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Grass is fine, but why not give your lawn a little color? ©The HSUS |
by Margaret Baird
Ah, the sounds of summer! The dawn chorus of songbirds, the buzz of cicadas during the heat of the day, the chirps of crickets, and deep croaks of bullfrogs in the evenings.
And then there's that competing cacophony that we hear nearly all our waking hours: The relentless, All-American drone of lawn mowers, relentlessly cropping acre after acre of our cherished suburban monoculture.
Lawns aren't necessarily a bad thing. They can have a substantial cooling effect on the surrounding environment, reduce run-off and erosion, and provide a springy, open surface for sports and backyard entertaining—for kids, adults, and pets.
Those benefits make at least some lawn space worth keeping.
Wildlife-Friendly Alternatives
Save for Canada geese and some other well-adapted critters, lawns offer little habitat to our wild neighbors, who are already at a disadvantage in our urbanizing world.
That's where well-designed lawn alternatives come in. And if you've been thinking about a yard makeover, summer is the perfect time to get started.
Shrinking your lawn and creating wildlife habitat will save time and big bucks on care and maintenance, since the new landscape should require only minimal work over the long term. That leaves you with more time to spend enjoying your property, and its wild inhabitants.
Top wildlife-friendly lawn alternatives include
- Beds of native nectar, berry, and seed-producing plants favored by wild animals
- A meadow on a portion of your property
- A water feature, such as a small pond
- Shelter for wildlife, such as brush or rock piles in a corner of your yard
- Drought-tolerant plants ("xeriscaping") in dry parts of the country
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| There can be more to a yard than a few trees. ©The HSUS |
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A Costly Monoculture
We all know those vast, campus-style lawns that appear to have no other reason for being than to be mowed. High-maintenance turf sucks up the majority of irrigated water, not to mention the untold gallons of gasoline burned by mowers.
Americans lavish something like $30 billion annually on fertilizing, watering, and mowing our estimated 31 million acres of turf. A 2004 University of Florida study found that maintaining an average-sized urban yard cost more than $3,000 annually.
And then there are the environmental costs. Upwards of 60 percent of the chemicals in fertilizer can leach into groundwater, causing serious environmental problems.
Nitrogen gases are also a major culprit in global warming. And while we mow one average-sized lawn, the government of California says, we're producing emissions equivalent to driving a car about 350 miles.
Let It Grow
| Weed Laws |
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Many communities and homeowners' associations specifically forbid "weeds" (often an undefined term) in excess of a specific height.
Some even forbid lawn-free homes. You can learn more from the natural landscaping organization Wild Ones |
The simplest and fastest way to create a natural landscape from a lawn is…not to mow it. But lest your human neighbors kick up a fuss over the unruly "eyesore" next-door (though your wild neighbors will love it), better to not let all of your lawn go wild, and not all at once.
Instead, convey that your new landscaping is intentional and not the result of lazy upkeep by limiting your no-mow zones to the corners or less-trafficked areas of your property. Continue to mow around them to create a neat "island" look.
Your naturalized areas will offer food and shelter for wildlife, and they will diversify over time as seeds are permitted to grow and thrive. Add to the attraction by planting native nectar-producing plants, which will bring in pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
Clearing Your Turf
To install a new wildlife-friendly feature or new plantings, you'll first have to strip away the lawn. There are several ways to do this:
Cutting: One easy approach is simply to extend the size of existing beds when edging them—even as little as an inch or two a year. For larger projects, you can cut moistened turf into squares or strips with a spade, then remove or roll it up and flip it turf side down.
This is labor-intensive work, so unless your lawn is truly postage stamp-sized, or you are just converting a small portion of your lawn, consider renting a sod cutter from a local retailer to get the job done.
This tool will quickly and efficiently slice off the sod layer.
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| Habitat islands provide shade and shelter with trees, shrubs, and grasses.©The HSUS |
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Tilling: Renting a tiller to chop and churn the sod. While you can plant immediately, it's often better to let the area rest for several weeks before tilling again.
This will allow any stray grass roots and weed seeds that you may have turned up initially to sprout, so that you can till them under on the second pass.
Adding compost as you go will enrich the organic matter and help your new plantings thrive.
Mulching: If you are patient and prefer a low-cost, low-sweat method, sheet mulching is a good option.
This involves covering the lawn with several layers of organic material—something akin to a forest floor.
Over time, the combination of smothering layers and heat will break down your lawn. Start with a layer of black plastic sheeting this summer, which will kill the grass by not allowing light in.
In the fall, replace the sheet with a thick layer of leaves, lawn clippings, straw, or compost. By next spring, your lawn will be a distant memory, replaced with rich organic material and ready for garden plantings that will welcome wildlife.
Further Reading
Tallamy, Douglas W. (2007). Bringing Nature Home: How native plants sustain wildlife in our gardens. Oregon: Timber Press, Inc.
Bormann, H. F., Balmori, D., & Geballe, G. (2001). Redesigning the American Lawn: A Search for Environmental Harmony. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Margaret Baird is the former Director of Communications for The HSUS's Urban Wildlife Program.
