Well, it’s that time of year again… lawn-mowing time! Every weekend I hear the sound of a lawnmower or weed eater, and sometimes through the week as well. It’s become an American tradition, or a way of life at least. And while the sound of mowers doesn’t bother me… in fact I find the sound rather soothing, and also love the smell of fresh-cut grass… still, it strikes me as rather silly that we’ve painted ourselves into a corner when it comes to mowing our yards.
Why is it that we plant grass seed, we fertilize it, we water it to make it grow… just to mow it down? And we do this not once, but over and over throughout the warmer months. Well, at least the watering and mowing part, but some people do also plant seeds and fertilize. Still, my point is… why do we do it? I mean, it’s really a huge waste of time and effort, when you think about it: Water to make it grow, mow it down. Water to make it grow, mow it down. Why do we do this to ourselves?
If I ever get my own place again, I expect there will be grass, and one of the first things I will do will be to remove the grass and replace it with an appropriate ground covering plant. It may take a few years to completely get rid of the grass, but once that’s done, I won’t need a lawnmower, and I won’t need to waste my time mowing all the time. I guess the only good things to be said for mowing the grass are:
1. It is kinda fun, or it can be, if one’s yard isn’t too large, or too hilly.
2. It’s good exercise and gets one outside into the fresh air.
But there are other things that there would be more time for if the darn yard didn’t need to be mowed every time we turn around! I have to wonder how we, as Americans, have fallen into this time-wasting tradition. I mean, is it just because our parents did it? Or because our neighbors do it? Or because our HMO stipulates it? I for one, plan to break out of the mold! I love to garden, so if I didn’t have to mow, I could spend more time planting a butterfly garden, or a vegetable garden… anything productive, because mowing grass is about as UN-productive as you can get! Plus, it isn’t practical. While it would cost to put in ground cover, rocks, etc., that cost would have an end to it. With lawn-mowing, the cost is always ongoing: buying gas for the mower, maintaining the mower, replacing the mower when it breaks down the last time.
It’s all about image for some people: they MUST have the neatest, greenest, shortest grass on the block. And woe be to anyone who dares to set foot on that grass… oh no, no, no… it’s NOT for walking on, it’s a showcase… which also means it’s a waste of space, in my book. I think most people just mow so that their yard won’t look crappy, though… and so they won’t get cited by the city, because that can happen if you don’t keep up with your yard.
It’s just a vicious cycle that we put ourselves in, and as busy as most people’s lives are today, it’s one we can change, if we want to. I had a neighbor a few years ago who had turned their front yard into a beautiful showplace of plants and rocks… no grass at all. Of course, they still did maintain those plants, but they never had to mow out front, and it was just a lovely yard to look at. There are all sorts of alternatives to grass, if one puts one’s mind to it!