There are people that like mono-culture lawns, with just one kind of grass neatly groomed and growing. I am not one of them. I have a lawn full of whatever comes up as you can see in the photo. I cut it just enough so that it doesn’t get totally out of hand and cause more mowing problems in the future. When I do mow, I like to notice the succession of different plants as they come into bloom. First comes forget-me-nots, dandelions, and some of the grasses, the buttercups bloom, followed by the clover and the purple flower you see in the photo that I never know the name of.
The bees and other pollinators move from one species to the other as they each take their turn in germination.
I blogged about how, during my youth, I hated mowing the lawn and at the time sometime wished that instead of grass, our yard was covered with concrete. That, of course, was stupid, childhood thinking. I still find mowing a chore, but I don’t hate it.
I recently came across an article in The Guardian about plastic lawns, that actually made me love my lawn. Among other things it said that:
“Artificial lawns get hotter than bitumen and concrete. Without a blade of grass, and no shading vegetation, they are furnaces, emitting an unpleasant smell of melting plastic. For dog owners, there are particular perils, and not just the smell of dog urine. “Whoever has fake grass in their garden,” one hapless owner on the Isle of Wight wrote last week, “Don’t let your dogs on it, it’s just burnt my dog’s paws.”
Artificial “lawns” turn out to be high maintenance after all. They need to be watered to cool them down. They need special cleaning products to get rid of smells and stains. You even have to vacuum them to get rid of leaves.”
The article also mentioned how plastic lawns eliminate wildlife. They provide nothing for birds or other insects. They are just wildlife voids.
Like I said, the article made me really appreciate my wild-looking lawn and I wonder why humankind is to set on destroying everything that is life-giving.
If you would like to read the whole article here is a link:
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