Lawns, and the mowing thereof, are a cherished American tradition.*  Esperanza has Lawn.  Lots of it.  It had more, but I am determinedly shrinking it.  However, Esperanza’s lawns would be a nightmare for any lawn care company or a dream come true for any chemical lawn care company.   Why?

Two reasons: first, at no point does the lawn conform to a nice steady mowing pattern.  It is composed of low-hanging trees, rising foundation walls and roots that can only be driven over in one direction, wildflowers to cut around, sections that are mowed on a different schedule, steep banks…

Second: only about 60% of the lawn is lawn.  The rest is: speedwells, creeping jennys, moss (oh the horror!), gill-over-the-ground, bluets, violets (at least five types), Indian paintbrush, daisies (English and Ox-eye), pussy-toes, native sedges, buttercups, dandelions, wild strawberry, cinquefoil, barren strawberry, plantains, sorrel, thyme, and those are just what I can identify (and remember).   Never mind the sections that have reverted to woods and are now dominated by wood asters, ferns, phlox, forget-me-not, etc.

Two large sections are only cut in late summer.  Right now they are a blaze of red/purple grass with touches of dusky lavender (early English daisies), white bluets, pussy-toes, and a floating crown of pure gold from the buttercups. 

What is interesting is that having these uncut sections actually makes the genuine lawn far more beautiful.  The pure green ‘pops’, to use designerese, far better when set against such a background.  Besides, we will have lightening bugs, phoebes, bluebirds, robins, swallows, bats…the list goes on.

 

*That lawns actually represent one of the biggest ecological disasters of our time is conveniently ignored.  A monoculture of an invasive species forming a close to impervious surface carefully tended by tons upon tons of insecticides, herbicides, and petroleum.