Lawn – Ontheland

The perfect lawn:

trim green symbol

of decency

no place for rabbits

frogs or snakes

no rabid wildflowers

or thistle outbreaks

In a kingdom of mowed grasses

propriety reigns

only dress suits and ties

in its domain

A path through wildness

posed as the only way

dines on fuel and pesticides

a toxic buffet.

Many of us, including myself, are in recovery from the illusion of lawns, a human artifact.

This Wikipedia excerpt provides some background:

A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses or (rarely) other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. Common characteristics of a lawn are that it is composed only of grass species, it is subject to weed and pest control, it is subject to practices aimed at maintaining its green color (e.g., watering), and it is regularly mowed to ensure an acceptable length, although these characteristics are not binding as a definition. Lawns are used around houses, apartments, commercial buildings and offices. Many city parks also have large lawn areas. In recreational contexts, the specialised names turf, pitch, field or green may be used, depending on the sport and the continent.

The term “lawn”, referring to a managed grass space, dates to no earlier than the 16th century. Tied to suburban expansion and the creation of the household aesthetic, the lawn is an important aspect of the interaction between the natural environment and the constructed urban and suburban space. In many suburban areas, there are bylaws in place requiring houses to have lawns and requiring the proper maintenance of these lawns…

Photo credit: “Svenska: Lötstugan i Bärbo socken, Nyköpings kommun” by T.S. Eriksson, Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 3.0.