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No, we can blame my dad, who wouldn't tolerate a dandelion on his perfect, well manicured yard. In fact, that's what he thought he had kids for, to make sure to root out any stray dandelion that had the misfortune to find its way into his yard! And it was an acre's worth of lawn there too, so it was quite a job keeping those suckers out... ( along with the Japanese beetles off the roses, leaves off the lawn in the fall, etc).
Interesting how few folks use their property in ways other than to grow food, thinking others are judging them by their pristine lawns. Cannot imagine having an acre of nothing but manicured grass, and not a dandelion to be found. The other day my 15-mo-old grandtwins were running around the yard picking the bright yellow dandelions, so pretty in meadows and yards, and I ran around after them telling them to stop.
Interesting how few folks use their property in ways other than to grow food, thinking others are judging them by their pristine lawns. Cannot imagine having an acre of nothing but manicured grass, and not a dandelion to be found. The other day my 15-mo-old grandtwins were running around the yard picking the bright yellow dandelions, so pretty in meadows and yards, and I ran around after them telling them to stop.
Egad and I thought my neighbors were bad. Seriously, I know that folks with pristine lawns hear about it and get complements from neighbors and folks just walking by. Not sure those with ummmm lets say not pristine lawns really know what folks think about theirs. lots of folks like corner lots so they can showcase their lawns.
Interesting how few folks use their property in ways other than to grow food, thinking others are judging them by their pristine lawns. Cannot imagine having an acre of nothing but manicured grass, and not a dandelion to be found. The other day my 15-mo-old grandtwins were running around the yard picking the bright yellow dandelions, so pretty in meadows and yards, and I ran around after them telling them to stop.
Here's a picture of my boyhood home. The grass looks green and is of a normal height as it was fifty to sixty years ago when I lived there. Our grass was a mixture of Kentucky Blue and Crab ; Dandelions were pleasing harbingers of summer. I much preferred the driveway when I lived there; it had two strips of cracked concrete over a mixture of soil with a bit of gravel.
I don't recall any manicured lawns in the town. I doubt that Frederick Law Olmsted who designed the place would have liked that sort of thing. In fact, lawns of that sort seemed confined to the ticky-tacky stuff in the newer cookie-cutter suburbs of the west suburban Chicago area, probably then as today in the yards of the sort who can't distinguish the difference between compliment and complement.
Today, I have natural landscaping. My place is in a border area of short grass prairie and sagebrush desert. I do get a few dandelions and all sorts of wildflowers My favorite is the magnificent but short-lived (just a few days) prickly pear. The flowers are nearly three inches across.
Sagebrush
Those who eat sagebrush: Pronghorn antelope is the only species.
Nietzshe was dead wrong; art is not superior to Nature. An unmanicured lawn is at least interesting, but don't you wish you could go out your door and see pronghorns.
In one apartment complex I lived in the tenants get together and made management stop spraying with poisons to control the dandelions. These people had kids and cared a lot more about their kids than they cared about a uniformly green and boring lawn. It was great that they won! And the grass looked fine, dandelions and all.
Egad and I thought my neighbors were bad. Seriously, I know that folks with pristine lawns hear about it and get complements from neighbors and folks just walking by. Not sure those with ummmm lets say not pristine lawns really know what folks think about theirs. lots of folks like corner lots so they can showcase their lawns.
It would be a sad day if a pristine lawn were one of the primary things on my spring-summer agenda. It tells neighbors "See how meticulous I am." That said, around public and private buildings the lawn should be perfect. But outside of downright "overgrown," I love home sweet home....porches, little violets in the lawn, a dandelion here and there, or those minions of white flowers that spread. I guess I prefer New England and Missouri farmhouse-type places, lilac and wisteria and dandelion and all the stuff others would rout out... with bees.
It would be a sad day if a pristine lawn were one of the primary things on my spring-summer agenda. It tells neighbors "See how meticulous I am." That said, around public and private buildings the lawn should be perfect. But outside of downright "overgrown," I love home sweet home....porches, little violets in the lawn, a dandelion here and there, or those minions of white flowers that spread. I guess I prefer New England and Missouri farmhouse-type places, lilac and wisteria and dandelion and all the stuff others would rout out... with bees.
There are plants especially if well maintained in planting areas to attract bees, butterflies etc oh yeah and hummingbirds. It isn't about personally projecting being meticulous it is to many about curb appeal.
There are plants especially if well maintained in planting areas to attract bees, butterflies etc oh yeah and hummingbirds. It isn't about personally projecting being meticulous it is to many about curb appeal.
For me there's a happy medium. When I think of perfectly manicured lawns, I think of houses back in the '50s, all identical in suburbia, same house, same lawn, same same same. I like a bit of creativity and interest. I know a lot of men love their perfectly trimmed green lawns though.
When I still had my "real" house, pre-retirement, we bought organic products and the lawn stayed nice. In fact, it was a nicer color green than the lawn of the guy next store who was a slave to his lawn and used expensive chemicals. His lawn was a rather fake shade of blue-green.
This isn't my yard but I think it's gorgeous, dandelions and all.
For laughs, I should show a photo of my current "lawn" no, it was not a lawn-- area of dried out straw with weeds, when we first moved here. Anything is better than that. It's by the beach though and it's hard to grow anything here. We have improved it but it's still not a lawn. Different strokes, no one cares that much here--it's the beach.
This isn't my yard but I think it's gorgeous, dandelions and all.
For laughs, I should show a photo of my current "lawn" no, it was not a lawn-- area of dried out straw with weeds, when we first moved here. Anything is better than that. It's by the beach though and it's hard to grow anything here. We have improved it but it's still not a lawn. Different strokes, no one cares that much here--it's the beach.
That's a real roll-around-in-the-grass kind of place whether you're human or canine.
I'll admit that I'd like to have a lawn like that in my backyard. Spring is nice back there.
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; Dandelions were pleasing harbingers of summer. I much preferred the driveway when I lived there; it had two strips of cracked concrete over a mixture of soil with a bit of gravel.
