The idea of replacing lawns with vegetable gardens or native plants feels like a win-win for both the planet and our lives. Plus, who wouldn’t want to trade mowing the lawn for picking fresh tomatoes or seeing more squirrels lol?
Thanks for this post! If anything, it would be fantastic to cut down on all the grating noise generated by landscapers, leaf blowers, and fall clean up...increasingly found to create health harms on there own.
This speaks to my heart & soul. 🙏 I live in a townhouse complex that's governed by a condo corporation so we need to stick to the rules for the most part. However, my partner and I ensured that the landscapers didn't blow all the fall leaves out of our backyard this year so that we can save them for the birds, mice, squirrels, bees, etc. 🐝
I love this! Having had my own lawn for 4 years now, I don't understand the appeal. So we are slowly but surely planting trees and making a garden out of it.
I have so many thoughts—I absolutely agree that lawns are not a good thing; I have a goat pasture instead; the desire to make a garden that reminded them of home led to so many invasive plants outside their own ecosystem; my mom grew up with dirt instead of grass—not a great alternative—a garden would have been so much better.
So much of this is spot-on. I don't fertilize, spray chemical, or water the lawn, but I'd rather mow some grass than live in a mosquito, mouse and snake habitat.
Very insightful read! We’ve swapped half our lawn for clover over the past two years, and it works magic! It not only cuts down on mowing, but also helps keep the soil moist. The cosmos planted in the middle of the clover only need watering once a week in hot summer, and barely anything in autumn—thanks to the dew on the clover acting like natural drip irrigation.
Great article. There's also the pesticides people use on their lawns to get rid of "weeds." While researching Round-up/glyphosate recently, I learned that homeowners / landscapers are exposed more when applying glyphosate in their yards than farmworkers in fields are, due to the different application methods. This is why most of the successful lawsuits against Monsanto/Bayer so far have been from individuals like those.
Couldn't agree more! We are in the process of planning how we will transform the existing lawn that was already with the house when we moved in. We don't use it at all and it's such a waste. Looking forward to spring in a few months so that we can start implementing our plans. :)
Last summer we discovered a free service called chip drop where local arborists will drop wood chips at your home for free. The catch, you don’t know how much or when they will come. We got two drops and that was enough to cover all our grass. It took some work, but better than having to mow every week. We got some unique pavers for cheap on a resale site and plan this year to fill in with native plants. Our front yards is tiered garden beds so we do irises and a veggie garden there with a big row of 🌻. We have a small patch of grass in the back for the dog, and we hope to reseed that with clover instead of grass this year.
Our vision is to eventually make the whole yard native plants and flowers with a veggie garden and herb pots.
It’s a lot of work up front but once we get there it will be far easier to maintain and much more unique and wild.
Free chip drop service, that's so cool!! And you are right that having a veggie garden or establishing native plants takes a lot of work up front, but so worth it 😃
The idea of replacing lawns with vegetable gardens or native plants feels like a win-win for both the planet and our lives. Plus, who wouldn’t want to trade mowing the lawn for picking fresh tomatoes or seeing more squirrels lol?
Hi Sophie - I hope you are having a good week.
Absolutely, a wild garden is just so much more fun and beautiful to look at too!
Thanks for this post! If anything, it would be fantastic to cut down on all the grating noise generated by landscapers, leaf blowers, and fall clean up...increasingly found to create health harms on there own.
Absolutely true! Thanks Ellen 🌺
This speaks to my heart & soul. 🙏 I live in a townhouse complex that's governed by a condo corporation so we need to stick to the rules for the most part. However, my partner and I ensured that the landscapers didn't blow all the fall leaves out of our backyard this year so that we can save them for the birds, mice, squirrels, bees, etc. 🐝
Oh that's so lovely of you, I'm sure they will have all appreciated it ❤️
I love this! Having had my own lawn for 4 years now, I don't understand the appeal. So we are slowly but surely planting trees and making a garden out of it.
Yay for more trees 😁
I’ve always thought lawns are just boring - and the possibilities of all that you could fill that space with are mouthwatering!
So true!
I have so many thoughts—I absolutely agree that lawns are not a good thing; I have a goat pasture instead; the desire to make a garden that reminded them of home led to so many invasive plants outside their own ecosystem; my mom grew up with dirt instead of grass—not a great alternative—a garden would have been so much better.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Martha 🙂
Man this is great
Thanks Luke!
So much of this is spot-on. I don't fertilize, spray chemical, or water the lawn, but I'd rather mow some grass than live in a mosquito, mouse and snake habitat.
we don't have snakes in New Zealand luckily 😮 very blessed to live in a country that has no scary animals at all!
Very insightful read! We’ve swapped half our lawn for clover over the past two years, and it works magic! It not only cuts down on mowing, but also helps keep the soil moist. The cosmos planted in the middle of the clover only need watering once a week in hot summer, and barely anything in autumn—thanks to the dew on the clover acting like natural drip irrigation.
that's a really great alternative, thanks for sharing!
Great article. There's also the pesticides people use on their lawns to get rid of "weeds." While researching Round-up/glyphosate recently, I learned that homeowners / landscapers are exposed more when applying glyphosate in their yards than farmworkers in fields are, due to the different application methods. This is why most of the successful lawsuits against Monsanto/Bayer so far have been from individuals like those.
The management of our lawn as follows.
Not cut from April till end of August.
No mow May
More bloom in June
Knee high in July
August is a thicket for a cricket
Love it!!
Great food for thought Sophie. I absolutely hate mowing lawns so thinking we need to get more creative with our space.... 😊
Yeah that's the main benefit of not having a lawn 😁😁
Couldn't agree more! We are in the process of planning how we will transform the existing lawn that was already with the house when we moved in. We don't use it at all and it's such a waste. Looking forward to spring in a few months so that we can start implementing our plans. :)
Oh that sounds very exciting Claudia!
Last summer we discovered a free service called chip drop where local arborists will drop wood chips at your home for free. The catch, you don’t know how much or when they will come. We got two drops and that was enough to cover all our grass. It took some work, but better than having to mow every week. We got some unique pavers for cheap on a resale site and plan this year to fill in with native plants. Our front yards is tiered garden beds so we do irises and a veggie garden there with a big row of 🌻. We have a small patch of grass in the back for the dog, and we hope to reseed that with clover instead of grass this year.
Our vision is to eventually make the whole yard native plants and flowers with a veggie garden and herb pots.
It’s a lot of work up front but once we get there it will be far easier to maintain and much more unique and wild.
Free chip drop service, that's so cool!! And you are right that having a veggie garden or establishing native plants takes a lot of work up front, but so worth it 😃