Lawns Evoke Yawns

Did you know that there are over 50 million acres of lawns in the United States and 80% of U.S. households have a private lawn? It takes over $40 billion dollars per year to maintain these lawns and while the argument can be made that these expenses help the economy, they also help promote some dangerous and ecologically unsound practices in many instances. Consider the increased use of insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers and all the pollution from lawn equipment used to maintain these green patches. These "lawn inputs" also affect soils, stormwater runoff, water consumption, plant diversity, energy use, air quality and can also adversely affect local wildlife. I recommend The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession by Virginia Scott Jenkins for interesting facts regarding lawns and their role in our lives.

At Rotary Gardens, roughly 6 of our 20 acres are maintained turf. We're contributing to many of the problems as listed above. However, our intent in maintaining lawns is for functional use for events. We are continually assessing our practices and continue to adjust our programs and policies (informal and formal) to minimize any negative environmental impacts. I have a small lawn at home but my entire front yard is garden (no turf). See below for an older picture. It's amazing how we're looked at as "freaks" in our neighborhood with plantings all the way to the curb. Looking down our street, there are nothing but lawns (most poorly kept anyway). Turf (that looks healthy) requires inputs. I should mention that there are some nice organic approaches (compost teas, etc.) that while beneficial to our lawns, don't have such a negative impact as synthetic fertilizers that are frequently overapplied anyway.
I'm currently reading Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn by Fritz Haeg and it is truly an inspiration as it creates a dialogue regarding more appropriate uses of our personal landscapes. Our front yard above also includes vegetables and herbs that we utilize. The use of vegetables and other culinary/utilitarian plants does not have to be relegated to a separate (frequently linear) space. Many of these plants are also ornamental and fit right in to our landscapes. Mr. Haeg will be speaking up at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI) on February 19th along with other speakers (including me). The topic is Incredible, Edible Gardens. See www.olbrich.org/about/new.cfm for information if you are interested. We are actually developing an entire garden space to "ornamental edibles" this year (we also did it in 2008, see bottom photo). Perhaps 2009 is the year that you scale back on the green carpet and develop some low-maintenance, organically maintained, beautiful garden spaces that are aesthetic and productive!!!???? (eggplants below)