Yes, you hit the sweet spot on this issue. I've read entire books about eliminating lawn, and they claim that an ornamental garden is less work and less money. It's only less money if you were pouring money into making and keeping the lawn a monoculture. And if you don't have the knowledge, time, or physical capability to maintain an ornamental garden, it's far easier to find and less expensive to pay someone to cut the grass than to weed a perennial border or even prune shrubs. As I mention in this blog post (https://www.coldclimategardening.com/2017/06/28/the-flowery-lawn/), Ken Druse in his book A Passion for Gardening calls our type of lawn a "cropped meadow." That makes it sound properly upscale, ecological, and sustainable. Nevermind it's also old-fashioned. Vintage? Heritage! I'm calling my lawn a heritage lawn. Oh, I think in Minnesota they call it a bee lawn.
We need to own the word! Interesting comment below from someone who grew up in the Midwest where lush lawns are easier due to soils but also due to shorter season of need/use.
Well, that would be my situation, too. Grass still hasn't greened up here, give it another couple of weeks, and it will go dormant long before yours, too. But the Midwest has better soils--clay with lots of rocks here. Currently the grass goes squish squish squish when I walk on it.
This article couldn’t come at a more important time for me. When I started landscaping, I was a “no grass” designer. As I’ve learned but more importantly seen and lived with old Southern yards I have done a 180 turn. In my new home we have about 6 acres of monoculture turf that is watered and sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, and weed killers. I have stopped all this and am trying to move to a green space that allows the little children to have violet fights (something my partner and his brother did as children in their grandmother’s yard), allows the bees and other critters to thrive, and for it to get crisp and brown in August. Thanks Jenks for reminding me that the old way is the best way to keep, nurture, enjoy, and be good stewards to lawns.
Jenks, thanks so much for the balanced takes and the practical to-do’s. I want to send this to my poor dad, who’s obsessed with his lawn and always has been. (Remember when burning lawns was a thing?) You’re a natural for substack. Very happy to see you here!
I’m proud of our almost 4 acres of law. We never fertilize or use weed killer. We are filled with dandy lions, clover, purple flowers and no telling how many kinds of grass and “weeds”. It’s beautiful!
This is a wonderful and persuasive essay that I am going to share as widely as possible. I'm a lot older than you, Jenks, and I have some of the same memories of "the grass," including cutting it with a manpowered push mower (reel type). I can remember the first gasppwered mowers to come to our little town and how, gradually, the drone of their motors became the sound of summer. Like yours, my grass has not been fertilized for 50 years and herbicides have never been applied (though i do keep some on hand to weed the gravel driveway once a year). Now I have done away with all my gaspowered garden machines and replaced them with batterypowered electric ones. My own bulb lawn is many kinds of crocuses (primarily C. tommasinianus) and the grass doesn't get cut until their foliage dies down. There are both sunny and shady places, and natural selection has done a good job of determining what grows where--mostly moss in the shady places, which requires no maintainance at all. A visitor to his famous garden once asked Christopher Lloyd what he did about moss in the lawns."Nothing. Isn't it obvious?" was the answer. I will think of your essay every time I walk into Lowe's and see shelf after shelf of herbicides, insecticides and other poisons destined to be spread on the grass by the unthinking and the careless.
Thanks Will, Even though I"m younger, I grew up with a Daddy who didn't want us too exposed to modern world. He didn't want us to know Myrtle Beach existed. So I've used reel mowers a lot too. I really appreciate all your support and edits over the years. I"m sure this one needs some too.
No irrigation system and have not watered my lawn in a couple of decades. No herbicides. I do apply milky spore every 7 years, have it plug aerated regularity and dig up wild onion and garlic if I see them. If it’s green and I can mow it every few weeks to select out tall weeds, I’m good. Centipede, zoysia and bermuda coexist along with dandelions, pony foot, some clover, henbit butter reds and whatever. Looks better than the other pampered lawns on my street. Benign neglect is my attitude.
Benign neglect…and appreciation that you have somewhere flat to hang out when you need it. I need to make a list of plants that are common in lawns — I’ve never heard the term pony foot but know just what you mean.
We used to have fescue in the backyard and a fungal disease came along and killed it in several yards like mine. Now I have a backyard lawn of dichondra, clover, mazus, crabgrass and ajuga. I love it and all it needs is the occasional mow.
I grew up in the Midwest and lawns were all about “Keeping up with the Jone’s”! Growing turf in SC is very frustrating to me. Thank you for giving me permission to let it go!😉
Yes, you hit the sweet spot on this issue. I've read entire books about eliminating lawn, and they claim that an ornamental garden is less work and less money. It's only less money if you were pouring money into making and keeping the lawn a monoculture. And if you don't have the knowledge, time, or physical capability to maintain an ornamental garden, it's far easier to find and less expensive to pay someone to cut the grass than to weed a perennial border or even prune shrubs. As I mention in this blog post (https://www.coldclimategardening.com/2017/06/28/the-flowery-lawn/), Ken Druse in his book A Passion for Gardening calls our type of lawn a "cropped meadow." That makes it sound properly upscale, ecological, and sustainable. Nevermind it's also old-fashioned. Vintage? Heritage! I'm calling my lawn a heritage lawn. Oh, I think in Minnesota they call it a bee lawn.
We need to own the word! Interesting comment below from someone who grew up in the Midwest where lush lawns are easier due to soils but also due to shorter season of need/use.
Well, that would be my situation, too. Grass still hasn't greened up here, give it another couple of weeks, and it will go dormant long before yours, too. But the Midwest has better soils--clay with lots of rocks here. Currently the grass goes squish squish squish when I walk on it.
This article couldn’t come at a more important time for me. When I started landscaping, I was a “no grass” designer. As I’ve learned but more importantly seen and lived with old Southern yards I have done a 180 turn. In my new home we have about 6 acres of monoculture turf that is watered and sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, and weed killers. I have stopped all this and am trying to move to a green space that allows the little children to have violet fights (something my partner and his brother did as children in their grandmother’s yard), allows the bees and other critters to thrive, and for it to get crisp and brown in August. Thanks Jenks for reminding me that the old way is the best way to keep, nurture, enjoy, and be good stewards to lawns.
Thanks for this fabulous take on lawns. I just needed a little encouragement about the micro clover! I also like to see oxalis everywhere.
Love this article and love my wild yard!
Jenks, thanks so much for the balanced takes and the practical to-do’s. I want to send this to my poor dad, who’s obsessed with his lawn and always has been. (Remember when burning lawns was a thing?) You’re a natural for substack. Very happy to see you here!
I’m proud of our almost 4 acres of law. We never fertilize or use weed killer. We are filled with dandy lions, clover, purple flowers and no telling how many kinds of grass and “weeds”. It’s beautiful!
This is a wonderful and persuasive essay that I am going to share as widely as possible. I'm a lot older than you, Jenks, and I have some of the same memories of "the grass," including cutting it with a manpowered push mower (reel type). I can remember the first gasppwered mowers to come to our little town and how, gradually, the drone of their motors became the sound of summer. Like yours, my grass has not been fertilized for 50 years and herbicides have never been applied (though i do keep some on hand to weed the gravel driveway once a year). Now I have done away with all my gaspowered garden machines and replaced them with batterypowered electric ones. My own bulb lawn is many kinds of crocuses (primarily C. tommasinianus) and the grass doesn't get cut until their foliage dies down. There are both sunny and shady places, and natural selection has done a good job of determining what grows where--mostly moss in the shady places, which requires no maintainance at all. A visitor to his famous garden once asked Christopher Lloyd what he did about moss in the lawns."Nothing. Isn't it obvious?" was the answer. I will think of your essay every time I walk into Lowe's and see shelf after shelf of herbicides, insecticides and other poisons destined to be spread on the grass by the unthinking and the careless.
Thanks Will, Even though I"m younger, I grew up with a Daddy who didn't want us too exposed to modern world. He didn't want us to know Myrtle Beach existed. So I've used reel mowers a lot too. I really appreciate all your support and edits over the years. I"m sure this one needs some too.
No irrigation system and have not watered my lawn in a couple of decades. No herbicides. I do apply milky spore every 7 years, have it plug aerated regularity and dig up wild onion and garlic if I see them. If it’s green and I can mow it every few weeks to select out tall weeds, I’m good. Centipede, zoysia and bermuda coexist along with dandelions, pony foot, some clover, henbit butter reds and whatever. Looks better than the other pampered lawns on my street. Benign neglect is my attitude.
Benign neglect…and appreciation that you have somewhere flat to hang out when you need it. I need to make a list of plants that are common in lawns — I’ve never heard the term pony foot but know just what you mean.
We used to have fescue in the backyard and a fungal disease came along and killed it in several yards like mine. Now I have a backyard lawn of dichondra, clover, mazus, crabgrass and ajuga. I love it and all it needs is the occasional mow.
I grew up in the Midwest and lawns were all about “Keeping up with the Jone’s”! Growing turf in SC is very frustrating to me. Thank you for giving me permission to let it go!😉
More than permission! Embrace the wisdom of old country southerners who understood that perfection in many places just ain’t worth the trouble.