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Because I want to. Thank you very much. I like my lawn to look like a baseball field, golf course. I take pride in ridding all crabgrass and dandelions from my lawn. What do you care? It's my money and energy. You just stay off my lawn buddy!
I bet the energy "wasted" on your nice lawn is less than the energy needed to keep City-Data going for someone to then post on the internet criticizing it.
A big pile of hypocrisy. Reminds me of these millionaires that fly in private jets, eat fancy meals, and travel with a posse to environmental meetings ...all the while criticizing the rest of us.
^^^ Yea, we can't argue about tastes. Some people like the way they look with tatoos...The rest of us are normal.
The point, I think, of the thread is that lawns represent an over all drag on the environment causing loss of habitat and often are cared for with inappropriate amounts of deleterious chemicals and N & P fertilizers. There are studies that show, while famers use far and away more N & P than homeowners, it's the urban/suburban lawns that are the source of most of the irresponsible run-off contaminating lakes & streams...
...Just like using any medicine, use the right dose when treating lawns.
We're changing our HOA home's backyard into a clover yard, 2nd year now, will probably be done in 4 years, combination of dividing the clover that's there into new spots as well as seeding into the yard with clover seed.
The front yard and sides we keep the way it was when purchased and have yard maintenance to kill weeds. That business gave us very little discount for removing the backyard from their work, maybe 20%.
I've noticed other homes in our small community letting clover grow in their front yards and think "yay" when we walk past.
It is really hard to switch from a manicured lawn mentality into something else. I don't want neighbors who have trashy lawns in front of their houses, makes everyones homes look bad. I also don't want green carpet or white stone yards (Florida).
Maybe have very small yards in front, mulched and planted with trees, bushes and perennials. Let the backyards go native if they can't be seen.
^^^ Yea, we can't argue about tastes. Some people like the way they look with tatoos...The rest of us are normal.
The point, I think, of the thread is that lawns represent an over all drag on the environment causing loss of habitat and often are cared for with inappropriate amounts of deleterious chemicals and N & P fertilizers. There are studies that show, while famers use far and away more N & P than homeowners, it's the urban/suburban lawns that are the source of most of the irresponsible run-off contaminating lakes & streams...
...Just like using any medicine, use the right dose when treating lawns.
I am in partial agreement with you. Your medicine analogy is appropriate. I use weed and feed but only the prescribed dosage on my spreader. I don't saturate my property with it. I've seen some homeowners do that. Crazy. However, nothing wrong with getting your grass, landscaping as pristine as possible. You would have to show me data about farmers using more chemicals than homeowners but us homeowners are more irresponsible with run-off. Make it make sense.
Lawns are beautiful and provide oxygen like the trees we have.
Our front yard doesn't have grass, but a ground cover called Vinca Minor. Evergreen with small blue flowers. Vinca grows very slowly but once it is established it never gets higher than 8-10 inches. No need to trim or move down, and it doesn't need much watering. You can walk on it. It stays green 12 months a year. Beside the watering it is maintenance free.
Lawns are beautiful and provide oxygen like the trees we have.
Our front yard doesn't have grass, but a ground cover called Vinca Minor. Evergreen with small blue flowers. Vinca grows very slowly but once it is established it never gets higher than 8-10 inches. No need to trim or move down, and it doesn't need much watering. You can walk on it. It stays green 12 months a year. Beside the watering it is maintenance free.
I am intrigued by that Vinca Minor. I would like to use that in my flower beds. I have 5 linear ft on one side and about 20 linear ft. on the other. I have some bushes in there but wanted something more to make the bed pop. I live in the Poconos so would it thrive there?
Why do we keep pouring money and energy resources into having a well manicured green lawn?
If you are in a climate with a lot of annual precipitation the lawn is the easiest yard to maintain for people without knowledge, time or inclination to gardening and landscaping.
It is better for the climate compare to bare soil. It is better for the house in case of fire - firescaping.
There are other obvious advantages as well.
Don’t understand the hatred for the lawn. Yes, it is perhaps inappropriate in a dry locations with no water.
It is still supports some wildlife in the absence of alternatives
Why do we keep pouring money and energy resources into having a well manicured green lawn?
Keeping up with the Jones.
My last home had a very small lawn amid all drought-tolerant native landscaping on drip irrigation lines. Something was blooming all the time, even during winter. No muss, no fuss. The barrier plastic sheeting kept most of the weeks in check, and automatic everything made for no maintenance. This was not some ugly ragweed yard that was an eyesore. Everything was properly selected and placed, and made for a beautiful, natural looking yard.
I don't know who decided that a front yard should be a small golf course.
I am going to blame easterners for that. It rains frequently over many states east of the Mississippi River and people are used to having copious green lawns that rarely need anything but mowing. Manual watering is few and far between to cover dry spells.
In the west, it makes no sense but everybody in the west came from the east at one point in US history, unless you are Spanish.
Sure, you didn't come from back east, but great-grandma did and by gum, she brought her Kentucky blue grass with her!
I don't think general maintenance of lawns is resource intensive but some people go way out all season to keep it trimmed, watered, monitored, and all kinds of science to just have a lawn that looks like a carpet.
If you are a farmer and keeping your crops managed, that's good but maintenace of grass is not a net positive for the environment.
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