What's Behind America's Obsession with Lawnmowing?
Lawns are incredibly expensive and time consuming to maintain, maybe we should consider an alternative.
Many of us who live in suburbia are beginning to consider the perennial ritual of lawncare. This is either a soul-sucking experience or a meditative practice depending on your point of view. Kentucky Blue, Zoysia, or Bermuda are the typical lawn grasses found in neighborhoods. For those who want repair the brown patchy areas there will be reseeding using a conventional spreader, or you can purchase plugs to beautify your turf. Your piece of planet earth may require aeration or fertilizing to produce that lush green you find on golf courses everywhere.
How is it that what came to be a square or rectangular expanse of grass supplanted with a house came to exemplify what we call the American Dream of life in the suburbs? The answer goes back to the time after WWII when the United States faced a severe housing shortage. Fifteen million war veterans were returning home, an influx that led many to live in crowded conditions in the city, or others to find shelter in apartments or temporary housing. In 1947, an enterprising man called Abraham Levitt broke ground on a planned community in Long Island that offered affordable homes on long, curving streets adorned with trees. The houses were mass produced in assembly-line fashion much like the Henry Ford technique of making automobiles.
The birth of these planned communities helped to solve the problem of families struggling to move away from cramped city locations and apartments. Since that time, suburbanites have added driveways, pools, barbecues and hot tubs. Each home is accessorized by a parcel of land where the owner may display his or her taste in horticulture. By far, grass is the most grown crop in the United States, covering more than 40 million acres. The wide availability of pesticides, fungicides, and chemical fertilizers have enabled the desire to have the perfect weed-free lawn. Homeowners can satisfy the craving for a lush, green carpet of grass with the upkeep made easier by power mowers, edge trimmers, and leaf-blowers. Installing sprinkler systems saves time spent on watering. It is now possible to have a neatly maintained lawn without the need for landscapers which in times past only the wealthy could afford.
How we relate to our lawns today is very much tied up with social status as we approach the turf as a marker of success. It is a sign that we have achieved the American Dream. But, the neighbor who lets the lawn run wild with weeds lives side by side with the neighbor who takes great pride in a carefully maintained smooth expanse of green. Then comes along the HOA with its regulations for how high the bushes and trees can grow, what color of mulch is used, and how often the beds should be mulched. These are lawn police who will impose fines on any violators who slack on their duty. Never mind the damage done to people or the environment.
The EPA estimates that gas powered lawn mowers contribute to about 5% of total air pollution. Fossil fuels are the primary cause of climate change, and account for over 75 % of greenhouse gas emissions that are harming human health. Non-believers might speak with air line pilots who find that some destinations will become unvisitable due to wildfires, airports being flooded, as well as severe turbulence, heat waves, and thunderstorms. Herbicides which are pesticides used to kill plants, are particularly damaging to soil for the fact that if they are used too near a desirable plant, say a blueberry bush, they will poison the plant and leave the residue to run off into underground water supplies. In her book, Edible Landscaping, Rosalind Creasy offers a way for suburbia to create beauty around your home by growing delicious produce incorporated into a ornamental landscape. As a professional landscape designer, she shows how it is possible to grow your own edibles while at the same time saving the precious resources of planet earth.
In any event, happy earth week everyone, and consider planting a fruit tree or adding fruit trees or vegetables to your lawn.