Without knowing it I have been a proponent and supporter of the Freedom Lawn! This term was coined by Hannah Holmes in a book titled "Suburban Safari." I read it a few years ago and wrote a review of it on this blog site. In a nutshell: I don't water, fertilize, pesticide, herbicide or do anything else to my yard but mow it. Frankly, lately even mowing has been a rare occurrence. This spring I've been particularly occupied. I visited the folks before they went on a month-long vacation, the next weekend I left for 5 days in Chicago and in-between I had a particularly busy week at work. That all meant that my yard was exceptionally neglected this spring. My front yard consists mostly of cool-weather grasses and the back yard consists of mostly warm-weather grasses. I keep hoping the buffalo grass will take over, but it's patches seem to get smaller and smaller each year. sigh.
Last year I chipped the blade on my mower. In fact, I think the blade has been bent. I knew that this year I couldn't mow the yard before fixing the blade... which likely means buying a new one. I also knew I would be out of town or busy for the critical 2-week period between winter and spring in Nebraska. So, before the yard got completely out of control, I found an ad on CraigsList.com of a guy who could mow my yard. The guy who replied was from "Get R Done" lawn care. I think "R" actually stands for "reluctant." I told him I needed the yard mowed within the next week. Over a week later, the lawn still wasn't mowed! I came home from a 5-day trip to Chicago and the grass was over a foot tall! Well, to make a long story short, I contacted a local garden center who tends to lawns and they agreed to do an "emergency mowing" on Tuesday morning. But when I arrived home 16 days after I originally contacted the lawn guy (on Monday), the lawn was mowed! It even looked pretty good!
I guess the only lesson is that as I left for work the day the prairie was mowed down, I noted a small patch of buffalo grass... it was a perfect 2-inch plot whereas the rest was 2-feet and seeding! Lesson: grow buffalo grass!!!
I still support the freedom lawn. And I also understand the absurd obsession that Americans have with their lawns; so, I will continue to mow even though I'd rather replace the grass with chamomile or thyme or cloves. Someday soon, this will all change...
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esoteric -- confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle;
viking -- In medieval use a viking is a pirate. a rebel.
Quote of the moment
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
I have not had much need of a lawn mower recently because I have refused to water my lawn. The Bay Area is a desert. The mountains around us have been receiving less rain than usual these last two years (the first year we were here they got too much). It seems silly for me to water grass.
ReplyDeleteThe plants that can survive in this weather grow fairly slowly so we need to mow every third week or so. When I do need the lawn mowed I ask the guy who lives with us. He is a lanky guy with a deep voice. He is not as tall as me but he is taller than Heidi.
It is good to have a thirteen year old son. :)
Jon