The editor of ProudGreenHome.com asked us expert bloggers to provide tips on how to make a landscape more environmentally friendly. My answer is the third one down, though we all seem to have the same ideas (but my photo of our garden is prettier)!
Steven Brandt’s recent article in the Star Tribune, Yards Can Go Au Naturel in Minneapolis, already has 75 comments on the website. That might make one feel that Minneapolis has a nice community of people who can properly argue the merits of having a mowed lawn compared to prairie grasses and other native species on their property. I found most of the comments to be from angry folks who either blame “big government” for inappropriately interfering, or blame individuals for being too lazy to actually mow their lawns. Where’s the good debate?
As part of our overall landscaping design, we wanted a significant portion of our property to be native grasses and wild flowers. Why? It’s pretty. But it is also a very sustainable choice compared to lawns. It requires no fertilization (no chemicals), no irrigation (saving water), no mowing (saving energy), and is sort of a return to how the land used to be — its natural state.
Don’t get me wrong – we still wanted some lawn. A well-kept lawn is also pretty, kids and grown-ups can play on it, and it fits in better with the neighbors’ landscape. It’s more generally accepted to have just grass outside. So we were trying a mix of both.
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