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Everybody loves a wide expanse of lawn--until it needs mowing, fertilizing, weeding and watering. Naturalistic landscaping can reduce those chores, and save energy too.
By William Niering
"I really like lawns. They have the pure clean simplicity of a freshly painted floor or a bolt of monocolored cloth. I like them as I like sheathing evening gowns on other men's women, beautiful to look at, but horribly expensive to support. The economic theory of 'cost vs. benefits' is apropos. I prefer a bed of moss, the subtle satisfaction of a stretch of periwinkle, or the inviting expanses of an unmowed grassland rippling in the breeze." --Warren G. Kenfield, from The Wild Gardener in the Wild Landscape: the Art of Naturalistic Landscaping, Hafner Publishing Company, 1966.
As we enter a new era of environmental awareness, there has been an increased emphasis on recycling and energy conservation in many communities throughout the country. This is also reflected in the home, where one observes such sound practices as switching to smaller cars, keeping the temperature down and discouraging the use of air conditioning. I would like to challenge you to extend your environmental concern to your home grounds where a tremendous waste of energy is occurring nationwide.
At the Connecticut [College] Arboretum we have over the past two decades established techniques in naturalistic landscaping that have significant relevance in conserving millions of gallons of our estimated 30-year petroleum supply, saving thousands of tons of fertilizers and negating the unnecessary use of pesticides. The concept involves reducing the size of one's lawn or actually eliminating it. This is not to say that lawns are not pleasing, aesthetic, artificial creations of man, but environmentally they are very expensive to maintain. In the United States there are five million acres of lawn on which we use three million tons of fertilizer annually. Two years ago several Congressmen recommended to the President that the use of commercial fertilizers be restricted on lawns. This was not a popular request, and nothing has been heard of it since. The Lawn Institute and Fertilizer Institute might object strenuously. Note that the request was not to restrict production of fertilizers, but merely an attempt to direct their application into areas such as agriculture and food production--their highest and best use. It is especially important that we use fertilizers wisely since phosphorus, a vital element, may be in short supply in the future.
In all likelihood your family has a power mower. There are 40 million in the United States consuming more than 200 million gallons of gasoline per year. Power mowers also make noise that can disturb neighbors or other family members who are sensitive to the value of a "hush in the rush."
Before I go further, let me assure you that I have a small lawn, one which enframes the house and flower beds, as well as providing a putting green that my son and I enjoy greatly. It is easily manageable with a push mower and it is not a chore, but a pleasure to mow without the neighbors knowing!
The use of native trees and shrubs or old field grasses and wildflowers on the home grounds has a great advantage since most are native and well-adjusted to the environment of your region. They usually require minimal maintenance, contribute leaf litter annually and thus recycle their nutrients and so away with the need for fertilizer or pesticides. Mowing is reduced or may be eliminated, depending upon one's eagerness to convert one's home grounds into a naturalistic aspect. You may not want to make a complete conversion of your lawn if you like it or have the need for it, but a realistic appraisal of whether one truly needs a sizeable lawn that requires mowing weekly or bi-weekly is in order for those who are dedicated to practicing environmental conservation. My aim is to outline some possible alternatives for potential application on your home grounds.
How to Decrease the Size of Your Lawn (See Fact Sheet 1 for more information)
Decreasing the size of your lawn can involve letting it grow so that the grasses can flower and up to 40 other associated species can come into their own if you have not been using herbicides. Many of these plants will provide attractive flowers during the summer and an interesting aspect during the winter. Among the broadleaf species that might show off during the growing season are blackeyed susan, wild carrot, asters and goldenrod. As time goes on, the diversity of species may continuously change or you may wish to introduce butterfly weed, an extremely attractive orange milkweed, or as I have done, the striking blue iris (Iris siberica) that does so well on such sites. The field aspect can be maintained in several ways. You can mow once or twice a year to suppress woody growth and decrease fire hazard or, as I prefer, pull the woody seedlings that invade when the soil is moist so that the root systems are totally removed. By this techniques I have maintained a mini-field next to my lawn for almost a decade without mowing. One soon finds that birds and other wildlife typical of such open field habitats frequent the area, and you will achieve a diversity on your home grounds rather than having a monoculture.
Woody plantings as shrub and tree borders in front of your home or along the edges of your property can also greatly reduce lawn size and increase privacy. In the northeast, evergreens such as hemlock, red cedar, white pine mixed with mountain laurel or rhododendrons are especially effective as screen plantings. The grass which grows up between these plantings can be mowed for a year or two while these borders are getting started; thereafter, these areas become self-maintaining.
What To Do in a Wooded or Thicket Setting
If your home is in a wooded setting you can essentially permit the natural woodland vegetation to dominate. A forest community with falling leaf litter forms a self-maintaining recycling ground cover. In fact, the whole system is solar-subsidized and self-perpetuating. You can also introduce beautiful native species such as American holly, mountain laurel, pink azaleas, and rhododendrons or woodland wildflowers. If you have a wet spot, the white swamp azalea, the showy winterberry and fragrant pepperbush should be on your list. Thus it is possible to embellish your woodland, as in the case of the fields. Some people encourage moss as a self-maintaining ground cover or plant ground covers and substitute them for lawns.
If your surrounding acreage is growing up to a mixture of woody species, you can selectively remove some trees and keep those that are more attractive. This technique is also further elaborated in the Connecticut Arboretum Bulletin Number 14 (See publications), outlining our experience at the Arboretum. Other case histories on how to decrease the size of your lawn, along with lists of recommended plants are given in Bulletin Number 21, our most recent publication on the subject.
A Challenge in Changing Your Life Style
One of the most frequent question we get on this concept of lawn maintenance is "What will the neighbors think?" Let me assure you it may take courage and individuality in some communities, but that should be a trait of an educated person, especially a graduate of Connecticut College. If such a change will increase the enjoyment of your home and simultaneously move toward a more environmentally sane way of managing your home grounds, these are major long-term benefits that will profit not only your family but society as a whole.
The application of this approach has even spread to industry. IBM will be employing the principles of naturalistic landscaping on portions of its extensive mowed ground, not only in this country but also abroad.
In Wisconsin a wildlife biologist won a court case to allow him to have his grounds serve as a wildlife habitat rather than waste energy in a weekly manicuring. As our nation begins to realize that you cannot fight the first and second laws of thermodynamics, which essentially tell us that energy is a non-cyclic resource, there will develop a new energy, conservation ethic. It has yet to develop. To waste over half of our energy, as we are now doing, cannot continue. Why not join the avant-garde now, especially on the home grounds, as we all begin to move toward a new life in energy conservation?