Produced by
Patti Moreno
Contributor to:
Designing Sustainable and Edible Landscapes
Americans think big! And our obsession with all things big has to change for the good of the earth. Large lawns were once meant to symbolize status. Back in the day, large lawns earned their reputation with good reason. Historically, a large “lawn” meant that there were plenty of sheep and cattle grazing on the land. That is usually not the case when driving through any town USA these days. Today’s large lawns only mean one thing: Waste!
Large lawns waste acres of usable real estate, use tons of water and maintaining them create noise and air pollution. Additionally, the pesticides needed to keep grass alive, poisons our soil, sewers, and ground water with harmful pesticides and petro-chemicals.
Wondering what you can do about it…Here are some ways to think smarter about your lawn:
- Rethink your lawn and its size
- Decrease the size of your existing lawn by moving toward a more natural landscape
- Add more seating areas
- Look into planting more natural (low maintenance) grasses
- Plant more native plants to your region that already thrive in your climate
- Create an edible landscape with dwarf or semi-dwarf fruit trees such as apple trees which bring shade to your yard and fruit in the Fall
What if you love your large lawn and don’t want to change it!
These tips are for you:
- Eliminate your power tools and use more manual tools such as push mowers (you’ll get some more exercise while you’re at it)
- Put a water collector at the bottom of your downspouts so you can recycle rain water to water your lawn and your plants
- Reduce your lawn and add a water feature like a small pond that can be a fun and educational place for your children.
- Use organic fertilizers
- Start composting (with natural materials such as fallen leaves, for example)
- Use chickens and chicken tractors
- These useful tips for your large lawn, may be daunting at first, but when you think that the earth is our responsibility, you will look at ‘big’ in a new way. Smaller is bigger.
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