And Why I Left Levittown Behind
As I mowed the lawn yesterday, I must have killed at least 100 bees. They were all over the little white and purple flowers springing up from the clover. I am hoping most of them heard the tractor coming or felt the ground vibrating as I approached. Some bees did fly off before, snip, their flower was cut off at the stem.
I used to feel guilty about killing the flowers, but of course a few days later, more flowers would open up and the bees would find new sources of nutrition. The other insects living in the lawn weren’t so lucky. A swarm of about 7 bluebirds dive bombed the insects as they flew off of the ground cover as I came by. The birds came precariously close to me as they tried to eat as many bugs and insects as they could. This used to make me nervous, but now, I enjoy the dance. I like feeding the bluebirds this way. They aren’t my pets, but I think they know me.
From a distance, my lawn looks beautiful. It’s green and a host to all kinds of birds, reptiles and small mammals. Last weekend, while walking on the property with my sister, I even saw a crayfish crawling on the lawn. Up close though, my lawn is varied with spots of grass, areas of clover, and infiltration of all other kinds of “weeds”. It’s a hodgepodge of life. Aside from mowing, my lawn is low maintenance and essentially free. I don’t pay for grass seed, fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. Areas of my lawn are kept overgrown so that the bunnies have a place to hide from predators.
One of my neighbors has a pristine lawn. It is a beautiful shade of green and composed of identical length blades of grass which he mows daily. He has perfected the diamond shaped grid pattern. The only thing missing from his lawn is life. To perfect his grassy expanse, he sprays it with all sorts of chemicals to kill weeds and insects. The birds have nothing to eat from his lawn. The deer and rabbits would probably get sick if they ate his grass. Their household doesn’t include a dog, but if it did, I’m not sure how all the toxins in the lawn would affect the dog’s health. But, the grass sure looks pretty.
Sometimes when we understand where habits come from, we can undo them.
People are very touchy about their lawns. A well manicured lawn of homogeneous grass blades is a symbol of status and pride and a source of judgement for circles of social consciousness. Where did the manicured grassy lawn concept come from? The same place where the “I just want to have a house in the country with a white picket fence” came from, Levittown. This was the first American suburb created in the late 1940s.
Maybe it’s time to give up on this quest for the increasingly toxic green grassy lawn. Our insects, birds and mammals need food. All components of a healthy lawn should be edible for some form of life. If you want a fragrant lawn, plant chamomile and thyme like they used to do around the old English and French castles in the 16th century. Your lawn will be the talk of the town until everyone else follows your lead.