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| THE PERFECT LAWN... |
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| ...HAS MANY COSTS |
When I see the perfect bluegrass lawn, uniform, dark blue-green, perfectly weedless, I cringe, because I know it is contributing to a whole host of environmental problems: fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide drift and runoff, and the establishment of a monoculture vulnerable to pests and diseases and dependent upon high use of water and other resources.
Now, I am a proponent of healthy lawns wherever they are needed as a useful element in the landscape. But most lawn maintenance is overkill. The best way to keep a lawn healthy is to mow at the proper height, water deeply only when necessary, fertilize perhaps once a year and never try to eliminate all the dandelions and other weeds. Spot spray for weeds when it is practical, and try to encourage some clover in the lawn which will provide nitrogen and needed plant diversity. It is easy and inexpensive to maintain a good quality lawn. It is difficult, very expensive and environmentally damaging to maintain the “perfect” lawn. And, I am not convinced, despite all he hype to the contrary, that the economy is all that bad, when so many, many homeowners pay big bucks to have a lawn service spray their lawns every few weeks. It sure ain’t 1933, pal.
NO BLOG FOR A DAY OR TWO, WE ARE TRAVELING TO PICK UP NURSERY STOCK.
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