I wish it was capable for me to care less about my lawn than I currently do. I'm a first-time home owner, and rather than being a point of pride, my lawn is that thing I have to do once every two weeks.

I don't water or fertilize, instead I labor under the assumption (which has not failed yet) that grass is a tenacious organism that will grow if it wants to. I mow (on average) once every two weeks, with longer delays when the weather permits. I have no idea what kind of grass my lawn is composed of (is green a species?). And it continues to grow.

Could my devil-may-care attitude towards lawn maintenance masquerade as environmental concern?

"Could my devil-may-care attitude towards lawn maintenance masquerade as environmental concern?"

It's entirely possible. I suppose I'm in the same boat. I've often used the term "greenery" in place of "lawn" when talking about the green-ish rectangle surrounding my house.

I look at my grass the same way. I grew up on a farm in West Virginia, and grass is a chore I had to deal with. I don't water or fertilize my grass. And the damned stuff grows like crazy. My mower is set so low that I can barely push it through the yard after it's mowed, and I still have to mow every week.

If you're cutting your grass any shorter than 2 - 2.5 inches you are making more work for yourself and may actually hurt your lawn. Leaving a little more on the top, so to speak, means you won't have to bag as much clippings, and cutting too short could 'burn' your lawn and rob it of nutrients. Cutting the grass too short also leads to mowing more frequently, and thus an increased carbon footprint.

I'm curious, has anyone here ditched their gas model for a Push Reel mower? They certainly look more user friendly than the rusted splintered models of the past.

Of course the other alternative to lawn, fake or otherwise, is landscaping, mulch, stones and shrubs.

trendspotter:

I'm curious, has anyone here ditched their gas model for a Push Reel mower? They certainly look more user friendly than the rusted splintered models of the past.

No, because I would then have to hire somebody stupid enough to push it around my 2 acre yard. That doesn't fit in with my economic forecast.

Other than keeping the yard short enough that the neighbors won't think we've been foreclosed on, I'm in the same boat with the first two posters. I just can't make myself care enough about my yard to become an overfertilizing environmental menace.

No, it just means you don't live in a gated or managed community. I used to be lazy about my lawn, but as time goes by I get more and more consciencious about it as I see my yard and compare it with my neighbors. I might as well have a fridge on the porch and a junked car in the backyard.

There is a happy medium out there, but you won't find it in your homeowner's association. There is a real enviromental concern with lawncare - lawns are the worst when it comes to local enviromental influences. In areas under a stern homeowner's association maintaining your lawn can become a highly stressful position - so much that you don't even let people walk on it. God forbid a dog takes a piss on it.

If it's a Ford Fairlane on blocks, I'll shake your hand...

No, seriously though. There are neurotics on both sides of this. There are the greenies that have a heart attack when I start my lawnmower and the Pristine Lawn Society that thinks I should be maintaining the Oakmont Country Club. Here's the root of it all. My dog has to take a leak on my lawn, but I also have to be able to find him when he's done. Is that a good middle-ground?

Depends on your neighborhood. Gated communities and neighborhoods controlled by a homeowner's association are becoming the norm. The house is becoming such a tremendous expense that it's forcing people to look at the house as an asset rather than a home - and with that comes keeping property values up. It's hard to keep your property value up when your neighbor keeps his beer in the freezer on the front porch.

I don't say I agree with that philosophy, I actually refuse to live in areas under a homeowner's association, but it is becoming very common and they can be VERY dictatorial.

trendspotter:

I'm curious, has anyone here ditched their gas model for a Push Reel mower?

I do in fact have one, but I live on a narrow street in a townhouse with a concrete slab for parking, and my "lawn" is about 25' X ½'. You can't procrastinate when you use one of those. If the grass is too tall, it's like trying to push-start your car with the parking brake on.

A manual push reel mower is only for folks with postage stamp size lawns. I have about an acre, so it is just not an option. But I am in the category of the first two posters. I never fertilize or water my lawn. I do not use weed killer either. I seed it once a year and I mow it. In the spring, about once a week. In the heat of summer, I can go 10-12 days between mowing. I use a gas powered push mower with a mulching blade, so there are no clippings to pick up or dispose of. I also use the mower to mulch the leaves in the fall, so there is no raking. The only thing I use a leaf rake for, is to get the leaves out of hard to reach places, so I can mow over them. I have figured out ways to keep trimming to a minimum also, with mowing strips around the hedges and trees. I use an electric edger on the curb about twice a year, and it stays looking pretty sharp.

My lawn does not look like a putting green, but it does not look bad either. It helps that my neighbors have about the same approach to lawn care as me, so that everything blends together. By late August it is looking a bit brown, but every year it comes back like gang busters. It's just not something I choose to worry about. I have three little dogs who seem to enjoy the yard just fine, and I don't have to worry about inadvertantly poisoning them.

Every year I consider buying a riding mower (especially in August), but I figure I can use the excercise of pushing the mower. I have had the same mower for about a decade, and gasoline costs are minimal. The only thing I water are the vegetables and some flowers. I see only a slight bump in my water bill in the summer.

As far as a fake lawn goes, the article must be a joke. I could not imagine anything more hideous.