth a look.
@clive Lawns and a tree. We recreate the savanna, including the tree to escape predators in. It isn’t about order. It is a psychological drive to fell safe that is millions of years old.
I thought I had responded to this, but apparently not. So here it is.
My lawn is smaller than the size of a two car garage. The only reason I put it in was because my dog liked to roll in grass. Yes, I have to water it in the summer. Yes I have to mow it (with my electric mower) every 7 to 10 days in the summer. But I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have a lawn that small on 10 acres of property that is completely native vegetation — other than where my house and driveway are).
@clive Passing this on to my landscape architect son in case it hasn't come across his radar yet; he avoids residential projects. My neighbors don't understand how he lets me 'neglect' my lawn and they don't understand my explanation that it's intentional...
@clive Large city suburban lawn turned wild. I have some grass paths that I mow on the other side. Key is hedges all the way around on a corner lot so no one really can see what is going on. Guy across from me mows his tiny lawn with a tractor 3 times a week!
@clive I always thought lawns were part of the “American dream” about every home a castle, etc., and copying Versailles or some such place. Americans seem to insist that they are all royalty. Me? I’ve expanded the garden into 70% of the front yard. Screw that stuff
@clive grass isn't even natural on the west coast. Its like planting a cactus in Siberia. If we're going after lawns, we should also target the largest offender, golf courses. Empty pieces of land that do nothing but waste water. As George Carlin once said, they're perfect spots to put up homeless shelters.
@clive I allowed my front lawn to die this summer. HOA cannot enforce anything because we are in drought conditions and water restrictions in Bexar County, Texas. I plan on xeriscaping and reducing the amount of grass in my yard significantly.
@clive Our last patch of lawn goes away next spring as we put in a small patio in a shady spot and plant a vegetable garden in full sun.
We've received complaints from neighbors that our front yard is too messy: Wildflowers, native pollinators, and low maintenance native plants. These are people who can't stand anything but lawns.
@hannu_ikonen@clive
We live in an allegedly progressive suburb, but all our neighbors are lawn poisoners and they whisper about our wild lawn and garden behind our backs and make polite but passive aggressive comments to our faces.
But the birds love our yard the best.
😎🦆🕊️🦉🐦🐦⬛😇
@ReneeWestberry@hannu_ikonen@clive Us too! I consider the presence of frogs and mushrooms strong indicators that we’re treating our little patch of ground kindly
Ha my wife and I like to turn that around and feel good about ourselves. Reverse bellwether -- if a bunch of White "Blue Lives Matter" yard poisoners dont like us, we're doing alright 😎
@ReneeWestberry@hannu_ikonen@clive I live in the UK in an area with reasonable rainfall but never water the lawn even in drought. For mowing in use guinea pigs because I'm lazy and don't care how uneven the grass looks 😆
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