Turf Free of charge Lawns: Much less Function, Significantly less Water and A lot more Free of charge Time

We are searching into utilizing clover in place of grass in our fenced in backyard. We know that the lawn maniacs in our neighborhood would have us in court if we thought about removing our turf lawn in the front for something more eco-pleasant, this kind of as clover.

There is a developing motion in the U.S. to cut back on the amount of landscape consumed by lawn grass.  I located the internet site LessLawn.com to be a great resource for ideas on shifting out the water hungry, upkeep extreme turf lawns to a selection of other sorts of plants and landscape plans.

Drought, increased price for water, pesticides, herbicides, labor intensity and the require to continually aerate as properly as mowing are just a number of of the factors homeowners are ultimately looking far more critically into alternative ground cover.

Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist: How to Have Your Yard and Eat It Too

I believed this joke that circulated the world wide web numerous years back exposed the insanity of lawn care perfectly:

GOD: Frank, you know all about gardens and nature.  What in the world is going on down there on the planet? What took place to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I commenced eons ago?  I had a perfect no-servicing garden plan. These plants develop in any variety of soil, stand up to drought and multiply with abandon.  The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds.  I expected to see a huge backyard of colors by now.  But, all I see are these green rectangles.

St. FRANCIS: It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started out calling your flowers “weeds” and went to excellent lengths to kill them and change them with  grass.

GOD: Grass?  But, it’s so dull.  It is not colorful.  It doesn’t entice butterflies, birds and bees only grubs and sod worms.  It is delicate to temperatures.  Do these Suburbanites actually want all that grass growing there?

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord.  They go to fantastic pains to grow it and keep it green.  They start every single spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD: The spring rains and warm weather possibly make grass develop really rapidly.  That need to make the Suburbanites satisfied.

ST.  FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord.  As quickly as it grows a tiny, they reduce it-occasionally twice a week.

GOD: They minimize it?  Do they then bale it like hay?

ST.  FRANCIS: Not specifically, Lord.  Most of them rake it up  and put it in bags.

GOD: They bag it?  Why?  Is it a money crop?  Do they promote it?

ST. FRANCIS: No, Sir, just the opposite.  They pay to throw it away.

GOD: Now, let me get this straight.  They fertilize grass so it will increase, and, when it does grow, they lower it off and shell out to throw it away?

ST. FRANCIS: Yes, Sir.

GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer season when we minimize back on the rain and flip up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of perform.

ST. FRANCIS: You aren’t going to think this, Lord.  When the grass stops expanding so fast, they drag out hoses and spend more funds to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD: What nonsense.  At least they stored some of the trees.  That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself.  The trees increase leaves in the spring to offer beauty and shade in the summer season.  In the autumn, they fall to the ground and form a organic blanket to keep moisture in the soil and defend the trees and bushes. It is a normal cycle of daily life.

St. FRANCIS: You better sit down, Lord.  The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle.  As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into fantastic piles and shell out to have them hauled away.

GOD: No!   What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter to preserve the soil moist and loose?

ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and get one thing which they call mulch.  They haul it home and spread it all around in place of the leaves.

GOD: And the place do they get this mulch?

ST. FRANCIS: They lower down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

GOD: Enough!   I do not want to feel about this anymore.  St. Catherine, you are in charge of the arts.  What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

ST. CATHERINE: “Dumb and Dumber”, Lord.  It’s a story about….

GOD: Never mind, I believe I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

Be Properly,

Beth

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Turf Free of charge Lawns: Much less Function, Significantly less Water and A lot more Free of charge Time