The Ecological Lawn
In this herbicide and mower age too many people believe the perfect lawn is a deep green monoculture of Kentucky bluegrass with nary a weed. They mow, spray, fertilize and fuss if they see a blade of grass out of place. It’s as if the lawn is an extension of the living room carpet.
Now comes the irony. The people who create these picture perfect lawns seem to spend their summer inside. Maybe that’s because perfect lawns are boring! They certainly are sterile.
There’s an old saying that the more money and effort invested in the perfect lawn the more problems will occur. And, that is true. Find a bare patch, a dandelion, or compacted grass and some lawn care company or garden store is ready to sell chemicals and seeds to cure it
Winding Pathways thinks differently. To us the perfect lawn is a vibrant place filled with life. Rather than a monoculture it’s an ever changing blend of many plant species that supports a diversity of fascinating animal life. It is a place governed by nature’s laws that entice the owner to go outside, look, listen, and learn the many lessons nature teaches to any observant person. Even the tiniest urban lawn offers its owner a free ecological education – while saving money. The ecological lawn is diverse, dynamic, colorful, inexpensive, and ecologically healthy.
Lawns are human manipulated ecosystems, but nature takes over the moment the mower is stowed in the garage. Nature loves diversity. Ecological conditions on even the tiniest lawn vary from place to place because the soil here may be very different from the soil a few feet away. Maybe it’s shady here. But sunny there. Here it gets lots of foot traffic. There it doesn’t. Here it gets lots of water. Just over there it bakes in the sun.
No single plant species is adapted to thrive in such varied conditions. To create a monoculture lawn requires defying nature.
Diversity is stability’s key. Our lawn hosts at least 30 plant species. Each is adapted to slightly different ecological conditions. If August brings blistering heat and drought, dry loving species spread, while moisture lovers fade. Switch the conditions and the plants shift. Always changing. Sometimes puzzling but always interesting.
No two seasons are ever identical so it’s impossible to know in advance what the growing season will bring. A diverse lawn is well buffered and prospers no matter what happens. Some plants will grow without benefit of irrigation, fertilizer, or pesticides! People may call them “weeds”, but we call “mother nature’s stitches.”
Just as weather varies, so does soil. Some lawn species enjoy rich loose topsoil, while just a few feet away others struggle to thrive in rocky, sandy, compacted, or simply infertile soil. Those plants most adapted to each particular soil condition will dominate in its tiny lawn microhabitat and no single species is likely to ever prosper across a lawn in the complex mix of changing weather and varied soil.
Modern housing developments are often created by scraping off topsoil and compacting subsoil under the wheels of construction equipment. To make the home look good, builders apply a veneer of sod on awful soil and hope the house sells soon. Usually the grass of choice is Kentucky bluegrass, a species native to cool moist Europe, not late summer American droughts. Nature responds by introducing dozens of species of better-adapted plants to diversify and buffer the lawn. Sadly, too many people call them weeds and persecute them, creating an endless need to spray and water to maintain an ecologically unhealthy lawn.
The healthy lawn isn’t uniform. Its texture varies depending on the blend of plant species living from spot to spot. It will probably have white clover that adds nitrogen to the soil and allows kids to make fun clover chains. It might have some a purslane or two, which make delicious eating. Probably will have common plantain, a harmless plant brought to North America from England. Every weed has its place, its story, and usually a benefit for people.
Allowing a lawn to diversify itself offers homeowners a chance to see nature at work as plant species change from season to season and year to year. A close observer receives an ecological education while saving money otherwise spent on water and chemicals.
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