Trimmed turf was great around strongholds and fortifications. You could see your attackers from far away and they had no place to hide when they entered your “lawn” like zone. In medieval times large turf areas provided for community activity spaces. It covered the soil and created a cleaner surface in a village. Animals could graze and trim the turf while waiting for their owners to return from markets or gatherings. Through time the trimmed and manicured landscapes became a prestigious look around the nobleman’s home and the king’s castle. They represented prosperity and civilization. The lawn came to America with many other colonial concepts.
Turf offers an even treading space to play sports or a place to throw a dog a ball. The tidiness of the turf can be exceptional if kept on a well scheduled routine. Lawns prevent erosion and offer more permeability than hard surfaces like concrete. Grasses grow quickly and are inexpensive to apply by seed. Repairs are simple and results are consistent.
Turf is the largest monoculture crop in the United States as of 2015. Many lawns are not even walked on, played on, or sat upon. They require weekly maintenance, fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and lots of water. Here in the Pacific Northwest, they generally turn brown in the heat of summer, unless you water frequently or you use fescue blends with deep rooting structures. They are not useful to insects, birds, or soil organisms.
In the United States as of 2020 there were 40.5 million acres of turf and lawns according to multiple sources. The article linked here by the Natural Resources Defense Council discusses the rights to not mow and how it would allow soil to function correctly and habitats for important insect life to improve.
What if there was a way to keep your space green and beautiful all summer? What if you did not need fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides?
A way to reduce your fiscal inputs is by mowing once a month or maybe once a quarter depending on your needs in any space. You could sit outside on a Saturday morning drinking your coffee and watching butterflies and birds flitting across your beautiful meadow-like area. Relaxing and not mowing and maintaining. Not spending money on products to care for turf or lots of extra warm season water. The reduction in chemicals will literally help you and wildlife breathe easier as well. Soil Organisms would not suffer from applications or spills as well.
Here are some eco-lawn products. Some native and some just diverse for pollinators, birds, and other beneficial insects. Pictures are linked to product websites.
Micro-clovers are proving themselves to help cycle nutrients and reduce water needs as a turf substitute. Then there are blends with clovers, natives, and grasses. They are great to mow once a month or every other week if you just don’t know what to do with you extra time. They require no fertilizer, provide pollination opportunities for insects, and habitat for beneficial insects. They also provide excellent habitat for microbial life that drives the soil ecosystem in the root zones of soils. This ecosystem is lacking in most urban soils today.
My favorite is the look of a low growing meadow with varied seasonal blooms nestled in native grasses. In the Pacific Northwest the native grasses are clumpers not runners. Taller meadow blends can replace those lawn areas where we just look at the space. I have very strong feelings about maintaining grass along highways or government buildings. These areas could easily be converted to reduce spending on public space maintenance and increase habitat for insects. Remember that most birds eat insects. The food web requires all the diverse individuals to thrive.
My favorite is the look of a low growing meadow with varied seasonal blooms nestled in native grasses. In the Pacific Northwest the native grasses are clumpers not runners. Taller meadow blends can replace those lawn areas where we just look at the space. I have very strong feelings about maintaining grass along highways or government buildings. These areas could easily be converted to reduce spending on public space maintenance and increase habitat for insects. Remember that most birds eat insects. The food web requires all the diverse individuals to thrive.
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