It's that time of year when homeowners claw their way through the crowded garden shops of their nearby megabox home improvement stores, determined to turn their weed patches into vast expanses of lush green grass.They buy roaring lawn mowers, leaf-blowers and weed-whackers, along with gallons of gas to run them and tons of insecticide, herbicide, fungicide and fertilizer to spread on their little corner of paradise. They install miles of pipes to water it all and spend their weekends mowing, blowing, spraying, edging and sweating.
Thank God for scientific advances that allow us to control nature. Otherwise we might still be at its mercy, using our yards to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. We might have to grow things suited to our climate, use rain barrels and cisterns to capture rainwater, and fend off all manner of birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife attracted to our yards.
The truth is, vast expanses of thick, green grass may look pretty, but maintaining grass wastes tons of water, and the chemicals people dump on it are responsible for poisoning our increasingly limited water supply, endangering wildlife (not to mention pets) and contributing to public health problems from birth defects to nervous system disorders to cancers.
Millions of tons of toxic chemicals enter our water sources every year through stormwater runoff from our lawns. The Environmental Protection Agency identifies stormwater runoff as the No. 1 source of water pollution in the country. The University of Florida Extension Service says Americans spend about $1 billion per year on pesticides (though other credible sources place the figure 11 times higher) and says Floridians probably exceed the national average because of our longer growing season.
We now use more chemicals to make our lawns look pretty than farmers use to grow our food.
Don't get me wrong. I love the look of a beautiful, thick carpet of grass, the way it feels on bare feet, the way it smells after mowing, the cool spray of the sprinkler. But why is grass more beautiful than a yard full of native plants, wildflowers, herbs and vegetables?
Status.
American-lawns.com, a website dedicated to promoting grassy lawns and lawn-care services, says that in ye old days, only rich people with scythe-wielding, water-toting groundskeepers could afford English manor-style lawns, which were not suited to the climates of this country. The website enthuses that the U.S. Department of Agriculture teamed up with the U.S. Golf Association in the early 20th century to develop grasses that would grow here, even though there was little public demand for lawns. The American Garden Society manufactured that through publicity campaigns, saying it was our civic duty to maintain lawns.
Civic groups, condo associations, local governments and deed-restricted communities across the nation continue to uphold this arbitrary and outdated fashion, often making compliance mandatory. The most recent example occurred last month when 69-year-old Sol Koppel was harassed by his neighbors and homeowners association for his carefully xeriscaped yard and the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service sign that designated it as a certified Florida Friendly Yard. They demanded he remove the sign and add more grass. The law was on his side; deed restrictions and local ordinances are forbidden by state statute from prohibiting xeriscaping on private property. The two parties reached a compromise, but the incident demonstrates the level of ignorance that still remains on the subject.
Studies have shown that lawn chemicals commonly in use today (even some touted as "organic") contain carcinogens, nerve gases and other toxins. They cause health problems in humans; kill wildlife; pollute water supplies; destroy beneficial organisms, and disrupt ecosystems and destroy healthy biodiversity. Some government agencies, however, devote more resources to telling consumers how to apply chemicals "safely" than to inform the public about their dangers and regulating their use.
I have an idea: Let's start thinking for ourselves instead of conforming to an artificially manufactured aesthetic. Let's stop spending billions of dollars poisoning ourselves and our environment. Let's redefine a beautiful yard as one that supports a variety of plants and wildlife, provides renewable resources, and is sustainable with no chemicals and little or no extra watering. Let's cultivate native plants and learn to live with bugs, snakes and other critters that do us no harm. Let's respect, even celebrate, our own distinct natural environment and create an authentic sense of place with plants that fit into our local ecosystems.
There's plenty of information out there to help homeowners figure out how to create an eco-friendly landscape. Instead of fighting the crowds at Home Depot or Lowe's, visit your local county extension service, a nursery specializing in native plants, an organic farm or a botanical garden, and ask questions. You'll find lots of information about responsible gardening at two upcoming events: The Florida Native Plant Society and other groups will disseminate information about composting, water and energy conservation and landscaping with Florida native plants (and giving some away) at the Spring Plant Sale and Family Earthfest April 17 at the Florida Botanical Gardens/Pinellas County Cooperative Service (12175 125th St. N., Largo). USF Botanical Gardens Spring Plant Festival, April 10 and 11 (corner of Pine and Alumni drives on the USF Tampa campus on E. Fowler Avenue) will also have plenty of Florida-friendly plants and advice.
The Hillsborough and Pinellas county extension services offer free information and classes in composting to make your own truly organic fertilizer, using rain barrels, mulching to reduce weeds and watering needs, landscaping with native plants, providing a wildlife habitat in your yard, and identifying beneficial and harmful insects and controlling the latter naturally. (Pinellas: 12175 125th St. N., Largo, 727-582-2100, http://coop.co.pinellas.fl.us. Hillsborough: 5339 C.R. 579, Seffner, 813-744-5519. 24-hour horticulture helpline: 813-744-5519, ext. 350, http://hillsborough.extension.ufl.edu.)
Contact Contributing Editor Susan F. Edwards at susan.edwards15@verizon.net.
This article appears in Apr 7-13, 2004.