Lawns

[tractor]

What do you think, is it time to do away with large expanses of sterile green carpet like lawns?

I've never been a big fan of lawns, in fact I didn't start mowing until my kids were old enough to go outside, and I felt they should have a few spots where the could play without being swallowed by tall grass.

Now that my dad lives with us, he is obsessive about having a large mowed lawn, although I have been able to temper his desire a little by refusing to pay for fertilizer or Tru-Green visits (he has no money to spend). This has helped keep the mowing down a little. When he's gone, I plan to plant an excessive amount of wildflowers and native grasses and reclaim some of the mowed areas.

I like the look of a mowed lawn, but only in very small patches that form paths or highlight planting beds. I just read an article that the trend is heading towards more flower/planting beds, less mowing. Do you think it will catch on?

[billisonboard]

It won't be about mowing but watering which will dictate smaller/no grass lawns.

[Opti]

Actually, I just read an article asking people to consider not mowing their lawn for May and April to allow pollinators to do well. According to one study there were 3 or 5 times as many bees in these unmowed areas versus mowed areas.

[resolution]

I think that xeriscaping will become more of a thing in dry areas, but the part of the country I am in now has enough rain that the lawns all grow without any watering. A lot of people just have a lawn around their house and let the rest of their property grow into forest.

[taz157]

May 8, 2022 10:06:23 GMT -5 Opti said:

Actually, I just read an article asking people to consider not mowing their lawn for May and April to allow pollinators to do well. According to one study there were 3 or 5 times as many bees in these unmowed areas versus mowed areas.

That won’t work in many HOA areas. Once your grass gets so tall, it makes it even more of a pain to cut anyway.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

We just sold a half-acre lot and purchased a 1.4 acre lot. Our previous lot was mostly landscaped with trees, bushes, and perennial flowers. We had three small patches of grass. I will have to get used to not having as much rainfall as I've had for the past 9.5 years, and that will alter how we landscape. Our new lot has mostly grass, and we will be adding a variety of flowering bushes. 

[Artemis Windsong]

Since your dad ". . . has no money to spend", I would say, let him mow the grass since that will bring him pleasure and entertainment.

He will also get a little exercise.

[tractor]

May 8, 2022 15:07:05 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

Since your dad ". . . has no money to spend", I would say, let him mow the grass since that will bring him pleasure and entertainment.

He will also get a little exercise.

Very little exercise, he has a zero turn rider that he parks by the front door. No push mowing for him...he also uses the damn thing like a scooter, down the driveway to get the mail, out on the trails when he goes for a "walk". I wish he would actually walk....

[haapai]

May 8, 2022 8:47:19 GMT -5 tractor said:

What do you think, is it time to do away with large expanses of sterile green carpet like lawns?

I've never been a big fan of lawns, in fact I didn't start mowing until my kids were old enough to go outside, and I felt they should have a few spots where the could play without being swallowed by tall grass.

Now that my dad lives with us, he is obsessive about having a large mowed lawn, although I have been able to temper his desire a little by refusing to pay for fertilizer or Tru-Green visits (he has no money to spend). This has helped keep the mowing down a little. When he's gone, I plan to plant an excessive amount of wildflowers and native grasses and reclaim some of the mowed areas.

I like the look of a mowed lawn, but only in very small patches that form paths or highlight planting beds. I just read an article that the trend is heading towards more flower/planting beds, less mowing. Do you think it will catch on?

My grandfather had the same idea and put a lot of work into turning a portion of his grass into a wildflower garden. 

I wish that I could report that he was successful and that the results were beautiful.  The man had a botany degree and lots of time on his hands.  The plot of land that he chose to turn into a wildflower garden was extremely sandy.  The glaciers had removed most of the topsoil 10,000 years ago and what little topsoil had accumulated since then had been tilled back into the soil by his father or grandfather.  He worked hard to eliminate both native and non-native grasses and weeds from the area before planting but the place was a natural seed bank and beyond the reach of his hose and sprinkler.  He could not keep up with the weeds and grasses that emerged and competed with the wildflowers. 

The results might have been slightly different if he had put a tremendous amount of work into amending the soil or laying down a smothering layer of topsoil and then watered constantly and put a tremendous amount of effort into weeding out competing plants. 

I can't really blame him for not putting that effort in.  He already had a vegetable garden with the same soil and the same issues with weeds and watering.  It kept him quite busy with watering and weeding.  A man in his seventies probably should not double his workload like that. 

[Artemis Windsong]

May 8, 2022 16:23:11 GMT -5 tractor said:

May 8, 2022 15:07:05 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

Since your dad ". . . has no money to spend", I would say, let him mow the grass since that will bring him pleasure and entertainment.

He will also get a little exercise.

Very little exercise, he has a zero turn rider that he parks by the front door. No push mowing for him...he also uses the damn thing like a scooter, down the driveway to get the mail, out on the trails when he goes for a "walk". I wish he would actually walk....

Are you rural so he can ride it to the coffee shop?  (Don't mention this or he just might do it!)  The small towns here have old guys doing just that.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Sigh. My husband assures me that he will also be buying a riding lawnmower next month. 

[tractor]

May 8, 2022 18:08:20 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

May 8, 2022 16:23:11 GMT -5 tractor said:

Very little exercise, he has a zero turn rider that he parks by the front door. No push mowing for him...he also uses the damn thing like a scooter, down the driveway to get the mail, out on the trails when he goes for a "walk". I wish he would actually walk....

Are you rural so he can ride it to the coffee shop?  (Don't mention this or he just might do it!)  The small towns here have old guys doing just that.

We are, but it's 7 miles to town. He has a truck and still drives, so getting out isn't the issue. It's his idea of what constitutes a "walk" that really doesn't involve walking.

For those who might be confused, if it was his yard, he could mow all he wants. But he lives with me and he keeps trying to make my lawn bigger.

[happyhoix]

May 9, 2022 7:11:20 GMT -5 tractor said:

May 8, 2022 18:08:20 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

Are you rural so he can ride it to the coffee shop?  (Don't mention this or he just might do it!)  The small towns here have old guys doing just that.

We are, but it's 7 miles to town. He has a truck and still drives, so getting out isn't the issue. It's his idea of what constitutes a "walk" that really doesn't involve walking.

For those who might be confused, if it was his yard, he could mow all he wants. But he lives with me and he keeps trying to make my lawn bigger.

If I lived in a place that requires a lot of water to get a green lawn I would totally go without grass. I don’t believe in using artificial means to keep nonnative species alive. Unfortunately where I live, if you stop mowing, the yard is quickly taken over by wild blackberries, weeds and saplings. It takes about ten years for the trees to start shading out the scruffy undergrowth. I would love to plant wildflowers but they would quickly get elbowed out by scruff and weeds without constant weeding.

My mom sounds like your dad. She lived up north and had a tiny yard. In her neighborhood it was very important to grow a specific type of grass, and fescue grass was considered a weed. Where I live, fescue and Bermuda grass are the best at surviving the hot dry summers, and mom kept nagging me to replace our two acres of fescue with the grass that grows best in Northern Ohio, because it’s prettier. Yes it is prettier but also very hard and expensive to keep alive here - and besides, all the houses in our neighborhood have fescue. I just ignored her.

[Tennesseer]

A waste of water especially if you live in drought-prone areas.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I think it'll eventually come to that especially in areas of the areas that were never meant to have lawns and are now facing drought conditions.

Golf courses and giant cemeteries full of grass need to go away too.

I don't see people going quietly though cause Merica.

It'd cost too much for us to rip out all the grass and replace it in a way that wouldn't result in a weed notice.

But we don't water and we don't treat the lawn. It's not good for pollinators and not good for us or our dog.

I'm lucky to live in an.older non. HOA neighborhood. Worst is we might get a dirty look but it's my yard I own it so I'm keeping the dandelions.

[Tennesseer]

Las Vegas wastes water.