Rethinking Lawn Care
How to make yards lovely and healthy
Beautiful lawnscapes also can be environmentally friendly. Birds and butterflies are attracted to the native plants in Pan’s Garden at the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach. Palm Beach Daily News.
March 1, 2019
While we acknowledge that adding native plants will improve our gardens’ sustainability, we must also consider the environmental impact of maintaining our pristine lawns.
Almost everyone has a lawn care service, which inevitably involves fertilizer, herbicides, and mowers. We’ve seen the consequences of fertilizer and chemical runoff in our lakes, rivers and drinking water, from red tide and algae blooms on our water to neurological disorders and cancers in ourselves. One of the smartest things we can do for our environment is to rethink our lawn-care regimens.
We can maintain sustainable “green” lawns without any toxic pollutants by following a few basic tenets.
First, water less frequently, but with greater depth. Encouraging grass roots to search deeper into the soil for water will make them longer, stronger, and less likely to dry out during a drought. Weed roots tend to be shallow, so lightly watering every few days simply encourages grass roots to stay near the surface and compete with the weeds. And we all know who wins that battle! If the top few inches of soil are bone-dry, the weed seedlings up there will die, while the more deeply rooted grass will still find moisture below.
Second, mow on the high side, never taking off more than one-third of the grass blade. Longer blades can convert sunshine into sugar (remember photosynthesis?) to feed and thus encourage a stronger root system. Tall grass is healthier and thicker, shading out weeds and providing shade for the roots so they’ll need less watering. And leave your clippings — these act as mulch, adding nutrients to the soil while preventing evaporation on hot days.
Just FYI, irrigating our lawns accounts for up to 60% of our residential water consumption, and washes away valuable nutrients in the process. Less water is better for your lawn and your pocketbook.
Third, have the soil's pH tested. Your lawn is only going to be as good as the soil in which it grows, so knowing if it is alkaline or acidic will enable you to add amendments to correct imbalances or deficiencies (acid soil needs lime, alkaline soil needs sulfur). These amendments, which can be totally organic, will contribute to optimum plant growth. Healthy soil supports microorganisms and results in grass that is resistant to disease and pests. Remember that microorganisms hate salt, and salt is a primary component of all chemical fertilizers. And a dusting of lime on the soil’s surface will nearly double earthworm production.
Thatch occurs when turfgrass stems and roots accumulate faster than they are broken down, forming an impenetrable mass just below the soil’s surface that impedes the movement of air, water and nutrients. Again, this is the result of heavy nitrogen fertilizer applications or overwatering, or mowing too short, causing the grass to grow excessively fast. Fast growth uses up the grass’ stored sugar, weakening the plant and thereby making it more vulnerable to disease and pests.
Compost contributes organic matter and essential nutrients to the soil, improving soil structure and increasing its ability to hold moisture and nutrients. Chemical fertilizers begin an endless cycle by killing beneficial microorganisms that would otherwise nourish the soil, so we have to keep fertilizing. Chemicals in our lawn care products are toxic to birds, insects, children and pets. The herbicide 2,4-D, which is a component of Agent Orange, is used in more than 1,500 lawn products.
Healthy soil doesn’t need fertilizers and will support strong plants that will be resistant to pests and disease. We all want our children, grandchildren and pets to run and play on our lawns — but not at the expense of their health. We need to rethink our lawns.
More native plants
Now, I did want to mention a few more native plants for your gardens.
First, wild coffee, Psychotria nervosa, is a wonderful, versatile landscape plant for partial shade as an understory shrub or hedge. Its glossy, dark green leaves are a standout feature, and show off to great advantage the bright red berry-like fruits sought after by mockingbirds and catbirds. Small white clusters of flowers in spring and summer are attractive to many butterflies, including the ruddy daggerwing. Reaching an ultimate height of 6 feet, wild coffee is useful as a screen or in massed plantings. The shiny evergreen foliage is especially beautiful with sunlight reflected off its leaves in semi-shady areas. It is tolerant of most soils, but should be kept moist until established.
If you find some growing up into your neighbor’s Ficus benjamina, as I did, rejoice! Pray the ficus will die off and the wild coffee will replace it as a much more effective and sustainable hedge.
White indigoberry, Randia aculeata, is another great native shrub or small tree reaching a height of 10 feet. This gardenia relative has fragrant white flowers throughout the year which are a source of nectar for the rare and exquisite Atala butterfly. The white berries have an indigo blue pulp used as a dye, and the strong, flexible wood has been used for fishing poles. Tough and slow-growing, it is perfect for difficult sites with poor irrigation and filtered light.
Finally, for a beautiful low maintenance ground cover, or even a partial lawn replacement, there’s the terrific frogfruit, Phyla nodiflora. Covered with tiny white to pink flowers from spring to fall, this is an important larval host plant for the white peacock butterfly, the phaon crescent, and the common buckeye, while providing nectar for a host of pollinators. A vigorous drought-resistant evergreen, frogfruit is adaptable to all soil types, from clay to coastal sand, and does well in full sun to part shade.
As a lawn replacement, the renowned naturalist, Roger Hammer declares it would make a better ground cover than lawn grass, adding that “you could display your retired lawnmower outside as yard art." This will definitely add to your popularity with the neighbors! All kidding aside though, we do need to rethink our lawn philosophies — let’s not continue to poison our kids, our pets, and ourselves for the sake of our lawns. It’s not a logical trade.
-Kim Frisbie
The tubular flowers of native fire bush attract numerous pollinators, butterflies, and hummingbirds.