The Monday Garden
May 18, 2003, issue no. 60
Oceans of Lawn or the Ocean: Choose
by Sue Sweeney

Remember when a prefect tan and a prefect lawn were good things?  A self -seeded Johnny jump-up in my mother's yard is the reward for banning the weed killers. 

After DDT was banned, the butterflies came back.  So did ticks.  Likewise, skip the broad-leaf plant killer, and the good, the bad, and the ugly all show up: clover, buttercups, daisies, veronica, violets, oxalis, dandelions, ground ivy, plantain, nettles, knotweed, spurge, roundleaf mallow, purslane, nutsedge, fleabane, chicory, chickweed, and crab grass.  Frequent weeding, over a year or two, will minimize the bad and the ugly.

We, the suburban landscapers and gardeners, have a terrifyingly huge impact on the environment.  Too much pavement, and not enough trees, and the temperature goes up along with power usage and related pollution.   If too much fertilizer ends up in the lakes, the fish die.  When there's too little water, people get laid off.  Who can say what trace chemicals do to kids and animals? 

Lawn's a big item.  Low greenery that stands up to foot traffic is far better than an equal expanse of pavement.   However, "lawn" doesn't have to mean "over-sized sweep of velvet that requires water, fertilizers, soil amenders, weed killers, and insect killer". 

Can we gardeners be so vain and shortsighted as to insist on a prefect lawn despite the evils?  No; most of us are pretty nice.  Unfortunately, some don't realize the impact of our collective behavior.  Others are nervous about "ruining" the lawn -- very expensive.   And "nice guys" are considerate of the neighbors' view.

We need to build new community standards.  It needs to become the sign of a good neighbor that your grass has some weeds and turns brown in a drought; that your flowers aren't real big but are neatly mulched; and there's a compost bin in the back.   Dream on but it could happen that a never-water, feed-with-compost, mow-once-a-month lawn of violets and clover, dotted with dandelions, plantain, and buttercups becomes the envy of the neighborhood?

There are many things we can do.  Here's some:
 
Lawn:

• Skipping chemicals every other year cuts the environmental burden in half!

• Replace 1/4 of the lawn with garden.

• Set the mower to leave the cuttings on the lawn.

• Compost fall leaves.

• Relax about moss and weeds.

• Add a birdbath and shrubs for birds that eat weed seed and insects.

• Spread 1/4" of topsoil instead of fertilizer.

• Choose tough lawn plants (e.g. buffalo grass). 

• Don't set the sprinkler on automatic - water only when necessary.

Garden:

• Plant drought-hardy natives, with flowers for the butterfly and seeds for the birds.

• Choose insect- and fungus-resistant plants; accept some damage as natural.

• Use mulch instead of weed killer.

• Don't let the weeds go to seed - the more you weed, the less weeds you'll have.

• Use compost instead of fertilizer.

• Use non-poisonous insect controls such as ladybugs, garlic and marigolds for aphids.

Commercial:

• Limit the expanse of heat-enhancing, water-shedding pavement.

• Plant lots of native shade trees.

• Plants native shrubs and plants that provide habitat and food for wildlife.

Don't be lulled by  "organic" or "natural".  If it kills bugs, it's not good for kids.  If it's a high concentrate of nutrients on your lawn, think about tons of the stuff running off into the lake and, ultimately, the ocean.