being on this website since 2011 feels like being that dog in that one movie where he reincarnates. like i feel like i’ve lived five hundred separate and distinct lives and also died four times and also like i’ve watched history unfold from the beginning of man
i was about to joke about how my political stance is “end lawnmower culture” but then it occurred to me that i actually Am against lawns as suburban status symbols and wastes of land that Could be used to sustain native flora & fauna and grow food for people, but no, instead they are these huge useless swaths of land that need Constant maintenance, the process of which is not only destructive, but Incredibly Loud
You know that actually is the purpose of a lawn? They started as a trend of the French monarchy - the ones revolutionaries beheaded for being self indulgent assholes.
It exists purely as a status symbol that says, “I have land but I don’t have to use it for anything productive. I can invest time, money and resources in maintaining an entirely useless crop on land I’m not farming just because it looks pretty.”
Lawns offend me.
Why have that stunted golf course in front of your suburban house if you can’t even water it? Get one of these instead.
Unite Against the Lawn
Pro tiny house, anti grass lawn. Prioritize practicality.
This is actually really interesting because back in the 1950s and 60s in Australia when we started getting large waves of Southern European migrants one thing the Italians and others would often so is buy a little suburban home, then tear out the ornamental flower beds and lawn and useless trees and plant fruits, vegetables, grapes and even olives. It was considered completely scandalous by their Anglo-Saxon neighbours because lawn was considered an aspirational thing and the ideal was to go from not needing a kitchen garden and having an ornamental garden to show how well you were doing.
This is great. All of it. Not to derail this too much, but “Lawnmower” culture also reminds me of aggressively heterosexual men. Men ALWAYS will use mowing the lawn as a way to get out of doing all the other household chores – having a lawn that a man mows somehow makes maintaining everything else inside a house the women’s responsibility. Down with lawnmower culture.
i’ve actually read a whole book on lawns and lawn culture (yes, really) it’s called lawn people by paul robbins check it out and let’s all boycott lawn culture together!!!
Also, some of my neighbors have really big lawns and I mean really, and I think I was so baffled a few years ago that I asked one of them, “so what is a lawn for exactly?” and they said “Idk so my kids can play on it” but honey how many kids actually play on their front lawn I mean I have never seen a single youngling on that grass football field in front of your house
and only tumblr would convince me to take a stand against lawns
😏
Even if you don’t fill your lawn in with garden, there are more eco-friendly seed blends that are drought tolerant, self-fertilizing, and don’t require mowing, like Eco-lawn or a mix from Pro-Time Lawn Seed. This spring I’m looking forward to seeding my yard with Fleur de Lawn, which mixes hardy seed grasses with flowers.
Fuck yeah.
my grandmother planted bluebonnets in her lawn. she loves bluebonnets
