Are you addicted to The Lawn?

The Lawn is the most wasteful and laborious element in the landscape. Approximately 60 percent of a municipality's water consumption may be attributed to irrigating residential landscapes. Around the world, especially in North America, The Lawn dominates residential landscapes. We water The Lawn so it will grow, so we can mow it (or pay someone to mow it). We fertilize The Lawn so it will grow, so we can mow it. This cycle is repeated on a weekly basis throughout the growing season.

Maintaining a lawn offers few benefits. First, vast expanses of turfgrass are significantly cooler than properties covered in rocks or other hardscape elements. Grass helps to filter rainfall runoff before it reaches local waterways. However, most North Americans still apply potentially harmful synthetic fertilizers, pesticides/herbicides and pre-emergents to their lawn. Runoff sweeps these toxic compounds into waterways, polluting our drinking water and rendering them unfit for recreational purposes. The most popular reason for maintaining a lawn relates to aesthetics: a uniformly clipped lawn connotes a "tidy" and "clean" environment.

In addition to the contaminants applied to lawns to combat "weeds," The Lawn creates far more environmental hazards than benefits. The maintenance regimen, for example, contributes to poor air quality. Gas-powered lawn maintenance equipment is not as strictly regulated as motor vehicles. Many of these power tools run on a mixture of gas and oil, and they release dangerous fluorocarbons that impede our access to clean air. They also generate noise annoyances, however; cities throughout North America are beginning to limit the use of backpack blowers, specifically. Typically, The Lawn is comprised of non-native turfgrasses, and they often become exotic-invasive when left unattended. Thus, intense maintenance is necessary to prevent these plants from subverting native species. Further, The Lawn is not a viable source of food or shelter for native wildlife.

Maintaining a lawn is costly. Water is more precious than natural gas and soon will surpass gold (see previous article "Guarding the Gold"). Cities with low rainfall have mandated landscaping without water, i.e., xeriscaping; native turfgrasses can be considered water-wise but most homeowners tend to overwater, overfertilize, and overnurture. Someday (most likely sooner than we know) we will be forced to choose between showering and drinking clean water, or watering our lawn. Paying someone to mow our lawn adds up to an average of $1,200 per household, and routine spraying of chemicals compounds the costs. External costs are not as easy to calculate. Exposure to synthetic chemicals may cause illness or even death. Homeowners tend not to follow directions, thereby increasing their and their pets' susceptibility to medical issues. Numerous studies have established a direct link between consistent exposure to synthetic lawn and household chemicals and various medical issues, such as childhood cancers, pet bladder cancer, breast cancer, and infertility. Citations are listed at http://www.chem-tox.com/pesticides/.

Perhaps the most significant cost related to maintaining The Lawn relates to the impact on natural resources. Traditional maintenance methods contaminate soil and water, and exacerbate air pollution. The Lawn displaces native plant species that feed and house native wildlife; without habitat native birds, butterflies and other wildlife cannot be sustained.

The solution is simple: eradicate The Lawn. At least reduce the surface area to one-third its current size and increase planting beds. Some homeowners opt to remove their existing lawn and replace with native turfgrasses. Native turfgrasses appear manicured but typically require much less water and mowing than exotic-invasive species. They also thrive without synthetic fertilizers and other chemicals. In planting beds, select appropriate native plants to sustain native wildlife. Properly choreographed native planting beds survive on ambient rainfall and without synthetic chemicals. Allow plants to grow into their natural form, which reduces maintenance requirements and attracts wildlife. By reducing wastefulness, maintenance, cost, and impact on natural resources, and encouraging diverse species of flora and fauna, homeowners may also increase their quality of life.