Green desert or field of life ?
A rainy day is here and I'm stuck in my head with this idea of whether it's a green desert or a field of life.
@hivegarden I don't know if this topic was relevant before or not. I don't think it's bad to renew the opinions for and against.
Are you for a green desert?
I mean a perfectly mowed lawn with just one blade of green grass, maybe two. Literally no flowers.I know of two types of lawn grass here, English grass and meadow grass.I've seen some really perfect lawns with a built-in watering system, everything is neatly done.Perfected to perfection, no moles in sight.
As soon as I called it a green desert, you assume I'm against it :)
Somehow sterile and lifeless to me, even though everything looks perfect to the eye.In this picture it's the part of the yard closest to that. I should mow the grass but I'm in no hurry.
Are you for the field of life?
In the truest sense of the meadow in our yard.
The yard is full of edible and medicinal plants. Lots of flowers, lots of colors and lots of life. Bees love the flowers.I am for this variant. I want to have as many plants as possible. So on my lawn I have dandelion, dead nettle, common daisy, dock, chamomile, and nettles in the corners...
I don't think I need to tellyou much about the benefits of such a lawn. Salad of dandelion leaves and dead nettle, chamomile tea, dock for pies.
Sometimes not everything is perfect, plants are not all equal, you don't need to mow regularly because plants need to bloom.
Both choices need good soil and regular watering throughout the summer.
I have to tag my hive friend @coinjoe which has a lawn, to get him thinking :)
I await your answers and your opinions.
I am for the field of life.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time.
Stay healthy.
Markone85.
I like grass, it's tough and recovers quickly from being run around on. Also have a soft spot for it as I grew up in one of those gardens which had lovingly tended garden beds (my parents both loved gardening) surrounding lush lawn that I have so many fond memories of running around, practising gymnastics and doing waterslides on never mind all the parties and stuff (parents also liked entertaining).
I prefer the look of not-monoculture though so partly because of that and partly because Australia and "Waterwise" and blah blah blah and a lot of we're too damn lazy for freaking mowing we're doing a kidneyweed/creeping thyme/white star creeper mix which may or may not blend with the grass that crept in from the verge (fortunately it was the nice soft grass that crept in, I will go to war if the thick itchy grass creeps in) and will hopefully somewhat survive being run around on.
I think your meadow is beautiful :) Does it mind being rampaged through? Do you have to watch out for bees?
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Well, it doesn't bother her, a lot, but there are parts where it's just clean dirt. When something has been standing for a long time or we've been doing something, running, or from the slide :)
Ahh if not for the clarifications I was going to say sounds like you made a path XD
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An interesting choice of words, as even a desert has more biodiversity than a lawn! I definitely am pro meadow style, weeds and all - but people do love their monoculture lawns don't they? I think there's a shift to wilder forms of gardening, but perhaps that's just in the circles I move in.
In our language, desert means wasteland without life, Maybe that's a bit too strong a word, because as you say, there's a lot of life in the desert.
Yes, many people like monoculture lawns.
I can say that there is a trend in our country to return to the countryside, or for the weekend there are various forms of wild, semi-wild gardening. It depends on how much time people have.
Oh yes, we would use 'desert' to describe wasteland too - but if you know a 'desert' it's a bit of a misnomer in a way, or what a desert actually is is far more fertile than the name suggests. I guess we think 'oh the Sahara is a desert, there's nothing there' but when you actually get there that's not true - there is water holes and palm trees and shrubs and grasses and lizards and things (I suppose).
Lawns were a sign of money I guess in the day - it was the 'thing' to have a lawn like an estate - but that fad should be well and truly over now!!! The dumbest thing is people putting fake lawns down which are just heat sinks and awful!!!
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We have a combination. We keep the front and side lawn trimmed reuglarly and treated for weeds. However, we do have spots for other plants and even planted "wild" flowers. Our backyard is also trimmed but untreated and is our flower haven.
That's the right combination.Need a little bloom to break up the monotony