I won't make you talk about Bruno (I gather that's a hard no, no, no...?). But we do have to face up to the lawn. Turfgrass has its uses in our yards. It's great for croquet, wiffle ball, picnics, doggie business and foot traffic. But it has become a default planting choice. Every inch we’re not mulchscaping, we’re turfscaping. That’s a serious problem. Here’s why.
Thank you for this great post! Sprawling lawns, which are still seen as desirable in many communities, are a bigger problem for environmental health than most folks realize. I hope as a society we are beginning to rethink old ideas of what a yard should look like.
There is one circumstance in which natural grass turf serves well-- that's athletic fields. My county is considering replacing several grass fields at a public park with artificial turf. Based on my research, a cool, soft, living, carbon-dioxide-converting, oxygen-giving carpet of grass is far preferable to a hot, hard, stinky, chemical-laden off-gassing carpet of plastic! In the case of public playing field options, natural turf is a clear winner.
There's still the issue of watering, fertilizing and possible use of pesticides to maintain turf fields, but progress is being made to water and fertilize efficiently and use pesticides only if necessary.
Fabulous piece - thank you. I suggest alternatives wherever I can and find clients are really up for substitutes like clover which work well here. I say substitutes - but I think they are actually improvements!
That's great to hear, Jo. And yes, even though clover's not native, it provides more ecosystem services and is less resource-hungry than turfgrass by far, so it's a super alternative.
While we follow most of these tips, I appreciate the reminder that we should rethink some of the bare patches of burnt out grass.
Our turf grass is mostly limited to trails wandering between flower beds and tall grasses and weeds. It’s wonderful and we save a lot of time mowing.
Wandering trails seems like a perfect use for turfgrass, Carrie!
Thank you for this great post! Sprawling lawns, which are still seen as desirable in many communities, are a bigger problem for environmental health than most folks realize. I hope as a society we are beginning to rethink old ideas of what a yard should look like.
There is one circumstance in which natural grass turf serves well-- that's athletic fields. My county is considering replacing several grass fields at a public park with artificial turf. Based on my research, a cool, soft, living, carbon-dioxide-converting, oxygen-giving carpet of grass is far preferable to a hot, hard, stinky, chemical-laden off-gassing carpet of plastic! In the case of public playing field options, natural turf is a clear winner.
There's still the issue of watering, fertilizing and possible use of pesticides to maintain turf fields, but progress is being made to water and fertilize efficiently and use pesticides only if necessary.
Good point on athletic fields, Peggy. Yes, even turfgrass is better than a sheet of prickly plastic!
Fabulous piece - thank you. I suggest alternatives wherever I can and find clients are really up for substitutes like clover which work well here. I say substitutes - but I think they are actually improvements!
That's great to hear, Jo. And yes, even though clover's not native, it provides more ecosystem services and is less resource-hungry than turfgrass by far, so it's a super alternative.