What's with lawns anyways?

I hate my lawn.

This opinion might startle you, but have you ever paused to think about what your lawn gives you in return? I challenge you to make a list. What are the pros of your lawn? In other words, what do you use it for, when was the last time you sat in your front yard entertaining guests, etc? What are the cons of your lawn?

My brother once sold a house he owned because it was too time consuming to maintain the golf course perfect lawn that was expected in the development where he lived. It was a pretty lawn, but other than admiring its green perfection as I walked from my car to his front door I never actually walked on it or sat in a chair gazing at it. This begs the question, what was its purpose and why are we a slave to being a conformist?

I confess I love the smell of fresh mown grass but what is behind this ugly little American dream of a picket fence and pristine front lawn?

The truth is these lawns are toxic, water demanding, monocultures which are ruining ours and the planet’s health. It is estimated that homeowners use 10 times as much chemical treatment in the form of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers in order to maintain a healthy lawn as compared to commercial agriculture. Most of these chemicals wash off into the local water shed contributing to environmental issues such as algae blooms and eutrophication in local lakes and ponds, decreased shellfish in the Chesapeake Bay and the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

The small amount of gasoline we use to power our individual lawn mowers or tractors may not seem to have a significant impact on oil dependency and the dwindling of a finite resource. However, if we consider instead our collective use to mow 40 million lawns, the number quickly escalates. Furthermore, if we take into account that most herbicides and pesticides are derived from petroleum products and synthetic fertilizers from natural gas we can see that our fossil fuel dependency is greater than we originally conceived.

The environmental impact doesn’t end with fossil fuels. If you maintain a lawn you know you need to water it or else it will dry up and turn brown. In suburbia, this is a social no-no except when there is a water ban in effect. Water. It’s amazing to consider that we use possibly the most precious resource on our planet for something so trivial as to keep our lawns green. Our planet is over 70% water but only a fraction of 1% is accessible as fresh, potable water.

For many of us, our lawn occupies prime real estate. It has access to partial to full sun and the land is arable. Why then do we not demand more from this space? We spend time weed whacking, trimming, fertilizing, mowing, and reseeding this space on a regular basis. Is there something else we could use it for? Can we be smarter and more savvy in our use of this land?

Let’s consider 40 million homeowners converting a small portion of their lawn to grow food (0.025 acres). It’s not much land per person when you consider this but collectively, this is 1 million acres of food production. That is a lot of food.

So, I once again repeat my original question, what does your lawn give you in return? Could you plant a few edibles there or perhaps some native flowers and shrubs? Either way it is a win-win for you and our planet. Growing local flora will attract pollinators and wildlife to your yard. If you are interested in creating a wildlife habitat instead of food, I recommend you check out www.nwf.org for more information. Besides, there is no reason you have to decide on food or wildlife, you can combine the best of both to attract beneficial insects to your yard which will protect your harvest.

What are your dreams and ambitions for your yard? Even if it is just the addition of a blueberry bush to your foundation planting it is a monumental movement against the established norm.

Happy Gardening and Eating.

-Susan