Break Up With Your Lawn

Have you ever wondered why flat, green lawns have become ubiquitous? We spend all kinds of time and money trying to get the perfect, grassy space because we’ve somehow been brainwashed into thinking that’s what ought to be - to the point that people buy plastic lawns so they don’t have to maintain a real lawn but still get the look! Unless you are playing golf or have some other specific reason to need a traditional lawn…

Here are several reasons why you should break up with your lawn:

1. Monocultures aren’t good for the environment or your soil.

   Expecting a single plant species to fill in a large space in perfect form goes against nature. All those weeds that keep appearing? That’s nature’s way of trying to repair the unhappy situation created by your insistence on a single-species lawn.

2. Lawns dismantle animal habitat.

   By clearing trees, grasslands, and other natural habitats, we leave nothing behind for birds, lizards, beneficial insects and other small creatures to take shelter, much less grazing areas for larger animals.

3. Lawns are too noisy.

   I hate being woken up by the sound of a weedwacker. Lawn maintenance requires huge investments in loud machines that spew emissions. Then we gather all the trimmings off the lawn and take away anything that might decompose naturally to feed the soil, thereby starving the microorganisms below your lawn.

4. Lawns are an unproductive time suck.

   What would happen if instead of maintaining a lawn, you spent that time growing a tiny bit of your own food? What if a large number of folks in a neighborhood converted their lawns to growing food? You could spend a lot less time maintaining a lawn and instead enjoy a home-grown harvest.

5. America irrigates unproductive lawns more than any other crop in the country.

   Instead of corn, wheat, or soybeans, we actually spend more precious water resources on something we can’t even eat than any edible crop nationwide. That’s especially a shame when there’s a drought!

6. Lawns are usually fertilized with synthetic fertilizers, which pollutes the planet even beyond ripping out the natural habitat to install the lawn in the first place.

So what can we do about it?

If you’re tired of maintaining an impossible-to-please lawn, consider the following:

1. Convert your lawn to food-growing spaces! Grace & Grit Gardens is alllllll about re-purposing your useless lawn into productive space for edible plants.

2. If you need a space for the kids or dog to play, use native groundcovers instead of exotic imported grasses. Native plants need less water and are more hardy while still being short.

3. Let go of the monoculture - welcome biodiversity! Having more than one kind of plant in a space enriches the soil and means healthier plants to enjoy. Consider over-seeding native plants into your existing grass to add diversity.

4. Replace it with native shrubs, trees, and other plants that will benefit pollinators and other wildlife.

5. Substitute for permeable hardscape: gravel, deconstructed granite, river rock, or other medium that will allow rainwater to trickle through to the soil and won’t require maintenance or pruning.

Image source: @bruno_abdiel

Feeling inspired? A consult with us can get you started on replacing your lawn with a garden! Book yours today.

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Sources:

https://www.permaculturenews.org/2016/06/03/why-our-lawns-are-bad-for-the-environment-and-how-to-change-them-for-the-better/

https://www.businessinsider.com/americas-biggest-crop-is-grass-2016-2?op=1

https://landlawngarden.com/are-lawns-bad-for-environment/