I am a reformed anti-lawn snob. Not understanding effective lawn care, I firmly bought into the idea that lawn was a status symbol of the old aristocracy that we imported to the new world to the detriment of our naturally diverse ecosystem. To me, perfect grass meant toxic chemicals, excessive irrigation, dirty leaf blowers, and noisy mowers.
Since I refused to engage in everything but the bare minimum, my lawn was weedy and patchy. Over time, I’ve been converting my lawn to cultivated space, and now only have one patch of grass left.
However, I have come to learn the virtues of well managed lawn in landscape design and the ecosystem. Grass stores atmospheric carbon and provides summer cooling. Its matted root system is also fantastic at holding onto topsoil during heavy rains while sponging up copious amounts of water. Last year, I saw heavy equipment damage grass on a sloped area. Then watched as heavy rain carved deep channels sweeping away the topsoil. It was difficult to get grass re-established there.
As for my other concerns, lovely, green grass doesn’t have to be toxic and dirty. Like everything else, if you know when and how much to deliver in water and nutrients, as well as how to mow properly, all of the costs in dollars and ecosystem can be reduced dramatically, while still providing a nice place to play for your kids and pets. It’s also soft, cool, and smells pretty great too.
I’m learning to care for my lawn, and I wanted to share what I learned with you. I have also launched a neighborhood experiment to test drive my recent training. I’ll keep you posted on our progress. Here is my Turfgrass Growing Guide tips to save you time, money, and energy.
Are you interesting in joining my turfgrass experiment? I send updates to my participants about what to do when, as well as how. Let me know and I’ll add you to the mailing list.
Second Breakfast Gardens 