Hamish's Lawn

[auld argonian]

I really feel for our friend...Hamish pointed out the sad condition of his lawn in his post about his outfit for the Brighton Pride event.

My own back yard is overgrown with what we euphemistically call "Native Illinois Prairie Plants"...or, as my neighbors refer to them, weeds. We've been meaning to start lawn type grass back there for a while but with the heat wave, I'm glad that we didn't...these plants are green and on the ground and they're taking minimum resources to maintain; lawn grass woould be requiring a lot of attention and water right now. Despite the fact that we're on Lake Michigan we are slowly getting the message that we have to conserve water as much as possible. I just heard that the City is making rain barrels available at their cost to encourage the use of rain water for gardening rather than just hooking up the "hose-pipe".

There have been a lot of articles published lately extolling the virtues of eliminating the lawn and landscaping with more drought resistant plants. That actually might end up being what we do with the back yard. As it is now, my back is a virtual wildlife preserve in a sea of neatly trimed lawn and manicured bushes...the wild look is appealing to us and to all of the birds and squirrels who appreciate the places to hide and the food sources.

I've come to think that lanscaping should always look like its been there for years and has never been touched by the hand of man...or the weed-whipper or power mower either.

So take heart, Hamish...maybe this is a good time to rethink your garden plan and get drought resistant...I have a feeling that things will be like this for a while to come.

Best

AA

[cessna152towser]

Yes, Hamish, grass isn't the be all and end all. I got our lawn ripped up earlier this year when the front of house got landscaped to provide off street parking and a ramp and handrail from the car up to the house so that Ann no longer needs to climb steps. What little of the garden isn't tarred or concreted has been planted up with summer annuals, mainly petunias.

[Southern Breeze]

I'm a landscape designer and have always preferred the more drought resistant plants myself. When it comes to grass I prefer the "less is more" approach. Unfortunatly I have to meet the clients wants, however I am able to make suggestions and changes.

Speaking of rain barrels, here's a site with links to some good sites with how-to info.
http://rainbarrelguide.com/rainwater...ion_links.html

[Hamish]

I really feel for our friend...Hamish pointed out the sad condition of his lawn in his post about his outfit for the Brighton Pride event.

My own back yard is overgrown with what we euphemistically call "Native Illinois Prairie Plants"...or, as my neighbors refer to them, weeds. We've been meaning to start lawn type grass back there for a while but with the heat wave, I'm glad that we didn't...these plants are green and on the ground and they're taking minimum resources to maintain; lawn grass woould be requiring a lot of attention and water right now. Despite the fact that we're on Lake Michigan we are slowly getting the message that we have to conserve water as much as possible. I just heard that the City is making rain barrels available at their cost to encourage the use of rain water for gardening rather than just hooking up the "hose-pipe".

There have been a lot of articles published lately extolling the virtues of eliminating the lawn and landscaping with more drought resistant plants. That actually might end up being what we do with the back yard. As it is now, my back is a virtual wildlife preserve in a sea of neatly trimed lawn and manicured bushes...the wild look is appealing to us and to all of the birds and squirrels who appreciate the places to hide and the food sources.

I've come to think that lanscaping should always look like its been there for years and has never been touched by the hand of man...or the weed-whipper or power mower either.

So take heart, Hamish...maybe this is a good time to rethink your garden plan and get drought resistant...I have a feeling that things will be like this for a while to come.

Best

AA

Many thanks AA for your thoughts and advice. We're now being told that within a few years we'll be growing Mediterranean-type plants and shrubs here in the south of England. Last summer's dry spell, although nothing like as hot or as long-lasting as this year's, almost killed off my lawns (I have four) which never really recovered before this year's devastation. It is said that lawns recover, but mine did not - at least the grass did not; the weeds did though!

What upsets me is the fact that four years ago I paid almost £6,000 to have my lawns ripped out and to have the top 12" of soil to be replaced with really nutritious top-soil and slow-release fertilizers before having the whole lot re-turfed with best quality lawn turf.


Those new lawns were stunningly beautiful for a couple of years - until the hosepipe ban was introduced. I have four large rainwater butts to store water from the house roof, but we need rain to fill them! They've been dry and empty for over two months now. The one or two showers we had over the weekend did nothing. The moisture evaporated on contact with the ground/roofs!

Oh well! Que sera sera!

[auld argonian]

What upsets me is the fact that four years ago I paid almost £6,000 to have my lawns ripped out and to have the top 12" of soil to be replaced with really nutritious top-soil and slow-release fertilizers before having the whole lot re-turfed with best quality lawn turf.

Ouch!

Best

AA

[Mr. Kilt]

Man, that really sucks, Ham! I know how proud of your yard & garden you are.
We're seriously thinking of ripping up all the lawn in our yard and replacing it with other forms of landscaping. It's too much trouble trying to keep the grass looking good here. Hopefully we'll be able to do most of the work in the next couple of years.

[gilmore]

Man, that really sucks, Ham! I know how proud of your yard & garden you are.
We're seriously thinking of ripping up all the lawn in our yard and replacing it with other forms of landscaping. It's too much trouble trying to keep the grass looking good here. Hopefully we'll be able to do most of the work in the next couple of years.

I wish I could do that with mine. In addition to the trouble and expense of keeping up a monoculture of hybrid grass, lawns are ecological disasters. The herbicides disrupt the ecosystem, resulting in the displacement and local extinction of all sorts of indigenous plants and animals. And the rainwater runoff carries the fertilizers downstream to lakes where they cause algae pollution in lakes and streams, often choking them.

There are all sorts of aesthetically pleasing things that can be done with low maintenance native plants as alternatives.

[auld argonian]

I just remembered a guy that lives around here that the kids and I refer to as "The Rockman". This guys whole lot is covered with different colored fields of stone...there's a piece of driftwood here and there and an occaisional plant but the whole thing is rocks. This is in the middle of those "putting green" lawns and perfectly coifed bushes...he must drive his neighbors nuts. I seriously thought about contacting Apple computers when they were doing their "Think Different" campaign and telling them about this guy...imagine them laying out the Apple logo in stones on his front "Lawn" and then doing an aerial shot.

We nearly freaked last year when we saw that the house had been sold and the new owner was having the rocks scooped up and was putting in grass.

Fortunately...it seems that the fella just downsized to a smaller house a couple of blocks away...soon we drove past his new house and when we saw the vast expanses of red and white stone we realized that the Rockman had returned. And there was much rejoicing!

Best

AA

[bubba]

Many of the native grasses and plants around here are classified as noxious weeds and you have to keep em down. The obsession with the golf course lawn drives me nuts because it doesn't belong in the area. Native grasses and plants are the best way to go but local ordinances usually forbid it.

[Yaish]

Someone, I dont remember who, wrote a story just about lawn care. The story was told from the perspective of a youngster who was totally new to human tendencies seeing a human mow their lawn for the first time.

It went something like this;

"Why are they cutting that green stuff?"

"That's grass, and people spend a lot of time mowing it down to just the right height."

"Oh. Then they must really appreciate it when the summer drought comes along, and all that grass dies."

"No, in fact then they go to extremes to make sure it stays watered, and they will use fertilizer to make it grow faster."

"Doesnt that mean they have to cut it more?"

"Yes, it does."