“Lawning” An American Obsession
A NASA-led study in 2005 found that lawns covered more than 63,000 square miles of America! Land roughly equal to the size of Texas; and that’s a lot of grass! Lawns must be important to homeowners.
In the beginning, the 17th century, there were no turf grasses native to North America. After struggling unsuccessfully to feed cattle on the field grass that was here, early settlers began to import grass used in formal gardens in Europe. Among them, the most successful, was what we now call Kentucky bluegrass. And, while there were varieties found later in Kentucky, it all began in Europe.
Fact is, until the game of golf expanded interest in fine turf, home lawns were something less than attractive…that is unless you consider crabgrass attractive!
The link below contains an article from Scientific American on our “obsession” with lawns. It makes the point that a nice lawn has become a status symbol in America; something that lets neighbors know the homeowner is able to build and maintain an attractive property. The problem is, the article seems to insinuate that having a nice home, including a beautiful landscape is somehow both unimportant and even arrogant! We disagree completely.
At ExperiGreen, we find that our homeowner partners, folks who take pride in their properties are in no way arrogant and are only guilty of wanting to enjoy the fruits of their labor…part of which includes having an attractive home.
The Scientific American article fails to mention the many, many benefits of maintaining a thick, beautiful lawn. Somehow, the author did not feel it was important to mention the fact that a dense lawn will likely provide enough oxygen for the resident family every day throughout the season. Grass filters out contaminants in the air, acts to hold farm soil in place and reduce erosion and reduces the surface temperature as much as 20 degrees on a hot summer day in the city.
So, are we “obsessed”? Perhaps. But if obsessing over something as completely beneficial as a nice lawn is bad, I wonder what is good?
For many, there is a certain comfort in knowing that, no matter what else is happening in the world, our old friends, the cicadas, will be right there, predictably letting us know that, for better or worse, some things just never change!
To enjoy more facts, click here.
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