Alternatives To Grass Lawns

There was a day when many households would strive to have the perfect green lawn

. Today those households are rethinking the use of grass.

The front lawn in America and the idea of it has primarily been a historic gesture representing ones ancestry in English estates. This concept evolved into an endless desire of conformity. While the green lawns of old England were originally manicured and fertilized by grazing animals as well as watered by the heavy rainfall - today, the concept of lush green grass lawns is impractical for many reasons.

To begin, there is the problem of water. Many regions within the United States are suffering from drought. If an area is not suffering from drought then that area still must conserve their drinking water for growing populations.

How much water is used for landscaping alone? As much as 80 percent. Lawns can require 624 gallons or 83.3 cubic feet of water which is one inch of water for a 1,000 square foot lawn. Much of this water is wasted as it runs off the surface of the lawn if watering isn't done correctly. Soil can absorb only inch of water per hour.

Another reason grass lawns are impractical these days is due to the affect pesticides have on ground water. Pesticides are a necessity with grass lawns due to the amount of weeds that grow along with the grass. When one waters their lawn, many of these pesticides get carried away from the surface and into storm drains, which in turn is put back into the drinking water. Many beaches have been closed and wildlife have been endangered due simply to snow or rain runoff carrying these pesticides off of lawns.

Last is the care of the lawn, such as mowing and weed whacking. Emissions of chemicals increase 100 fold after grass is cut, taking hours for the air to clear back to its original level. When we think of air pollution, we may only consider cars and industry, forgetting about lawnmowers.

What are some people doing to replace their grass lawns? Depending on where they live there are a handful of alternatives. For those who live in drought areas or deserts, using native plants to landscape with has numerous benefits. For one, it saves water. Using native plants can reduce your water use by 50 to 75%.

Second, using native plants reduces the amount of care your yard will take. Native plants will need occasional pruning and weeding but maintenance is minimal. Because the plants or trees are native, they will be less resistant to disease which means they will require fewer fertilizers or pesticides. These plants will naturally require less water and maintenance and, they hold stronger through droughts. This in turn can save one money as replacing trees and shrubs over and over can be quite costly.

Maintaining the soil for your native plants and trees is easier too as the shrubbery won't have to work as hard to survive due to it being in its natural environment.

If all of the above reasons aren't enough, using native plants and trees also provides local wildlife with a natural habitat.

While grass was the American landscape of yesterday, today people are looking at what makes sense rather than what is traditional.

Alternatives To Grass Lawns

By: Carolyn Boden

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