More and More People Are Growing Less and Less Lawn

According to some historians, the concept of having a lawn grew out of the idea that having a lawn represented wealth, that the landowner could afford to leave a large portion of his property “unproductive”. A lawn meant the landowner could afford to purchase any food that he or any animals he owned might need. Otherwise, he would have had to put all of his land into production, like other people did.

This concept that large open expanses of green lawns represented success and prosperity has lingered for hundreds of years. There has, however, been a movement over the last 20 or 30 years or so that has challenged this age old custom. This movement is made up of people who believe that a lawn does not have to be the main focus of their property and that maybe it shouldn’t be. The people who feel this way tend to increase the size of flower beds, vegetable gardens, shrubbery beds, and naturalized areas in lieu of a large expanse of lawn.

The people who act on these beliefs may have different motivations. For some, they are unwilling or unable to care for a large expanse of lawn. Some others are just avid flower or vegetable gardeners and they need the room for their gardens. However there is another group - in fact a group that is growing - that believes a large expanse of turf is not only unnecessary but harmful to the environment. This group believes that the huge amounts of toxic substances (such as insecticides, fungicides and herbicides) along with the overused synthetic fertilizers do more harm to the environment than they are worth. Although the people in this group may not totally eliminate all lawn areas in their landscape, they do make efforts to minimize these areas.

Some of the alternatives to a large lawn include: naturalized areas (wild uncut grasses, wildflowers, or even small wood lots) or extensively cultivated areas (hybrid flower gardens, vegetable gardens and fruit trees). I guess the bottom line here is that if you have ever felt that you have more lawn area on your property than you want, there are plenty of attractive options.

NEXT TIME: More Homeowners Are Turning To Native Grasses As Their Turf Of Choice