Feb 13, 2006

Problem Child

So I'm not the only one who thinks turfgrass is a problem child.

"Speakers at the 'How Native Landscaping is Healthier for People, the Environment and our Pocketbooks' forum urged suburbanites to cast away their lawn mowers and fertilizers and embrace a new life with native vegetation.

“'Turf has an incredibly vicious cycle of need,' said landscape architect Jay Womack of Wight and Co., a firm that specializes in environmental work. 'It’s a vicious, vicious cycle of maintenance.'”


The forum apparently recommended buffalo grass as a native substitute for the most common turfgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, noting that buffalo grass requires less water and more maintenance. (On the other hand, buffalo grass also goes dormant in the winter months and is less than ideal for high-traffic areas and shady sites.)

All in all, I think it's great that people are beginning to talk en masse about replacing greedy turfgrasses with more appropriate plantings.

I'm just not sure that calling bluegrass "Eurotrash" really shames it.

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