I hate the word “ hate . ” It ’s so absolute and illiberal . Once you determine you hate something , it ’s sort of hard to find the sunny side and see the other guy ’s point of view .
I find it specially perplexing whenhateis applied to a plant that can be made into wine and coffee ( have a few drinks and sober up up in one brutal slide ? ) ; eaten as a nutritive , tasty side dish ; enlist to treat infections , wart , and as an anti - inflammatory ; pull good insects , feast honeybee , and ward off automaton ( I ’ll have to check on that last fact and get back to you ) ; aerates the filth ; and whose botanical name ( Taraxacum officinale ) intend “ prescribed Remedy for Disorders . ”
Susan Harris took on the Coalition to discontinue Dandelions ( there ’s no leaning of the member for this “ fusion ” , so I ’m guessing it ’s a figment of the PR adviser ’s imagination ) for their mistily worded , poorly reason movement . They ’re honk about the trump up “ dangers ” of dandelions in hopes of getting masses to fork over their hard - earned one dollar bill for a soil trial outfit . The CSD says soil mental testing are the key to stopping the Insatiable Scourge of Suburbia . well luck with that .
Susan walk the walk : her “ freedom lawn ” of sedum , clover , light bulb , and a few uninvited but very welcome guest .
When You Wish…
As I read Susan ’s rant , I could n’t help but remember about how successful the heavy lawn - care chemical companies have been at brainwashing the masses . It ’s no wonder they succeed , what with the trillion of advertising dollars they throw into their multi - billion dollar business .
blowball get a uncollectible pat because once the suburban migration started after World War II , these corporate merchants of everything toxic launched campaigns to win over homeowners that the only means to be a responsible phallus of bon ton ( and avoid the contempt of their neighbors ) was to aspire to that monotonic , imagination - free bushed zone called the utter lawn .
They convinced almost everyone that dandelions – those piddling grantors of kids ’ wish well that send hundreds of seed - carry parasols rove on the breeze – were the foeman . Actually , it ’s mostly dandy who ca n’t allow for their Hot Wheels obsession on the third grade vacation spot , so they get their testosterone fix wheeling about on big - kid mowers – watch the commercial message and tell me I ’m unseasonable .
Which brings me to theLawn Reform Coalitionand our campaign to advance overconfident change in the garden . If you received theFine GardeningeLetter this week , you examine thefirst article I wrotein 2009 . I ’m one of the founding member of this various group , working to bring a fresh perspective to garden , and hop to school the public about the serious environmental impacts of typical lawns . We ’re tattle about : the fouling of waterways from plant food and weed killer overspill ; the toxic brewage that affects man and pets ; the steep waste of precious potable H2O to keep those symbols of conformity by artificial means light-green yr - troll ; the individual - metal money pallet that provides zero home ground for dame , bees , and beneficial bugs ; and the air pollution , fogy - fuel consumption and noise of power tool .
I ’m credibly the most rabid of the Lawn Reform Coalition members , hold out in SoCal where the scourge of water supply shortages is a never - ending cycle . For the life of me , I ca n’t understand how citizenry catch some Z’s at dark knowing that they ’re blow the single most important resource on this peachy fleeceable world , all for the vanity of hearing neighbors congratulate them on their misguided exploit .
The big enquiry for me is , why the captivation with lawns ? When done “ right ” , they are nothing more than an uninterrupted swath of green , laser stark in its topography . Yes , mowed sod serves an indispensable role as a soft floor for diversion ( and bare sunbathing ) , but nobody let their kids play in the front M anymore , even if you could prize them away from their Adam - Box 360 . So what ’s it doing in the front yard , anyway ?
If you ca n’t carry the musical theme of a whole lawnless home , ca n’t we at least put our front yards and our dwindle down imagination to a higher use ? I think so . Redesign your frontal with plants conform to your area , specially local natives . memorise about each plant ’s behavior and its cultural penury so you may choose and place them intelligently , without causing maintenance black holes . Manage your garden with a light touch , and without using fossil fuel - power pecker , toxic concoctions , and generating excessive green waste .
I ’ve skittered off track a snatch from Susan ’s blah , but sometimes , all it takes to overleap me out of the garden an onto my stump is a little poke . Thanks Susan , and thanks for listening . Grow nutrient ! Ivette Soler ’s marvellous new book , The Edible Front Yard : The Mow - Less , Grow - More Plan for a Beautiful , Bountiful Garden , will get you started and bump you out with gorgeous approximation for integrating edibles with decorative plants .
Fine Gardening Recommended product
A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo
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Susan walks the walk: her “freedom lawn” of sedum, clover, bulbs, and a few uninvited but very welcome guests.
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Susan walks the walk: her “freedom lawn” of sedum, clover, bulbs, and a few uninvited but very welcome guests.
Ventura, CA landscape architect Jack Kiesel’s imaginative contemporary design replaced a traditional lawn with low-water-using succulents and grasses.
