@clive 👏 I hate lawns with a passion.

@clive I allowed my front lawn to die this summer. HOA cannot enforce anything because we are in drought conditions and water restrictions in Bexar County, Texas. I plan on xeriscaping and reducing the amount of grass in my yard significantly.

@clive grass isn't even natural on the west coast. Its like planting a cactus in Siberia. If we're going after lawns, we should also target the largest offender, golf courses. Empty pieces of land that do nothing but waste water. As George Carlin once said, they're perfect spots to put up homeless shelters.

@clive I always thought lawns were part of the “American dream” about every home a castle, etc., and copying Versailles or some such place. Americans seem to insist that they are all royalty. Me? I’ve expanded the garden into 70% of the front yard. Screw that stuff

@clive Get some native plants in there, diversify, and let the bugs thrive. Especially bees!

@clive Large city suburban lawn turned wild. I have some grass paths that I mow on the other side. Key is hedges all the way around on a corner lot so no one really can see what is going on. Guy across from me mows his tiny lawn with a tractor 3 times a week!

@clive Passing this on to my landscape architect son in case it hasn't come across his radar yet; he avoids residential projects. My neighbors don't understand how he lets me 'neglect' my lawn and they don't understand my explanation that it's intentional...

@clive There are climates and topologies in the United States for which lawns are fundamentally unsuited. So be done with them. As for me, I have a 1/3 acre suburban lawn that I overseed regularly, lay some lime on every few years, and use fertilizer once annually that the State’s agricultural science body certifies as being safe to humans and the environment. My county doesn’t allow anything else.
Under such conditions, I’m fine with lawns. I’m fine with folks who plant regional flora. I’m fine with others who let their property go to regional scrub, but it usually looks like hell. In all cases, I would only ask that it gets cut back periodically so as not obscure traffic and property views. Where property owners and localities let nature take its course, I’ve noticed they don’t maintain it very well, and, if they do, it costs as much as lawns.

@clive Lawns and a tree. We recreate the savanna, including the tree to escape predators in. It isn’t about order. It is a psychological drive to feel safe that is millions of years old.

@clive Indeed. Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t has been on this for a bunch of years, and he and Al Scorch have been hosting a show called “Kill Your Lawn” where they help people rip out turf lawns and replace them with beautiful native plants. Worth a look.

@clive I know very close to zero about this subject, but heard t'other day that in fire-prone areas lawns are good for soil retention and compared to many other types of plant life not so flammable. Anything to those claims?

@clive so many bad outcomes have resulted from the “middle class of little aristocrats” cultural template