Thank you Paul Tukey and John Richardson, the John Richardson that is the real environmentalist.
I hope the Natural Resource Committee passes that bill, and your article helps to educate those people who spray and fill their yards with all those chemicals. I myself prefer el naturel, and I even love my dandelions.
Keep up the good work.
Sincerely, Joanne Twomey

As I've said before, "Pave the world and paint it green."

But let's not discount the benefits of having a lawn, particularly in urban areas: erosion control, produces oxygen, eliminates dust, a natural air filter, noise reducer, and air cooler, makes a safer play area for children and adults, contributes greatly to recreation, and is scientifically-proven to have a positive impact on mental health.

As a former greenkeeper I am sensitive to the environmentalist who points at a golf course as a polluter. They are not. Proper grass care creates too many benefits to people to advocate the reduction of grassy spaces.

True, some people apply too much phosphorus to their lawns, and some lawns need a lot of phosphorus. Instead of advocating a ban on phosphorus and the reduction of lawn area, it seems that recommending professionals to care for lawns along with stricter controls on the sales and regulated use of fertilizers would be in order.

Both Dick and Joanne are right. That is why YardScaping is not about banning anything. It is all about minimizing reliance on pesticides, fertilizers and water on our landscapes. YardScaping is not anti-lawn, but it is about mnimizing the amount of lawn you grow and mow so in turn less fertilizer, pesticides, water and gasoline will be wasted. Lawns and green spaces are very important, but many of us have gotten used to having too much of them. YardScaping tries to show us all how to have a beautiful yard that doesn't need a lot of extra inputs to keep it beautiful. Thanks to John for his article!

Letting lawns grow into fields of wildflowers has all the benefits of erosion control, noise buffer, beneficial insect habitat, and it's so easy!

I've been mulling over the lawn problem because I have been building an agility yard for training dogs, and I don't want to have to mow all that additional space! I'm thickly bordering the whole area with an extension of my "permaculture" styled garden (kiwi, espaliered pear and apples, hazelnut, a korean pine nut, weeping mulberry) and probably I'll wood chip or sand the center of the training area. But if I do decide planting grass makes the most sense, I might do as my parents did when I was growing up -- buy some goats to keep the grass trimmed (and I will rent my goat out by the day??) and turn that grass into milk. As the other headlines read, grocery prices are going up!
Wouldn't it be neat if our urbab communities became more tolerant of livestock and wildflowers in the city?

Great to see this blog springing into life. Congrats!

I know that planting crops or letting it grow wild is the right thing to do but it has been a matter of significant internal struggle. The desire to maintain a gigantic lawn must be something deep down in our inner psyche's, that feeling when you have finished mowing, looking over your land with that strange satisfaction.

I think at the very least you can let your lawn grow longer between mows and lay off the fertilizer.

I use all the chemicals that I can for the best lawn I can have. If you don't like it don't put it on your yard. Don't tell me what I can put on my yard.

Letting the lawns grow into fields becomes a haven for ticks that carry lyme disease. Humans as well as animals get very sick from lyme disease. I would not wish that on my worst enemy.

Jeep..nobody was telling you what you can or can't do with your yard..however a little education goes a long way..wondering if you put up a warning..dangerous chemicals when you have people over for a BBQ??

CICI,

No need to post a sign. The chemicals are not harmful to humans. They have been tested on laboratory animals. Living in Maine we have more harmful air coming from the coal plants in the midwest that anything we can do to our lawns here. Why do you think childhood asthma is so high in Maine. No because I put some chemicals on my lawn. Which reduces the chance of my children or animals picking up a deer tick carrying lyme disease.

Nice name, you must be from CT.

hmmmmm tested on laboratory animals..well thank god they lived!! don't be so certain that just because they were tested on poor Lab animals that they are safe..you know how they are always changing their tune..who are they anyway??

Maine gal..

Love this thread. Just goes to show how important lawns are to some Mainers. As a pesticide safety educator I would never say that pesticides are safe because they were tested on animals. There are many products available at the hardware store that have been tested on animals that are quite deadly. Lawn care pesticides are not deadly, but they can cause health and enviromental effects including asthma attacks. The point we are trying to make through YardScaping is that pesticides, fertilizers and other (even organic) products should be used as a last resort and in a fashion that minimizes any potential for human and animal exposure. Many Mainers apply pesticides and fertilizers to their lawns without thinking about it. Sometimes when they are not needed at all. It is those instances that YardScaping seeks to eliminate. It will save people time and money and they can still enjoy a healthy and beautiful lawn and landscape.