Natural Lawn Will Conserve Water

Part of my neighbor’s lawn died over the winter, so this spring, he put in new sod. The interesting part of the project was that he didn’t remove the old, dead sod first. He placed the blocks of new sod right on top of the dead grass (after mowing it to a very short height).

Since lawns require just a thin layer of soil for their roots, sod can be laid on just about anything. As long as the sod is given enough water, it will grow.

Lawns are actually a British import to this country. In England, the climate is cool and damp most of the year. The grasses Americans like for our lawns are sometimes referred to as “cool season grasses” because they start to grow in early spring, and continue growing into late fall because they are well adapted to a cool, damp climate.

The main problem with lawn grasses like fescue and bluegrass, however, is that they do not do well in hot, dry places – like Woodstock in the summer! Their roots are shallow, perhaps two to four inches at most. When the soil dries out, so do the grass roots.

This fact means that we must water our lawns to make sure they do not turn brown as the roots dry out. (Or, we can stop watering, and let the grasses turn brown and go dormant – they usually come back in the fall when the weather gets cool and damp again.)

Consider the relationship Americans have with their lawns. We water them to make sure they stay green and growing. We fertilize them to make sure they grow thick and fast. We apply chemicals to kill anything that isn’t grass. And, every week, we mow the lush, thick, tall, green grass to keep it from growing too tall.

If this weren’t fact, it might sound like a comedy sketch!

Here are a few “American lawn” facts: Americans spread three million tons of fertilizer and 67 million pounds of pesticide on their lawns each year. Forty percent of all pesticides applied in the country each year are used on lawns. Americans consume 580 million gallons of gasoline each year just to power lawn mowers, and in California alone, the emissions from lawn mowers each year are equivalent to the emissions from 3.5 million automobiles. And, finally, 30% of household water use (on average) goes to watering the lawn.

Surely, there must be a different way?

As regular readers know, my goal is to eventually eliminate as much of my lawn as possible by replacing it with native plants.

Unlike cool season grasses, native grasses like Big & Little bluestem, Indian grass, and Prairie dropseed, have roots that are several feet deep. A hot, dry spell is nothing to them, because they draw the water they need from deep beneath the earth’s surface – a place that is a steady 55 degrees and always damp. Once established, these grasses do not need water, and they never need fertilizer or mowing.

With gasoline prices approaching $4 a gallon and water shortages becoming more common, maybe it’s time to say good-bye to the lawn and hello to a natural garden!

There are local nurseries that specialize in native plants – they even have staff to help design native gardens for different situations:

Red Buffalo Nursery in Hebron, Jack Kaskel, Owner, 10502 Seaman Road, 815-648-4838, www.redbuffalonursery.com

Blazing Star Nursery in Woodstock, Caron Wenzel, Owner, 2107 Edgewood Drive, 815-338-4716

Additionally, if you are looking to be inspired by what others have done to create a natural yard, join the Wildflower Preservation and Propagation Committee for a Natural Yard walk this summer. The next walk will be on Saturday, June 23 rd, 10 am at Perle and Karl Ollson’s in Ringwood. Details and directions for this and other walks can be found at www.TheWPPC.org.