Shock horror! My husband’s going to cut our #grass! Last cut at the very end of May. Actually that was the only other time it got cut this year 😜 #NoMowSummer #gardening #lawns #rewilding

11-year-olds #mowed 50 #lawns for free so 'The #Lawnmower Man' gave them new gear to start a business
https://www.upworthy.com/lawn-mower-man-funds-new-business-rp

@GrrlScientist
Well, this is certainly a step in the right direction.

What exactly is a "functional grass #lawn," anyway? #Grass lawns are strictly #decorative, and therefore non-functional by definition. If a patch of grass has a legitimate function, then it's not a lawn. Native #grasses for #soil #erosion prevention? Functional. #Lawns and #golf courses? Non-functional.

Note to any butthurt #golfers out there:
A golf course is *not* a legitimate function of grass. Your #GolfBall will roll just fine on any moderately flat surface. Find a way to play your #SillyGame without #KillingThePlanet, or find a new silly game. #SorryNotSorry

The city of #Katy #TX is *not* a water conserving, drought aware city, based on the Sentinel-2 moisture index readings last week. Vast areas of overwatered #lawns, based on the satellite.

Yet another story of #Ontario municipalities taking action against those who remove their #lawns in favour of #Pollinators and the naturalization of #nativeplants

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2023/08/06/you-want-to-fine-them-10000-a-day-the-city-of-burlington-fought-this-familys-natural-garden-and-then-razed-it-anyway.html

Regretting plastic lawns
"Artificial grass also doesn’t drain well. It soaks up and retains the smell of dog urine. And it gets so hot in summer it burns your feet."
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jul/31/plastic-lawn-backlash-fake-grass
#FossilFuels #Plastic #lawns #waste #dogs #FakeGrass #ArtificialLawns #climate

"Here's why people are ditching their grass lawns for clover"
#lawns #clover #groundcoverplant

https://flip.it/MI9Lcn

Just closed every window in my house in a suburb because of the incredible racket being made by gas-powered, air-polluting lawn machinery. We need to house more people and grow less grass. #lawnalternatives #lawnmowerssuck #lawns #urbanism #NewUrbanism #housingcrisis #zoning

Artificial Lawns
Would you cover your backyard, garden, sports field, playground or green space with old car tyres?

When considering artificial turf think:
Burning hot in summer
Unsustainable life cycle
Microplastics in waterways
Lack of biodiversity
A precautionary approach should prevail

Consider
Native Australian grasses or Native viola

"The European Union has banned this type of rubber infill due to concerns about #microplastics ending up in #waterways"
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-05/environmental-impacts-of-artificial-turf/102554018
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-20/synthetic-turf-no-moratorium-chief-scientist-knowledge-gaps/102497698
#Plastic #Fake #Grass #Lawns #Tyres #SyntheticTurf #CrumbRubber #Wildlife #Biodiversity #Climate

#lawns #grass #mowing #smoking #weeding #weed

@Tuumaru Nurmikoiden historiasta näemmä löytyy helposti tarinaa, jos jaksaisi lukea. Tuossa aikajanalla visualisoivaa kai myyjältä, https://www.yourgreenpal.com/blog/where-did-lawns-come-from, tuossa taas kriittisempää vinkkeliä, https://yardthyme.com/lawn-care/history-of-lawns/, ja sitten monenlaista siltä väliltä. Vilkaisen, jos silmää vääntävä päänsärky hellittää. Itellä ei ole koskaan ollut nurmikoita, mutta eipä se aiheen tärkeyteen vaikuta.

#lawns #history

This really nice #openaccess paper by Cicely Marshall et al., published in the journal Ecological Solutions & Evidence, illustrates the huge benefits that can be reaped for #wildlife by turning #lawns into urban wildflower #meadows:

"Urban wildflower meadow planting for biodiversity, climate and society: An evaluation at King's College, Cambridge"

https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2688-8319.12243

#Lawns are tricky. Wholly unnatural, fields of grass. But often enveloped in societal (neighbors, family, etc.) expectations.

And planting “native” plants doesn’t always really mean native. Often, depending on the #ecosystem, quite the opposite - invasives.

This study was interesting. A wildflower “lawn” = increased #biodiversity ( #insects, #spiders, #bats) and reduced #fertilizer use.

Whatever we do, it’s time to think differently about lawns.

🔗 https://phys.org/news/2023-05-wildflower-meadow-bolstered-biodiversity-greenhouse.amp

🌱 🦋 🦇 🪲 🕷️ 🌸

Buttercups, Petersham, #Massachusetts.

#plants #flowers #wildflowers #botany #lawns

Interesting interview with Paul Robbins (author of Lawn People) on the lawn problem. I agree this should be something to be solved at scale, not only homeowner by homeowner. Pay the poor guys who currently blow dust everywhere on a weekly basis to tear up the grass and plant better plants. Brown new deal!

https://mailchi.mp/tnr/ly2b0crobc-167235?e=35fbbd97cf

#Lawns #water #gardening #urbanism #cities #climate

For those with lawns, this sounds like a good idea:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/lawn-grass-climate-action-1.6810711

#Lawns #Nature #ClimateChange

My neighbour's dog keeps crapping on my lawn which wouldn't bother me if he picked up after his dog. However, when I have to clean it up before I can mow my lawn, I get a little cross. I've just spent the last 10 minutes spraying white vinegar around the periphery, see if that puts the dog off.

#Dogs #Lawns #DogsOnLawns

The idea that contemporary American lawn-care standards are the result of brainwashing is politically naive. There's nothing voluntary about lawns. Lawns are an essential tool in contemporary capital's violent urban labor control strategy.

Most American cities have mandatory lawn-care standards in their muni codes. Such laws allow cities to unilaterally bring yards up to code and bill residents for the work. Whatever the purposes behind such laws in the past, now one function is to force people into the cash economy. (1) There are dozens of laws like this, requiring residents to clear sidewalks, paint fences, shovel snow, plant specific trees, and so on.

Anyone who has enough money can pay other people to do this work, but people living on the financial edge either do it themselves in addition to job, self, and family care responsibilites or else the City does the work, bills the resident,(2) adds interest, and so on. This is too much of a loss for many people, so they make sure the damn work gets done.

If they don't, the unpaid bills pile up and the City will confiscate the property to pay them. If the residents won't leave the cops will make them leave. At this stage of American capitalism lawn care standards are enforced at gunpoint except, of course, for rich people.

QED

-------------------------

(1) I believe this is akin to what @HeavenlyPossum calls a "tollbooth", but I won't speak for them.

(2) Or possibly the landlord. I feel like this is variable across cities and also probably subject to modification in lease terms.

#DownWithLawns #ClimateChange #Environment #Anarchism #Capitalism #Lawns #BillHeavey #Tollbooths #WageLabor #LaborControl

11 Important Things to Know About #Clover Lawns

A clover lawn provides many benefits: less watering, less mowing, natural fertilization, and the attraction of wildlife and #pollinators. Is a clover yard right for you? Here's what else you need to know.

By Lori Lovely | Published Jun 21, 2022

"America’s #biodiverse meadows of days gone were slowly converted to French- and English-style #monoculture #lawns featuring mostly turf grass. By the late 1800s, the neatly trimmed, aesthetically pleasing grass lawn became a symbol of wealth. The invention of the lawn mower, as well as planned communities designed by Frederick Law Olmstead (the designer of Central Park) and other landscape architects, further cemented the trend in the U.S.

"While manicured #monocultural lawns may look nice, they have drawbacks, such as depriving #pollinators of food and #habitat and requiring greater #water consumption, maintenance, and chemical treatment than a clover lawn requires."

#Gardening #GardeningForPollinators #NoMowMay #Bees

Read more: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/clover-lawn/

"There's a deep love for #lawns in Australia”
Shrink or eliminate the lawn space to make way for trees and animals such as birds. reptiles and insects.
#Petrol driven #mowers pollute via #Emissions. They cause #Noise #Pollution and shred #Wildlife. Even electric mowers still create #Dust particles by pulverising the #Soil and microbiome.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-22/reducing-lawns-biodiversity-emissions/102240212
co-exist with native species.
#Biodiversity #Monoculture #Mindsets #Soil #Fertilisers #Pesticide
Image: Intersection of #Plastic lawn, #River pebbles and #FossilFuel tar seen in #Sawtell