How America got ADDICTED to Lawns
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2023
- If you’ve spent any time in the suburbs of North America you’ve probably marveled at some immaculate and lush green lawns at some point. But between individual cost, water usage, pesticides, and more - lawns aren't all they're cut out to be.
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For further reading, check out the sources for this video here:
docs.google.com/document/d/e/...
Script: Caroline Eaton-Pickard
Editor: Reid Valaitis
Lead Editor: Kirsten Stanley
Project Manager: Lurana McClure Rodríguez
Host: Levi Hildebrand
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Please do not push the “fake” lawn trend. Nothing could be worse then covered the earth with plastic.
Americans: We don't like communist apartments! I love my individuality!
PSA: make sure to use plants NATIVE to your region when replacing your lawns!
Fun fact about HOA's, they can also create rules around what type of homeloans you can use to purchase property. There is a story about a woman losing her house because the HOA determined that you were no longer allowed to have a federal loan for your home (fha loan)
A word (or several) from the UK... The pastoral landscaping style of Capability Brown became enduringly popular here for grand country estates because - thanks to living on a routinely rainy island, with not-very-hot summers and not-very-cold winters - grass is really easy to grow here and requires very little maintenance. On more modest scales, there are a few wingnuts who go in for dousing fertilizer, minutely weeding, raking out moss and watering over the hotter months, but 99.9% of private lawns here are a mix of clover, daisies, dandelions, moss, and some grass, which are never watered nor fertilized, and only mown when absolutely necessary (many are now opting to leave large swathes unmown for wildflowers).
For those who have existing lawns and want to replace them, micro clover is fantastic. Low maintenance, bees dig it, and it more or less looks like grass from a distance. More texture too
I can't express how much I hate lawns. Our home is in the middle of nature preserves and state parks. Deer, bears, and other animals are always wandering around. But the HOA insists that we have to have perfectly manicured lawns and can't understand where the weeds are infecting the forced monoculture. Long story short, we are in the process of installing a draught tolerant grass/fully xeriscaped landscaping which the HOA isn't happy about but protected by state laws 😀
Getting rid of my lawns was the best choice ive done. I replaced them with tons of fruit trees which produce actual food in the same space my lawn took previously. Plant more trees instead🤙
As an engineer for a major lawn mower manufacturer, I think about this every day and how we create thousands of mowers a year that are unnecessary and it's an endless cycle of waste😢
My neighbor converted his lawn into a farm. He grows crops for all the seasons. When he had a surplus, he left some green beans at our door step.
As a native Arizonan and victim of the ever-expanding heat island in Phoenix caused by the profusion of xeriscaping and concrete roads, buildings, etc, I am a proponent of a return to (appropriate) green space in the burbs. Xeriscaping, which uses a lot of rocks and plants that do not shade, throws heat right back up at your house, causing more heat inside, an increased need for air conditioning, and increased electrical expenses. A nice thick lawn and some shade trees help by making a cool island right next to your house. I am also in favor of using native species, nature gardens, and vegetable gardens to provide the same effect.
I gotten a fine from my town (not HOA) over having grass too high before. Always look up your local laws if you don't want to have to maintain a lawn.
Glad I scoped out a house that didn't have HOA. We have a nice desert-scape (native plants) in our front and a yawn in our back but we don't cut it and water it once a week for 15m. Our kid feels like an adventurer because it's gotten to the point of the grass looking mangey. I've noticed more birds flocking eating bugs and it feels more natural over the overly green and tidy look society pushes on us. On the plus side I hate hearing the sound of yawn mowers and like being lazy. My parent's don't really approve they tend to complain when they're over about the state our back scape but maybe I'll send them a link to this video.. we live in a desert we should conserve water and I'll overtime get rid of our yawn for good just that I still want it around for my kid just in case she wants to get some energy out.
In 03, i had an anthropology professor who had done his thesis on the american front lawn. Im glad the problem is finally getting the attention it deserves.
I've always wondered why people were always so obsessed about patches of green
Lawn care is actually one of my most cherished hobbies, i do all the weeding by hand and mow every 5 days. I let the clover grow in to improve soil quality and drought tolerance. I use very few chemicals because i want it to be safe for my pets (including a box turtle).
Fortunately, Colorado has passed a state law that says HOAs cannot overrule homeowners planting native and water-wise plants. It is not as well known or publicized but it should be so that those who don't want kentucky blue grass can replace it with native grasses like buffalo or grama (because I think they can still require a % of "lawn"/grass but you can make it a water wise and lower maintenance "lawn")
I like having a lawn. I find it beautiful to look at when I’m surrounded by pavement everywhere else. It’s a safe place that my kids love running around and playing in. I almost never have to water it and only need to mow it once every 1-2 weeks, which takes 15 minutes. I don’t buy or use any of that other stuff mentioned. The alternatives mentioned don’t really make sense for someone who lives where I do and has young children. Though moss is fine. I don’t care as long as it’s green and mowed.
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I work for a water treatment plant mowing water towers in my city. We have massive plots of land for no reason that we have to mow. Its funny too how you can see how much water we have to produce when people water their lawn, and then see water production fall of a cliff because people aren't watering their grass.