Yardening with Mother Nature is a collection of articles to support and enhance your decision to be a yardener. Mother Nature is a volunteer with The Helfenstein Soup Council, an organization that works to promote healthy living, the environment, justice and peace.

The Death of the American Lawn


Did you know?
  • Acre for acre, the American lawn receives four times as much chemical pesticide as any U.S. farmland
  • An estimated seven million birds are killed yearly in the U.S. by lawn-care pesticides
  • Phosphorus runoff from lawn fertilizer causes algae blooms that suck oxygen out of our waterways, killing all aquatic life
  • In the summer, over half of municipal water usage goes to lawns
Addicted to Green
So who’s to blame for all this? The American love of lawns began with wealthy homeowners copying the look of English estates and spread to middle-class communities after World War II. (In the new town of Levittown, NY, residents were encouraged to apply fertilizer a remarkable five to six times a year because super-green lawns “stamp inhabitants as good neighbors, desirable citizens.”) But more than anything, it was the invention of the power mower and widespread advertising for perfect lawns that sealed a new ethic of the American lawn for decades to come. Proof of the power of marketing (and of the malleability of the American consumer) is the fate of clover. While it had previously been routinely included in grass seed mixes for its nitrogen-fixing properties, when it was discovered that the new herbicide 2,4-D killed clover along with crabgrass, advertisers simply rebranded clover as a weed—and it worked! Advertising has also convinced us that lawns need to be fed in the spring to “green them up,” despite research proving that fast-acting fertilizers kill beneficial microorganisms in the soil and make lawns less drought-tolerant.

The New Anti-Lawn Movement
The anti-lawn drumbeat started with local campaigns against gas mowers and gained momentum in 1991 when bestselling author Michael Pollan wrote an indictment of lawns in his book Second Nature, and declared in The New York Times that the lawn is a “symbol of everything that’s wrong with our relationship to the land.” In academia, Cornell’s “Turf Guy” Frank Rossi is leading the charge against overfertilization, among other ills of the corporate lawn-care regime. He writes, “We need to give up our perfect-lawn ideal — it’s costing the U.S. plenty.” So how about government action? Not waiting for the industry to reform itself, Madison, WI, and seventy towns in Canada, including Toronto, have banned phosphorus in lawn fertilizer. Five Canadian provinces have banned the use of all pesticides for ornamental purposes, including residential lawns, and the big-box stores have even removed them from their stores countrywide.

Of greater threat to the conventional (perfect) American lawn are increasing water shortages due to climate change. Thirteen states now impose water restrictions and another thirteen are predicted to impose them within the next five years. Lower-input alternatives like Buffalo grass and “No-Mow” grasses are coming on the market, and artificial turf is more popular than ever. Expect to hear lots more about this hot topic in the coming months and years.

By Susan Harris of wowowow   March 22, 2010

Get Off The Grass

Say goodbye to weekly mowing duties with these eco-friendly grass alternatives. 

 By Linda Lehmusvirta  From Organic Gardening

Imagine a Saturday that doesn’t start with a sigh: It’s time to mow the lawn. When other, more fulfilling garden projects beckon, it’s easy to begrudge the time spent on the tedious and noisy task of mowing—not to mention edging, feeding, and watering. Surely, there must be some alternative to grass.

Yet even those who object to lawns from a maintenance or environmental standpoint concede that lawns can contribute to the beauty of a landscape. “I understand what design purpose a lawn serves. It’s a cool, simple panel that allows your eye to rest. It doesn’t have the cacophony of a perennial border, and so I get what that does, but at what expense to the environment?” asks John Greenlee, author of The American Meadow Garden.

Perhaps it’s time to expand our definition of lawn to include other low-growing plants that carpet the ground, yet require less maintenance than turfgrasses. Options like sedges, moss, and clover thrive without fertilizers, require less water than grass, and rarely or never need to be mowed. A few grasses, including Korean velvet grass (shown at left) and buffalograss, develop an attractive character when left untouched by the lawn mower. These ground-blanketing plants can’t replace playground turf, but after all, most of the lawn’s real estate is for show, not recreation.

Sedges
With grasslike leaves borne in clumps, perennial sedges (Carex spp.) capture the soothing comfort of unbroken lawn. Leave them unmowed to let the breeze tickle their foliage. Or maintain a more formal look with just a few mows a year.

There are many narrow-bladed grass alternatives in the genus Carex. Some thrive in sun; others seek shade. Varying in height and texture, there are sedges for dry or boggy spots, clay or sandy soils, and all USDA Plant Hardiness Zones. “There are so many of what I call these ‘groundcover grasses’ that can make a cool, green, ecologically sound panel for you to walk upon or just to look at,” Greenlee says. Because of the abundance of choices, it’s a good idea to seek the advice of local extension agents or native-plant experts for help in selecting a regionally appropriate sedge.

When landscape architect James David of David Peese Design lost most of his monkey grass in the Texas drought of 2009, he switched to C. retroflexa var. texensis (also calledC. texensis). “I think it’s one of the great shade sedges of all time. I would tend to use it in dry shade as it is so drought-tolerant,” he says.

This clumping, evergreen sedge grows in sun to part shade from Texas to the eastern seaboard, in Zones 5 to 9. It’s drought-tolerant, but it may require extra moisture during extended dry weather. It has slender 6-inch-high foliage and spreads by seeds.

Greenlee applauds C. praegracilis, a sun lover that creeps from rhizomes. Tolerant of soil and weather conditions throughout the United States (except Texas and the Deep South), it withstands boggy spots as well as seasonally dry soil. Regional clones vary in height from under a foot to a more meadowy 3 feet.

Mow a sedge lawn in spring to remove any winter burn. “Mow it then, and let it have fresh space to flush back out,” says Andrea DeLong-Amaya, director of horticulture at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. After sedges flower, allow their seeds to scatter and fill the gaps between clumps. Sedge lawns stand up well to light foot traffic.

Glorify sedges with seasonal bulbs. “I have naturalized rain lilies, and they bloom through it,” David says of his sedge lawn. “Then, as soon as it rains, the lilies come out. It’s a beautiful bonus. And don’t forget bulbs like Ipheion, small jonquils, and species tulips that just disappear in summer.”

Moss
In moist, shady gardens with acidic soil, moss makes few demands.“It’s something that requires very little attention unless you just want to look at it all day long,” says Nancy Church, director of business development for Moss Acres, an online moss supplier.

Once established in moist climates, moss rarely needs watering. It attaches to the ground with rhizoids, not roots, getting its nutrition and moisture from the air. “As a nonvascular plant, it gets what it needs in a shady environment from the moisture that comes from the boundary layer of the soil, from rain, dew, and even from fog,” Church says. Moss lawns need no fertilizer.

Moss grows best on compacted soil, even clay, in a pH range of 5.5 to 6.5. Going dormant under snow or in dry summers, moss rebounds quickly. “But do not water it in the heat. If it’s necessary, we recommend watering either in the morning or in late evening when it’s cooler,” Church says.

For shady lawns, Church recommends Hypnum, often called sheet moss, or Thuidium, referred to as fern moss. Both have low profiles that dismiss the lawn mower. Until their energetic stems and spores form a dense mat, weed by hand. Moss is easily smothered, so keep the surface swept clean of fallen leaves. Add woodland wildflowers and naturalizing bulbs for a garden in the lawn.

Moss tolerates occasional footsteps. But because moss doesn’t have roots, rambunctious digging dogs would tend to calamity. In areas of frequent foot traffic, provide stepping-stone pathways.

Clover
Instead of fighting clover in the lawn, give it top billing. White Dutch clover (Trifolium repens) is on the rebound as a perennial lawn alternative that’s tough as nails in sun to part shade. Like other legumes, it takes nitrogen from the air and stockpiles it in root nodules, so it fertilizes itself.

“It can grow in bad soils and in a wide pH range. It prefers a 6.0 to 7.0 pH, but clover will grow down to a 5.0,” says Troy Hake, president of Outsidepride.com, an online garden and landscape supplier. White Dutch clover’s range extends nationwide, but Hake reports that it’s best adapted in Zones 5 to 8; in colder zones, it may not survive winter. In hotter zones, he recommends planting in areas that receive partial shade.

Spreading horizontally, clover needs just an occasional mow if a lower profile than its average 6 inches is preferred. Its white flowers attract bees—another bonus, unless someone in the family is allergic to stings. In that case, simply mow off the flowers.

Microclover, a small-leaved clover developed for interplanting with turfgrasses, produces smaller flowers that aren’t as attractive to bees. Hake likes it because it does not encroach aggressively on flowerbeds. “It’s shorter and finer-bladed than white Dutch. At a distance, it almost looks like grass,” he says.

Clover is evergreen down to single-digit temperatures. A spring mow removes winter burn and stimulates new growth. “Clover doesn’t have really deep roots, but they’re hardy. Even if you get some top kill, it’s going to come back from the root zone,” says Hake. Although it appreciates supplemental water in dry summers, clover isn’t a thirsty consumer.

It withstands occasional strolls across its surface, but Hake advises, “If you have big dogs that walk on the same path every day, it’s going to wear a trail just as it would in lawn grass.” He adds: “It’s not as soft as grass, but you can walk barefoot on it.”

Getting Started
When transitioning from a turf lawn to another type of groundcover, start with a clean slate. Rent a sod cutter and slice off the existing lawn, leaving as much topsoil in place as possible. In small areas, a spade may be sufficient for removing the sod. Compost the chunks of sod or use them to fill low spots in the landscape. Till to loosen the soil (except when planting moss, which prefers compacted ground). Just before planting, till again or hoe lightly to remove any weeds that have sprouted.

Sedges: Plant plugs in spring or fall (or winter in the warmest climates), or sow seeds in spring. Water regularly until the plants are established. A topdressing of compost or mulch between the plugs will help maintain soil moisture and control weeds.

Moss: Plant in spring after the last frost, preferably after trees leaf out. Press chunks of moss firmly onto the surface of moistened soil. Lightly water the moss daily for at least 3 weeks. Depending on the growing conditions and the spacing of moss chunks, the moss lawn may take a year or more to fill in. In the meantime, keep bare spots weeded.

Clover: Sow seeds in spring when nighttime temperatures are consistently over 40°F. Keep moist until germination.

If renovating the entire lawn seems daunting, take it in stages. After all, the most successful gardener tackles one bed at a time, getting into the rhythm of new plants before launching the next escapade. Wean your landscape off the mower and get ready to start Saturday with a smile.

5 More Lawn Alternatives
Creeping thyme (Thymus spp.). In well-drained soil in sun to part shade, creeping thyme brings flowers to the lawn in Zones 4 to 9. Select low-growing varieties of Thymus serpyllum like ‘Elfin’, which can be snipped for use in the kitchen. Spice it up with lemon thyme (T. citriodorus) or fuzzy gray woolly thyme (T. pseudolanuginosus), a nonculinary species. Provide walkways to avoid constant crushing, though a bit of bruising adds a sensory bonus.

Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora). “Frogfruit is robust; it’s not delicate at all,” says Andrea DeLong-Amaya, director of horticulture at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. “I love it because it grows in sun or shade. Any conditions where you would normally grow grass would be perfect.”
From Oregon to the southern United States, in Zones 8 to 11, this perennial in the verbena family works fast to cover ground in a thick mat 4 to 6 inches tall. Summer and fall flowers attract butterflies and bees. “It roots at the nodes, so it takes foot traffic pretty well,” she says. Frogfruit goes dormant in freezing weather.

Stonecrop (Sedum spp.). The genus Sedum includes many creeping species, some ultrahardy and others tender. With their small, succulent leaves, they prosper on sun-scorched slopes and in other forbiddingly arid locations. Many are showy in bloom, bearing sprays of tiny star-shaped flowers. S. spurium ‘Dragon’s Blood’, for example, flaunts rosy-pink flowers on 4-inch stems over a mat of bronze leaves. Sedums of all types root easily from stem cuttings. Unfortunately, the brittle stems and fleshy leaves don’t hold up well to footsteps.

Buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides) and blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis). Although grasses, these two prairie natives don’t make the same maintenance demands as traditional turfgrasses. For the hot, dry, Central Plains states, Troy Hake from Outsidepride.com describes buffalograss as the “lazy man’s grass.” It requires minimal water, no fertilizer, and only occasional mowing. In fact, leaving it tall with just a few mows a year helps fend off weeds.

Hake and DeLong-Amaya recommend mixing buffalograss with blue grama. “Buffalograss tends not to be very dense,” says DeLong-Amaya. “It likes to grow with other grasses for a denser, more resilient turf.”

Silver ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea). Native to Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, silver ponyfoot is hardy to 25°F. Given good drainage, decent soil, and sun to part shade, it quickly takes over. “It’s just so beautiful! Silver is such a great contrast to other plants or to hardscapes,” says DeLong-Amaya. “Texturally, it works well with other plants. It fills in quickly, since it spreads by runners.” Place stepping-stones where needed.


 

“They thought I was getting weeds,” but look at this native plant yard now!





The rain garden was the perfect way to solve Nancy Heiden's problem with run-off, in addition to being a good citizen. Nancy tells the story in this short video of how she established her rain garden and changed her lawn into this beautiful yarden.  

Jarek: Don’t be afraid to let Mother Nature rule

By Margaret Jarek from the Green Bay Press Gazette June 29, 2014

 I’ve never thought of myself in terms of being a trendsetter, nor was I aware that the kind of gardening I’ve been engaged in for the past quarter of a century actually has a name, but it does. It’s called yardening.

I learned about this in mid-April when a lady named Margaret Gerhard a.k.a. Mother Nature, came to Open Circle Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and gave a remarkable presentation on the subject.
It was fast-paced and packed with information. The focus was to encourage people to move from large mono culture lawns to making use of every available space to grow food or to create natural habitat for native plants.

Also addressed was the subject of pesticides and the research that gives a clear connection between numerous physical afflictions ranging from various types of cancer to birth defects and autism due to exposure to any type of pesticides.

In addition there is a clear connection between declining honey bee populations and pesticides. Bees cannot survive on mono culture landscapes or the chemicals used to maintain them. If the bee population fails they say humans have two to four years to live.

Other facts presented were that a lawnmower operated for one hour creates as much pollution as driving a car on a 350-mile road trip.

The Wall Street Journal, June 4 and 5, 2011, ran an article on why we must love our weeds. These so-called weeds are actually beneficial food sources, as well as sources of medicine and offer a sustainable alternative to extensive lawns.

Converting lawns to gardens or wild woodlands alleviates water runoff and actually cleans the water that filters through their roots, vastly benefitting the environment.

Comments such as “wild gardens look messy” demonstrate the underlying mindset of humans being in control rather than acting as partners with nature.

In places like Denmark, Sweden, Israel and Alaska they are actually planting vegetables in their parks and in large containers along their streets where people are welcome to eat the produce.

This is only a small fraction of available information the sources of which are varied. Much of it is available online by Googling “wild ones” or “beyond pesticides.org” as well as spcpweb.org. Also, check out VictoryGardenInitiative.org.

The Audubon Society that sponsors the Zooapolis Garden Tours in Fond du Lac on Aug. 9 has long been in the forefront of this movement. More and more people are coming to understand that only by growing their own food can they be sure of receiving the maximum safety and nutritional benefits.
Cities, towns and villages are slowly beginning to see the wisdom in a pesticide free and natural landscape.

It isn’t too late to change our mind set and embrace yardening.

 

Most lawns are utilized only about one percent of the time and then only small areas, but natural landscapes draw us in and engage us on so many levels of both a spiritual and physical nature.
I’ve never for a moment regretted turning my yard into a pocket-size nature preserve where groups of plants live in a harmonious relationship with birds to bees, butterflies and other citizens and children of nature. And it’s a whole lot less labor-intensive than mowing a lawn.


Margaret Jarek of Fond du Lac writes a column for Action Reporter Media.