5 ms·

Looks nice. Soft to walk on. Great for kids and pets. Fairly inexpensive to maintain. Never really understood why people don't like lawns TBH.

dgacmu 3y ago
In western and more arid states they're a huge waste of water. Really depends on the climate. In other areas they're just a lost opportunity for biodiversity. Mixing in some clover or other small perennial soft small flowers can help a lot with making it both self-fertilizing and more pollinator-friendly. (We kept part of our grass for exactly that reason but it helps that we don't have to water the lawn here. With added clover I'm quite happy with it.)
- morkalork 3y ago
  Mixing clover and other small flowering plants with grass is definitely the way to go. I can sit on the swing in my backyard and lose count of all the bumblebees and small butterflies bouncing across the lawn. What I don't understand is, is the need for huge front lawns. It's all the work with none of the benefits. Just a waste of space really. People don't use them the same way at all.
  - asow92 3y ago
    > What I don't understand is, is the need for huge front lawns. It's all the work with none of the benefits. Just a waste of space really. People don't use them the same way at all. Have you considered that some people just like looking at it and that's enough? It's their private property after all.
    - bluefirebrand 3y ago
      That's not a sufficient reason to have bylaws and HOAs that enforce front lawns. Which is amazingly common.
      - Tagbert 3y ago
        The lawns aren’t the reason for the HOAs. The HOAs are intended to try to protect the investment value of the homes by enforcing a level of maintenance in all of the properties. Not saying they are a net good but it doesn’t start with the lawns.
        ethbr0 3y ago
        In my experience there are effectively no HOAs that don't legislate lawns (and usually landscaping with them). They may not be the reason, but HOAs are absolutely the cause of outdated, environmentally unsustainable, bullshit lawn requirements.
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - asow92 3y ago
        Have you considered that some people want it that way and choose to live in such a place?
        __MatrixMan__ 3y ago
        Hidden benefit of HOA's: if you don't have one, you run a reduced risk of having those people be your neighbors.
        asow92 3y ago
        Exactly, it works both ways and that’s a good thing.
  - jonnycomputer 3y ago
    Different neighborhoods work differently. I played baseball in my front yard. First (and only base, besides home) was the mailbox across the street. But it's true that a lot of people don't use their front yards for much, except perhaps as a noise buffer from the road. If you go a non-lawn route, you'll need to be careful to maintain it in a way that doesn't encourage intervention by neighbors, municipalities, etc. On the other hand, I'm rewilding a bit of my back, and nobody says anything.
roflyear 3y ago
Takes a lot of time to maintain. Or like $300/m.
- Dylan16807 3y ago
  What kind of lawn needs that, rather than 1-2 hours of mowing per month? (I'm assuming an area where grass actually fits the environment. If grass won't just grow then that's a problem that doesn't need more explanation.)
  - chao- 3y ago
    The HOA in the neighborhood I grew up in mandated grass from a narrow list of types, and live oak trees. That's fine for about 15 years, give or take, but then the trees start to kill the grasses below them. This wasn't a groundbreaking horticultural discovery, but the rules were written that way nonetheless. It took years for the neighborhood to convince the HOA to allow other kinds of ground cover (jasmine, frog fruit, etc.). In the mean time, people were paying yearly to resod with new grass, or have to pay fines that cost more than just paying for new sod.
  - Auracle 3y ago
    I mean, our yard is large enough where each mowing session takes somewhere in that 1-2 hours on a riding lawn mower.
  - roflyear 3y ago
    Once a week at $80/w is not insane. Adds up.
    - Dylan16807 3y ago
      It's not insane but it sure sounds like overkill to me. That's a good bit for just mowing, and once a week is significantly more than I would expect from someone who views lawn mowing as an expensive necessity.
      - 3y ago
lotsofpulp 3y ago
> Fairly inexpensive to maintain. Lots of things are inexpensive when ignoring externalities.
badpun 3y ago
The noise from all the grass mowing is really annoying (second only to leaf blowing). Fortunately, people are slowly switching to much quieter electric mowers.

dgacmu 3y ago

In western and more arid states they're a huge waste of water. Really depends on the climate. In other areas they're just a lost opportunity for biodiversity. Mixing in some clover or other small perennial soft small flowers can help a lot with making it both self-fertilizing and more pollinator-friendly. (We kept part of our grass for exactly that reason but it helps that we don't have to water the lawn here. With added clover I'm quite happy with it.)

morkalork 3y ago
Mixing clover and other small flowering plants with grass is definitely the way to go. I can sit on the swing in my backyard and lose count of all the bumblebees and small butterflies bouncing across the lawn. What I don't understand is, is the need for huge front lawns. It's all the work with none of the benefits. Just a waste of space really. People don't use them the same way at all.
- asow92 3y ago
  > What I don't understand is, is the need for huge front lawns. It's all the work with none of the benefits. Just a waste of space really. People don't use them the same way at all. Have you considered that some people just like looking at it and that's enough? It's their private property after all.
  - bluefirebrand 3y ago
    That's not a sufficient reason to have bylaws and HOAs that enforce front lawns. Which is amazingly common.
    - Tagbert 3y ago
      The lawns aren’t the reason for the HOAs. The HOAs are intended to try to protect the investment value of the homes by enforcing a level of maintenance in all of the properties. Not saying they are a net good but it doesn’t start with the lawns.
      - ethbr0 3y ago
        In my experience there are effectively no HOAs that don't legislate lawns (and usually landscaping with them). They may not be the reason, but HOAs are absolutely the cause of outdated, environmentally unsustainable, bullshit lawn requirements.
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
    - asow92 3y ago
      Have you considered that some people want it that way and choose to live in such a place?
      - __MatrixMan__ 3y ago
        Hidden benefit of HOA's: if you don't have one, you run a reduced risk of having those people be your neighbors.
        asow92 3y ago
        Exactly, it works both ways and that’s a good thing.
- jonnycomputer 3y ago
  Different neighborhoods work differently. I played baseball in my front yard. First (and only base, besides home) was the mailbox across the street. But it's true that a lot of people don't use their front yards for much, except perhaps as a noise buffer from the road. If you go a non-lawn route, you'll need to be careful to maintain it in a way that doesn't encourage intervention by neighbors, municipalities, etc. On the other hand, I'm rewilding a bit of my back, and nobody says anything.

roflyear 3y ago

Takes a lot of time to maintain. Or like $300/m.

Dylan16807 3y ago
What kind of lawn needs that, rather than 1-2 hours of mowing per month? (I'm assuming an area where grass actually fits the environment. If grass won't just grow then that's a problem that doesn't need more explanation.)
- chao- 3y ago
  The HOA in the neighborhood I grew up in mandated grass from a narrow list of types, and live oak trees. That's fine for about 15 years, give or take, but then the trees start to kill the grasses below them. This wasn't a groundbreaking horticultural discovery, but the rules were written that way nonetheless. It took years for the neighborhood to convince the HOA to allow other kinds of ground cover (jasmine, frog fruit, etc.). In the mean time, people were paying yearly to resod with new grass, or have to pay fines that cost more than just paying for new sod.
- Auracle 3y ago
  I mean, our yard is large enough where each mowing session takes somewhere in that 1-2 hours on a riding lawn mower.
- roflyear 3y ago
  Once a week at $80/w is not insane. Adds up.
  - Dylan16807 3y ago
    It's not insane but it sure sounds like overkill to me. That's a good bit for just mowing, and once a week is significantly more than I would expect from someone who views lawn mowing as an expensive necessity.
    - 3y ago

lotsofpulp 3y ago

> Fairly inexpensive to maintain. Lots of things are inexpensive when ignoring externalities.

badpun 3y ago

The noise from all the grass mowing is really annoying (second only to leaf blowing). Fortunately, people are slowly switching to much quieter electric mowers.