My Standard Disclaimer about Lawn Removal

There's just too much lawn-bashing going on nowadays.  While I'm among the throngs calling for less lawn and encouraging homeowners to lighten up, add some clover, and grow it all organically and let it go dormant in the summer, I shop short of painting it as all bad, as though by definition it's a monoculture kept alive by toxic products and mowed with super-polluting gas machines.  And it's true that I've recently removed every last blade of turfgrass from my own garden, but I don't want my stories about the transformation to contribute to the demonizing of this garden feature that isn't going anywhere, ya know. So can we NOT just substitute the old conventional wisdom about lawns for a new and politically correct one?

I'll be linking to this article every time I mention removing my lawn so I can stop but-but-butting every time.  A standard disclaimer seems in order.

IN DEFENSE OF LAWNS

• They CAN be grown and maintained in a healthy, environmentally friendly way.  Just ask the folks at SafeLawns.
• Organically grown and maintained lawns are reasonably low-maintenance.  And after all, compared to what?  Ground has to be covered with something, and what else ya got?
• They CAN contain a variety of species, even some that provide a little for wildlife in your garden.  I'm thinking particularly of clover, which not only is loved by the bees but is self-fertilizing because it "fixes" nitrogen.  That link explains how.
• Functionally, they're absolutely essential for a variety of reasons.  Where else can your kids play if you don't have a lawn?
• Designwise, they offer a place for the eye to rest, sometimes called a negative space.  The borders surrounding lawn can be busy as all get out but the overall effect isn't busy because of that nice calming lawn.
• On my hilly site, lawn has held rainwater like a trooper, though I understand that if it's grown in highly compacted soil it doesn't perform that function as well.  But then it's the fault of the soil, isn't it?

So I didn't rip out my lawn because I thought I should, but because I got tired of it and wanted to grow something new.  And I always hated lawn care and I'm happy to be free of it, though I'll bet anything my new lawnfree gardens will be more work than the haphazard care I gave the lawn.  Results coming soon.

Comments

[jodi]

Good points, Susan. They do have their place, in moderation, as you point out. I'm working on having less, but I also encourage the dandelions, the clover AND the moss to do their thing. Ours is never brown, it's healthy, and it gives us a place to walk (and a place for the horse and donkey to go across when they make one of their semi-annual escapes.) It's all good. No chemicals, is all I really urge others to aim for.

[Curtis]

I also do not really care for mowing the lawn. I enjoy how it looks after it is all done though. the only thing I do to my lawn is cut it, seed it if I have some bare spots. I did spread some alfalfa meal on it the year before last in the front lawn.

[Kathy J, Washington Gardener]

The only thing I really like about a lawn - aside from playing a rowdy game of croquet - is the smell of fresh-cut grass - but I can get that whenever I want from my pot of indoor grown wheat-grass I cultivate for my cat.

[Tom, Gardening with TLC]

I agree with you Jodi.
More time involved at first, an organic lawn is not more difficult to maintain, and is usually much less expensive than one that is commercially maintained. Show your lawn TLC and provide the earth with a clean environment.

[Linda]

We have some great organic, fertilising lawn-mowers - sheep! Unlike horses, sheep droppings don't promote the growth of weeds and the livestock maintain a perfect look for our two large fields / lawns. I don't recommend chickens though. They make an absolute mess.

[Gardensbydesign]

It is great that you let people know that sustainably doesn't mean sacrifice. It means finding earth enhancing ways to live and enjoy nature's beauty.