BBC article on lawns being a waste

Just get a bunch of Hong Kong people to move into your neighborhood. They’ll convert them to cement real fast.

1 Like

Why Hong Kong People? The Taiwanese do it too! Its a great way to increase polluted run-off spilling directly into water sources.

But really, the lawn is bad. Very bad. Between the fuel consumption and noise pollution for the maintenance, not to mention water usage, lawns really are a nightmare.

John Green summed it up well here: Googling Strangers and Kentucky Bluegrass | The Anthropocene Reviewed | WNYC Studios

We should be considering other vegetation that doesn’t require the same level of maintenance

1 Like

Lawns were invented by the lawn mower industry to sell lawn mowers :laughing:

I’d rather use that space to plant edibles.

2 Likes

I remember seeing, very rarely, people in the US in my area that planted a vegetable garden where their front lawn used to be. At the time it seemed quite eccentric, but maybe it will catch on now. So many people I know in Southern California have rock garden type landscaping because of the ever present water shortages.

1 Like

Not only that but if you are in a homeowners association you have to keep your front yard looking a certain way. So if you don’t have lawn they could basically confiscate your house (which is about as un American as it gets).

1 Like

Freedumb!

2 Likes

If you’re in an HOA they do it for you.

1 Like

What I mean is, you can’t just change your front yard landscape willy nilly, you have to get permission from the HOA if you wanted to turn it into say a rock scape because you want to cut down on water usage.

Then if your front lawn is all brown because you don’t want to water your lawn all the time as they demand, the HOA gets mad too.

The HOA waters your lawn.

Some updates on the US home & garden situation.

Look up “No Mow May”

Plus in many parts of the western US, a green lawn may result in fines for water restriction ordinance violations.

And one word: Ticks

2 Likes

Native plants or a ‘wild flower’ garden.

3 Likes

I thought HOAs were only for gated communities?

Usually town homes and condos four stories or under have them.

Depends on where you live. Where my grandparents lived, there were strict rules about lawn appearance and fences and such, but the individual was still responsible for the upkeep.

Where I grew up you would actually get ticketed for not mowing your lawn. Take too long and they send someone to mow it for you, sending you the bill. I knew a number of people who intentionally created “natural spaces” where they let nature take over, but did so in a way that looked “intentional”. Now most of those people have more or less allowed nature to take over completely, mowing a single, meandering path through the tall grass and wild flowers so the neighbors can’t really say anything about them not “maintaining” their lawn.

Being realistic though, tall grass does lead to more rodents, which, while great for the local eagle, hawk, and owl populations, do tend to burrow into the foundations of houses. So there is that. And, as you said, ticks. And some tick bites can lead to red meat allergies!!

It’s always funny to me how HOAs can make demands like grass variety, height, and color, yet so many summers are spent having “worst looking lawn” competitions as droughts mean dying-off grass.

What’s the ground cover people use here? There is a short, grass-looking plant that I’ve seen around a lot of well thought out houses and BnBs around Taiwan. I wonder if it just grows really slowly or what

2 Likes

Mine doesn’t. You need to hire your own landscapers or do it yourself.

1 Like

I doubt most HOAs take care of the lawn.

Doubly so this.

HOA rules can be voted on by members - probably as close to a direct democracy as most Americans can get. :wink:

Varies drastically. I’ve lived in a couple HOA areas where they didnt care what you do to your lawn as long as it’s kept neat - basically don’t be a overgrown meth lab looking house and they didn’t care. I currently live in another where they care mostly that you don’t have a bunch of weeds and such.

Seems most newer developments in GA and CA have them.

1 Like

I’ve gotten warning letters for hanging laundry and leaving other crap on my balcony.

1 Like

You live in the USA? How much are your HOA fees?

Yea maybe in Soviet Russia HOA might mow your lawn, but then if you are rich enough to have lawns in Soviet Russia then lawns are the least of your worry.

1 Like

You will get that in Taiwan to.