"lawn care" paradigm is just plain stupid

[pinkytoe]

My new next door neighbor (age 70) has a weekly "lawn service". Even in the dead of winter (today), there are four laborers blowing and mowing his yard once a week - the noise is horrendous so my Friday morning off peace is shattered. When they are done, every leaf has disappeared and the lawn looks like a sterile blanket of uniform blah. There is no life left or leaf litter for the birds. I imagine this goes on across the nation. I am just trying to understand what makes sense about this and when it will change. Since studying permaculture, I guess I see how vacuous (and dead) the whole notion of "lawn care" is, so now it really bothers me. Ignorance is bliss...

[Mrs-M]

The old 60's/70's mentality of, "I (we) must have the nicest lawn for miles around", is dwindling. People, today, are looking towards and practicing more environmentally sound choices/alternatives. Hardscaping, instead of softscaping, is definitely fast becoming the wave of the future.

Take comfort in the fact that neighbours such as yours are the exception.

[Gregg]

It's not done yet, but upon completion our new "lawn" (front and back) will not have a single blade of grass. It will have flower and vegetable gardens, a variety pack of trees, mulched areas, gravel paths and patios and a water feature and small pond. I am SO looking forward to putting the lawn mower on craigslist!!! It will be interesting to see the reaction from several neighbors who think the finely manicured, chemically supported carpet of green is the only way to go.

[CathyA]

Sounds WONDERFUL Gregg..........I just hope you aren't disappointed if you have neighbors who think its an eyesore!! Booooo!
You're not in a place that has restrictions about that, are you?

I even look at "weeds" now and feel good about them! (except when there's too many in the veggie garden).
Pinkytoe..........I wonder if your neighbor is required to have them out every week, whether he wants them or not? Some lawn services are like that.

I've convinced DH over the years, to let alot of our property grow up. But he struggles with that. He was raised to think its a good thing to mow the heck out of your yard.....which probably most people have had the same upbringing. Our property around the house is huge, but we've been planting trees, bushes, and just letting some grow up in weeds. I'm now thinking of those spreading yews (?) that will take up a big space, but be a great habitat for birds and other animals.

You'll have to post pictures when your yard is done Gregg. Its sounds wonderful! How big will your pond be? I only have inground 300 gallon stocktanks, but they are an endless source of pleasure for us.

[Rosemary]

Yes, it is! (topic)
Gregg - awesome! I am working steadily on reducing that most invasive of weeds in our yard, turf grass...

[Gregg]

You're not in a place that has restrictions about that, are you?

There are no official restrictions on anything, but around town there have been mixed feelings about a few folks who have done veggie gardens in the front yard. Its a moot point for us because the best space and the best sun are all in the back yard anyway.

Our front yard started off with a couple large trees, a maple and a spruce. From there we added some serviceberries near the house (good for us and the birds). After that came multiple flower beds with some herbs scattered among them. The area around the trees and bushes gets heavy mulch. Its not xeriscape, but we did design everything to have very minimal water and maintenance requirements. The yard is small so there isn't a lot of ground left after the plantings, but what is there will get gravel as a permiable hardscape. Strange as it sounds we can buy gravel that has been painted green and DW and I are actually considering it. Not so much to try to make the remaining space look like lawn, but just because the color would look great with the house and all the flower beds and other plantings in front.

The pond in back is free form with a little waterfall coming into it. The way its drawn out now it will be about 10' wide, 15' long and will have a small section that is up to 5' deep. We might make it a little smaller to help work out some issues with our seating area next to it. Always a work in progress.

[CathyA]

Sounds great Gregg!
On the Gardenweb pond forum, I met "Cliff and Joanne". Here is their blog. Thought you might enjoy it.
They are on Long Island, and fortunately, escaped most of the damage from Hurricane Sandy. We (on the Gardenweb pond forum) always enjoyed hearing about and seeing their beautiful pond and back yard habitat. What zone are you in Gregg?
http://backyardpond.homestead.com/

[SteveinMN]

We don't do anything in particular to our lawn -- aerate it when we remember, mulch the cut grass back in, and watch the creeping charlie take over (yeah, we're that neighbor, but, in this neighborhood, we're not alone). Maybe now that I'm home more and don't have to sandwich landscaping between 50-60 hours a week of work, the times I cannot make noise in the backyard, and raindrops (actual or impending), I'll pick up my plan of native planting again. OTOH one of the areas I was looking at for that would be great for a garden (that's where my next-door neighbor has most of his garden).

The thing about grass, though, especially if you're not obsessive about having a monocultured carpet of green or hire it out, is that it's way easier to take care of than most gardens -- no deadheading, no hand pruning, no non-native mulching, no picking junk out of the mulch, no adjusting feed or soil for particular species, ... Get behind the mower, walk back and forth for 30 minutes, do a little trimming every 2-3 weeks, done. Hard to beat that.

[pinkytoe]

There is definitely a trend around here to go more native but it just moves SO slowly. Even new subdivisions seem to stick to the old paradigm of dig up native plants, flatten, put in turf and a few trees and bushes. Luckily, I live in an older neighborhood with no restrictions so we are all tolerant of one another.I have dug up several large swaths of lawn but the drought is making me very nervous about trying to put in too many new plants even if native since they need water to establish. Both yards on either side of me have weekly lawn service and nary a leaf or stray limb, so I am sure they have contracts. Seems silly to mow every week in the middle of winter while the grass is dormant though. I am certain they think my yard looks messy. I am watching the lovely wind blow my leaves right back into their yards I would love to see pics of Greggs projects too.

[Tussiemussies]

We always treat our lawn with nothing, just when the dandelions come in the spring we have learned to cut the lawn down short for a few weeks and it does get rid of them. At the last house the lawn was untouched by anything pesticide or feeding and it was fine. Most of the neighbors around us did have a lawn service so pinkie-toe I can relate to how frustrating that noise is etc.