Friday, June 27, 2008

What goes in a lawn

I think most people view lawns as areas of grass, and (ideally) nothing else. There is a certain aesthetic appeal to an uniform expanse of green.

For the past month, as I drive around I see many yards with the little white balls that are clover flowers. The feed stores near us do sell clover seeds right beside the grass seeds, so in some yards this may be intentional. In many lawns, however, these flowers stop exactly at the property line. It's rather obvious which houses are using herbicides.

Which, you know, if they dislike the variegated green of yards with clover (and other plants), and don't think the white flowers are pretty: these are subjective opinions. One can't really argue with that.

I don't like the idea of heavily chemicalled lawns (they can cause serious environmental problems). With city weed ordinances and restrictive HOA covenants seeming to be everywhere, though, I often feel like I'm in the minority. But driving around and seeing half the houses with the little clover flowers: perhaps society is moving away from the idea of lawn as a monoculture, after all.

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