I got a nasty letter from an anonymous coward complaining about how I keep my lawn.
I dont give two shits about the grass. Bare minimum is all it gets. I also did a round of overseeding with microclover. All the retired boomers in my neighborhood have nothing better to do than dick around with their lawns.
I have every intention of making mine into a meadow or something. Need to figure out what I can get away with.
In the meantime, I will be making a Halloween display that will feature skeletons sitting on top of some pallets (letter writer was mad that I had one leaning against my trash can for a week) with trash cans and a whole bunch of weeds and crap. I also have a spare tire that was used to secure a transmission I bought down to the pallet. I also still have the broken transmission.
The whole mess will be going into the front yard, skeletons will get trucker hats, beer bottles and maybe a banjo.
I can’t wait!
One of the things that bothers me more than it should is people responding to actual problems with “but i like it”.
You say something like “a ‘basic’ lawn like that is bad for the environment in many ways, in addition to being labor intensive.”
They respond with something that amounts to, “But I like it.”
That wasn’t the question! If someone likes murder that doesn’t justify it, right? Because if so this conversation would take a very abrupt turn. So we can infer that there must be some other justification. Probably, “I don’t care about other people”, which remains an insufficient justification for murdering a whining selfish prick.
“Oh my god having a lawn isn’t murder you’re being dramatic!” - some small-minded buffoon who doesn’t understand analogies.
They probably couldn’t even explain why they like it, and about the only truly valid reason that isn’t just social conditioning is “I like do yardwork” but then wouldn’t a big nice garden be 1000x bettee for that? Oh, right, you can’t just sit on a big lawnmower and pretend like you’re doing real work.
“Oh my god having a lawn isn’t murder you’re being dramatic!” - some small-minded buffoon who doesn’t understand analogies.
So many people seem to really struggle with analogies. Sometimes I think they’re just responding to the emotional content, and not following the reasoning at all
This is also very easily flipped though.
If you are rewilding your lawn “because you like it” but signed an agreement to maintain the lawn and house to a certain specification, then complain about enforcement when you don’t keep up your end, YTA.
With respect to murdering, there is a social contract or a legal “contract” that says you absolutely can’t, so this argument obviously doesn’t work. “Because I like it” only holds up when there’s no contact at all and then it goes both ways. “Actual problem” has to be agreed in advance of complaining about taking action or not.
I imagine most people who are rewilding their lawn are doing so for environmental reasons, which I consider more valid than mere personal preference. If someone was doing so for mere aesthetics, maybe.
With respect to murdering, there is a social contract or a legal “contract” that says you absolutely can’t, so this argument obviously doesn’t work.
That’s kind of the point. The reason why you don’t murder isn’t merely because you like it. There are actual reasons. Personal preference alone is not sufficient to override reasons like social contracts and laws and stuff. So if one side of the argument is “this is good for the environment”, the other side saying “but I like it” should not be compelling.
It is compelling to some people when they consider stuff like the environment non-issues on the same level as personal preferences. Those people are assholes.
All well and good I suppose, but you realize you’re also projecting your value system onto other people, right?
Are you a vegan?
Do you have a car?
Have you voted in every possible election?
Ever bought Nestle products? Or something that was available locally but you got it from a super chain instead?
Etc etc.
Why?
If any of your answers are “because it is or isn’t convenient, or you just like it or want to” you’ve stepped into the same situation you’re arguing against. One side of each of those is that is is (or isn’t) good for the environment, for society, for community, or similar. Everybody does at least one thing that either isn’t good because of our priorities which are generally “things we want” when there are good reasons to do something else. If the worst thing someone does is has a lawn, well, the infractions could be much worse. Like killing others, to beat a dead zebra.
Sure it seems wonky when you spotlight it in isolation, but we are all fighting our “biggest issue” and rewilding doesn’t have to be that issue unilaterally.
I will admit when doing something like buying from an evil corporation that I’m making a trade off. I won’t pretend it’s fine. I try to acknowledge it.
It’s impossible to live in the modern world without participating in exploitation. This phone was probably made in ways that hurt the environment and labor. But I need a phone to participate in modern life. So I got one, and try to hold onto it as long as possible.
I think there’s a big difference between trying, and acknowledging tradeoffs and shortcomings, and just refusing to engage. “But I like it” is refusing to engage. I would respect “I know this milk comes from cruelty to cows, but I don’t care about cows” more. At least it’s honest.
Fair enough.
So “because so like it” in this context should give way to the more honest:
“I prefer to safeguard the perceived value of my own house than to support my local native ecology. NIMBY”. I would wager this is a fairly common perspective.
Frick. I moved into a house from being in apartments for many years and I have to say, lawn and Garden work, suuuuucccckkksss.
I hate it. I have too much to do to deal with your… Growth.
Can I replace my lawn with an emo lawn so it cuts itself?
Depending on your local regulatory environment, you can replace your grass lawn with a clover lawn which has the following benefits:
- clover is more drought tolerant than grass and does not need to be mowed
- fixes nitrogen for the soil like legumes
- supports local pollinators and provides habitat for other ground level insects
A clover lawn however does still require maintenance and It is not a catch-all solution to a no effort lawn. You will have other weeds growing that will get very tall very fast as they aren’t competing with anything and you do still need to water a clover lawn or you will end up with more tall weeds.
Other than that, slay.
I do find it more enjoyable to take care of a biodiverse lawn with animals in it than the traditional grass lawn, even if the work were equal.
Fair enough! I’m going to be filling my back yard spots with clover as well next season, hoping to help with my dog eliminating her favorite pee spots haha
Ive let a bunch of natural stuff grow and its maybe a half dozen different ground cover type things. I’m not really a gardener, but my cat and dog like it at least and I started seeing squirrels and such playing back there too.
I need to plan to plant clover next spring too now you mention it. I saw some seed mixes that include small flowers too, I’m not sure if that makes sense where I live yet but its interesting for sure.
My current grass is patchy, I’m certain there’s little or no nitrogen. I’ve been meaning to pick up a small bag of clover seeds and at least augment my lawn with them to make it a bit more green at least.
I’m fortunate that I was able to get a battery electric mower for my home shortly after moving in. So there’s no inconvenient gas fetching and mixing, just a pair of bigass fuck off batteries that live on the charger between mows.
The real problem is that we have a garden in the back that I want to set up as a vegetable garden and I just haven’t had time to do the work and it’s currently over run with weeds. I’ll get to it eventually. I’m planning on killing everything currently in the garden with some kind of weed killer, not sure what yet exactly, but I’ve seen some places recommend a soap/brine mix that seems effective. Then cover it with that black landscaping/gardening fabric so shit doesn’t grow for a while, if that’s successful, build raised beds and fill them with fresh, untainted soil and grow veggies there… It’s going to be a project and I have no idea how I’m going to find time or money to do it, but the way things are going, I can’t afford not to do it.
Anyways. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk. I guess?
My suggestion, since I’ve done something similar. (Depending on what is there now) I’d recommend killing the weeds by laying down layers of cardboard and mulch on top (after cutting them down). Some plants are too pernicious for that and require digging up taproots or targeted herbicide, but the majority of the stuff under it will die and be nutrients for what you plan on planting there. As the cardboard, mulch, and old plants rot, you’ll have exceptional soil for pretty nearly free (depending on the cost of the mulch and your time). As a neat bonus you’ll get all kinds of interesting fungus to look at too.
Thank you kind stranger. I will look into it.
The only heartbreaking part is that before we moved in there were perennial flowers planted along the edge of the garden, I guess it was a flower garden for the previous owners, and I’m not sure I can save them before I go scorched earth on the rest of the area.
Yes you put a specific amount clowers around and they make the grass grow slower.
Moss has started to grow in my yard and I love it. It’s green and furry and doesn’t grow tall
You think that’s bad? Allow me to introduce you to rock yards. I’m slowly getting rid of mine but removing several dump truck loads of gravel is hard work.
Ugh we have people doing that in our neighborhood and it’s godawful. I think they think they’re “xeriscaping” but this is Arkansas and the incredibly hot sun makes those rocks too hot to touch or stand on (for my doggo), kills the plants that are planted near it, etc. But they aren’t going to admit their mistake and undo it.
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I have yet to find a way to explain to my dog that he must not veer off the sidewalk lest his paws get burnt.
I love the assumption there though
Its called a leash.
I’m gonna guess you live in either Bella Vista, Holiday Island, Cherokee Village, or Hot Springs Village.
I could be wrong but if you have a rock yard in Arkansas, the odds go way up that you live in one of those four places.
Pumpkins
Is that your yard?
This is so awesome and so perfect for my yard that I showed my family and said we should do this next year.
The yard already gets decorated (I have a third grader who is way into it) and this would make the perfect foreground.
Sure is. Im actually surprised the HOA hasn’t stopped me
Plant Clover.
Rarely needs to be mowed. Or seeded. Or anything else. Looks great. Provides a lot of cover for a lot of insect life. It is just superior to grass.
Except it’s not, for anyone who has dogs or actually uses their lawn it’s extremely fragile, and will create a mud pit in any climate that has wet winters.
Small price to pay for never having to maintain grass. No mowing, edging, fertilizing, etc.
My parents just mow the lawn every now and then and remove thorny plants when they find them. The garden is just wild flowers and weeds. Then they dig a little pond. Since then they have lots of bees and other insects, but no wasps. It’s nice and requires no maintenance whatsoever. If a plant dies, it dies. If it takes over, it takes over. In spring until summer their whole garden is full of daisys. A white garden. The dog loves it and ears the heads off then when he’s chilling.
This is exactly what I’ve been trying to do in my yard, but my damn mono-lawn neighbor keeps “maintaining” my yard for me… might be time for a fence.
