A lawn is an area of land planted with grasses or (rarely) other durable plants, which are maintained at
a short height 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, and it is regularly mowed to ensure an acceptable
length, although these characteristics are not binding as a definition. 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.
Lawn is a cognate of llan which is derived from the Common Brittonic word landa (Old French: launde)
that originally means heath, barren land, or clearing.
Gardens of the Château de VauxleVicomte, designed by André Le Nôtre at Versailles.
Lawns may have originated as grassed enclosures within early medieval settlements used for
communal grazing of livestock, as distinct from fields reserved for agriculture. The word "laune" is first
attested in 1540, and is likely related to the Celtic Brythonic word lan/llan/laun, which has the meaning
of enclosure, often in relation to a place of worship.
Lawns became popular with the aristocracy in northern Europe from the Middle Ages onward. The
early lawns were not always distinguishable from pasture fields. It is speculated the association
between the word "pasture" and biblical mentions made lawns a cultural affinity for some[citation
needed]. The damp climate of maritime Western Europe in the north made lawns possible to grow and
manage. They were not a part of gardens in other regions and cultures of the world until contemporary
Before the invention of mowing machines in 1830, lawns were managed very differently. They were an
element of wealthy estates and manor houses, and in some places were maintained by the labor- intensive methods of scything and shearing. In most situations, they were also pasture land
maintained through grazing by sheep or other livestock. Areas of grass grazed regularly by rabbits,
horses or sheep over a long period often form a very low, tight sward similar to a modern lawn. This
was the original meaning of the word "lawn", and the term can still be found in place names. Some
forest areas where extensive grazing is practiced still have these seminatural lawns. For example, in
the New Forest, England, such grazed areas are common, and are known as lawns, for example
Balmer Lawn. Lawns similar to those of today first appeared in France and England in the 1700s when
André Le Nôtre designed the gardens of Versailles that included a small area of grass called the "tapis
vert" or "green carpet".
The English lawn
Capability Brown's landscape design at Badminton House.
It was not until the 17th and 18th century, that the garden and the lawn became a place created first as
walkways and social areas. They were made up of meadow plants, such as camomile, a particular
favorite. In the early 17th century, the Jacobean epoch of gardening began; during this period, the
closely cut "English" lawn was born. By the end of this period, the English lawn was a symbol of status
of the aristocracy and gentry; it showed that the owner could afford to keep land that was not being
used for a building, or for food production.
In the early 18th century, landscape gardening for the aristocracy entered into a golden age, under the
direction of William Kent and Lancelot "Capability" Brown. They refined the English landscape garden
style with the design of natural, or "romantic", estate settings for wealthy Englishmen.Brown,
remembered as "England's greatest gardener", designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure.
His influence was so great that the contributions to the English garden made by his predecessors
Charles Bridgeman and William Kent are often overlooked.
His work still endures at Croome Court (where he also designed the house), Blenheim Palace,
Warwick Castle, Harewood House, Bowood House, Milton Abbey (and nearby Milton Abbas village), in
traces at Kew Gardens and many other locations. His style of smooth undulating lawns which ran
seamlessly to the house and meadow, clumps, belts and scattering of trees and his serpentine lakes
formed by invisibly damming small rivers, were a new style within the English landscape, a
"gardenless" form of landscape gardening, which swept away almost all the remnants of previous
formally patterned styles. His landscapes were fundamentally different from what they replaced, the
wellknown formal gardens of England which were criticised by Alexander Pope and others from the
1803 painting of the main elements of the English landscape garden.
The open "English style" of parkland first spread across Britain and Ireland, and then across Europe,
such as the Garden à la française being replaced by the French landscape garden. By this time, the
word "lawn" in England had semantically shifted to describe a piece of a garden covered with grass
and closely mown. Wealthy families in America during the late 18th century also began mimicking
English landscaping styles. In 1780, the Shakers began the first industrial production of highquality
grass seed in North America, becoming a primary supplier as there were few other competing
companies. The increased availability of these grasses meant they were in plentiful supply for parks
and residential areas, not just livestock.
Thomas Jefferson has long been given credit for being the first person to attempt an Englishstyle lawn
at his estate, Monticello, in 1806, but many others had tried to emulate English landscaping before he
did. Over time, an increasing number towns in New England began to emphasize grass spaces. Many
scholars link this development to the romantic and transcendentalist movements of the 19th century.
These green commons were also heavily associated with the success of the Revolutionary War and
often became the homes of patriotic war memorials after the Civil War ended in 1865.
Middle class pursuit
The lawn at Kirkby Fleetham Hall, Yorkshire, circa 1889.
Before the mechanical lawnmower, the upkeep of lawns was only possible for the extremely wealthy
estates and manor houses of the aristocracy. Laborintensive methods of scything and shearing the
grass were required to maintain the lawn in its correct state, and most of the land in England was
required for more functional, agricultural purposes.
This all changed with the invention of the lawnmower by Edwin Beard Budding in 1830. Budding had
the idea for a lawnmower after seeing a machine in a local cloth mill which used a cutting cylinder (or
bladed reel) mounted on a bench to trim the irregular nap from the surface of woollen cloth and give a
smooth finish. Budding realised that a similar device could be used to cut grass if the mechanism was
mounted in a wheeled frame to make the blades rotate close to the lawn's surface. His mower design
was to be used primarily to cut the lawn on sports grounds and extensive gardens, as a superior
alternative to the scythe, and he was granted a British patent on 31 August 1830.
In an agreement between John Ferrabee and Edwin Budding, Ferrabee paid the costs of development
and acquired rights to manufacture, sell and license other manufacturers in the production of lawn
mowers. Budding went into partnership with a local engineer, John Ferrabee, and together they made
mowers in a factory at Thrupp near Stroud. They allowed other companies to build copies of their
mower under license, the most successful of these, was Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies of Ipswich which
began mower production as early as 1832.
The first gasolinepowered lawnmower, 1902.
However, his model had two crucial drawbacks. It was immensely heavy (it was made of cast iron) and
difficult to manoeuvre in the garden, and did not cut the grass very well. The blade would often spin
above the grass uselessly. It took ten more years and further innovations, including the advent of the
Bessemer process for the production of the much lighter alloy steel and advances in motorization such
as the drive chain, for the lawnmower to become a practical proposition. Middleclass families across
the country, in imitation of aristocratic landscape gardens, began to grow finely trimmed lawns in their
In the 1850s, Thomas Green of Leeds introduced a revolutionary mower design called the Silens
Messor (meaning silent cutter), which used a chain to transmit power from the rear roller to the cutting
cylinder. The machine was much lighter and quieter than the gear driven machines that preceded
them, and won first prize at the first lawn mower trial at the London Horticultural Gardens. Thus began
a great expansion in the lawn mower production in the 1860s. James Sumner of Lancashire patented
the first steampowered lawn mower in 1893. Around 1900, Ransomes' Automaton, available in chain- or geardriven models, dominated the British market. In 1902, Ransomes produced the first
commercially available mower powered by an internal combustion gasoline engine. JP Engineering of
Leicester, founded after World War I, invented the first riding mowers.
From the 1860s, the cultivation of lawns, especially for sports, became a middleclass obsession in
England. Pictured, a lawnmower advertisement from Ransomes.
This went handinhand with a booming consumer market for lawns from the 1860s onward. With the
increasing popularity of sports in the midVictorian period, the lawn mower was used to craft modern- style sporting ovals, playing fields, pitches and grass courts for the nascent sports of football, lawn
bowls, lawn tennis and others. The rise of Suburbanisation in the interwar period was heavily
influenced by the garden city movement of Ebenezer Howard and the creation of the first garden
suburbs at the turn of the 20th century. The garden suburb, developed through the efforts of social
reformer Henrietta Barnett and her husband, exemplified the incorporation of the well manicured lawn
into suburban life. Suburbs dramatically increased in size. Harrow Weald went from just 1,500 to over
10,000 while Pinner jumped from 3,00 to over 20,000. During the 1930s, over 4 million new suburban
houses were built and the 'suburban revolution' had made England the most heavily suburbanized
country in the world by a considerable margin.
Lawns began to proliferate in America from the 1870s onwards. As more plants were introduced from
Europe, lawns became smaller as they were filled with flower beds, perennials, sculptures, and water
features. Eventually the wealthy began to move away from the cities into new suburban communities.
In 1856, an architectural book was published to accompany the development of the new suburbia that
placed importance on the availability of a grassy space for children to play on and a space to grow
fruits and vegetables that further imbued the lawn with cultural importance. Lawns began making more
appearances in development plans, magazine articles, and catalogs. The lawn became less
associated with being a status symbol, instead giving way to a landscape aesthetic. Improvements in
the lawn mower and water supply enabled the spread of lawn culture from the Northeast to the South
where the grass grew more poorly. This in combination with setback rules which required all homes to
have a 30 foot gap between the structure and the sidewalk meant that the lawn had found a specific
place in suburbia.
American lawn culture
A Memorial Day concert on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building
A pivotal factor in the spread of the lawn in America, was the passage of legislation in 1938 of the 40
hour work week. Until then, Americans had typically worked half days on Saturdays, leaving little time
to focus on their lawns. With this legislation and the housing boom following the Second World War,
managed grass spaces became more commonplace. The creation in the early 20th century of country
clubs and golf courses completed the rise of lawn culture.
Levittown, New York was the beginning of the industrial suburb in the 20th Century, and by proxy the
industrial lawn. Between 1947 and 1951, Abraham Levitt and his sons built more than seventeen
thousand homes, each with its own lawn. Abraham Levitt wrote "No single feature of a suburban
residential community contributes as much to the charm and beauty of the individual home and the
locality as wellkept lawns". Landscaping was one of the most important factors in Levittown's success
and no feature was more prominent than the lawn. The Levitts understood that landscaping could
offset the normal depreciation of a home, adding to the appeal of their developments. During 1948, the
first spring that Levittown had enjoyed, Levitt and Sons fertilized and reseeded all of the lawns free of
Lawn monoculture was a reflection of more than an interest in offsetting depreciation, it propagated the
homogeneity of the suburb itself. Levittown is widely regarded by scholars as the birthplace of the
conveyor belt style, massproduced suburb that is now quite common. Although lawns had been a
recognizable feature in English residences since the 19th century, a revolution in industrialization and
monoculture of the lawn since the Second World War fundamentally changed the ecology of the lawn.
Intensive suburbanization both concentrated and expanded the spread of lawn maintenance which
meant increased inputs in not only petrochemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides, but also natural
resources like water.
Front lawns became standardized in the 1930s when, over time, specific aspects such as grass type
and maintenance methods became popular. The lawncare industry boomed, but the Great
Depression of the 1930s and in the period prior to World War II made it difficult to maintain the cultural
standards that had become heavily associated with the lawn due to grass seed shortages in Europe,
America's main supplier. Still, seed distributors such as Scotts MiracleGro Company in the United
States encouraged families to continue to maintain their lawns, promoting it as a stressrelieving
hobby. During the war itself, homeowners were asked to maintain the appearances of the home front,
likely as a show of strength, morale, and solidarity. After World War II, the lawn aesthetic once again
became a standard feature of North America, bouncing back from its minor decline in the decades
before with a vengeance, particularly as a result of the housing and population boom postwar.
The G.I. Bill in the United States let American exservicemen buy homes without providing a down
payment, while the Federal Housing Administration offered lender inducements that aided the
reduction of down payments for the average American from 30% to as little as 10%. These
developments made owning your own home cheaper than renting, further enabling the spread of
suburbia and its lawns.
The economic recession that began in 2008 has resulted in many communities worldwide to dig up
their lawns and plant fruit and vegetable gardens. This has the potential to greatly change cultural
values attached to the lawn, as they are increasingly viewed as environmentally and economically
unviable in the modern context.
The appearance of the lawn in Australia followed closely after its establishment in North America and
parts of Europe, likely due in part to the continued influence of colonial powers. By the 1920s, this
"nature strip" was common throughout the developing suburbs of Australia as a result of increased
globalization and industrialization. This term is uniquely Australian, alluding, perhaps, to man's desire
to control nature. Prior to the 1970s, all brush and native species were stripped from a development
site and replaced with lawns that utilized imported plant species. However, since the 1970s there has
been a resurgence in Australian patriotism and nationalism, leading to a rejection of imported
European or North American plant life in favor of indigenous species.
Over time, with consideration to the frequency of droughts in Australia, the movement towards
"naturalism", or the use of indigenous plant species in yards, was beneficial. These grasses were more
drought resistant than their European counterparts, and those families who wished to keep their lawns
switched to these alternatives. Many suburban homes completely gave up on trying to maintain a lawn
and instead allowed their green carpets to revert to the indigenous scrub that had been there before in
an effort to reduce the strain on water supplies.
A newly seeded, fertilized and mowed lawn
Lawns are a common feature of private gardens, public landscapes and parks in many parts of the
world. They are created for aesthetic pleasure, as well as for sports or other outdoor recreational use.
Lawns are useful as a playing surface both because they mitigate erosion and dust generated by
intensive foot traffic and because they provide a cushion for players in sports such as rugby, football,
soccer, cricket, baseball, golf, tennis, hockey and lawn bocce.
Lawn care and maintenance
Seasonal lawn establishment and care varies depending on the climate zone and type of lawn grown.
Broadcast spreaders can be attached to tractors or ATVs to spread seed or fertilizer
Aeration is one of the keys to growing a healthy lawn
Early autumn, spring, and early summer are the primary seasons to seed, lay sod (turf), plant 'liners',
or 'sprig' new lawns, when the soil is warmer and air cooler. Seeding is the least expensive, but takes
longer for the lawn to be established. Aerating just before planting/seeding will promote deeper root
growth and will help thicken turf.
Sodding (turfing) provides an almost 'instant lawn', and can be planted in most temperate climates in
any season, but is more expensive and more vulnerable to drought until established. Hydroseeding is
a quick, less expensive method of planting large, sloped or hillside landscapes. Some grasses and
sedges are available and planted from 'liner' and 4inch (100 mm) containers, from 'flats', 'plugs' or
'sprigs', and are planted apart to grow together.
Lawn growth, 20 hour time lapse
Fertilizers and chemicals
Various organic and inorganic or synthetic fertilizers are available, with instant or timerelease
applications. Pesticides, which includes biological and chemical herbicides, insecticides and fungicides
are available. Consideration for their effects on the lawn and garden ecosystem and via runoff and
dispersion on the surrounding environment, can constrain their use. For example, the Canadian
province of Quebec and over 130 municipalities prohibit the use of synthetic lawn pesticides. In order
for the lawn to grow and flourish, the soil must be prepared properly. If this step is overlooked as many
do, the lawn will burn out as soon as it runs out of nutrients. The Ontario provincial government
promised on 24–2 September, 007 to also implement a provincewide ban on the cosmetic use of lawn
pesticides, for protecting the public. Medical and environmental groups support such a ban.On 22–2
April, 008, the Provincial Government of Ontario announced that it will pass legislation that will prohibit,
provincewide, the cosmetic use and sale of lawn and garden pesticides. The Ontario legislation would
also echo Massachusetts law requiring pesticide manufacturers to reduce the toxins they use in
Sustainable gardening uses organic horticulture methods, such as organic fertilizers, biological pest
control, beneficial insects, and companion planting, among other methods, to sustain an attractive
lawn in a safe garden. An example of an organic herbicide is corn gluten meal, which releases an
'organic dipeptide' into the soil to inhibit root formation of germinating weed seeds. An example of an
organic alternative to insecticide use is applying beneficial nematodes to combat soildwelling grubs,
such as the larvae of chafer beetles. The Integrated Pest Management approach is a coordinated low
Mowing and other maintenance practices
A typical lawn mowing bot maintaining even and low grass.
Dethatching removes dead grass and decomposing materials that build up in a lawn
Lawn sweepers clean up debris from dethatching in addition to leaves, twigs, pine needles, etc.
Maintaining a rough lawn requires only occasional cutting with a suitable machine, or grazing by
animals. Maintaining a smooth and closely cut lawn, be it for aesthetic or practical reasons or because
social pressure from neighbors and local municipal ordinances requires it,necessitates more organized
and regular treatments. Usually once a week is adequate for maintaining a lawn in most climates.
However, in the hot and rainy seasons of regions contained in hardiness zones greater than 8, lawns
may need to be maintained up to two times a week.
Summer lawn care requires raising the lawn mower for cool season grasses, and lowering it for warm
season lawns.[clarification needed] In order to remain green, grass lawns will require longer and more
frequent watering, best done in early morning or evening to reduce evaporation. When grass is
actively growing is also the time to apply an allpurpose fertilizer.
In the autumn, thatch buildup that occurs in warm season grasses should be removed, although lawn
experts are divided in their opinions on this. This is also a good time to add a sandy loam top dressing
and apply a fertilizer containing some type of wetting agent.[clarification needed] Cool season lawns
can be planted in autumn if there is adequate rainfall.
Lawn care in the winter is minimal, requiring only light feedings of organic material, such as green- waste compost, and minerals to encourage earthworms and beneficial microbes.
Maintaining high visibility lawns may require special maintenance procedures:
Mowing regularly with a sharp blade at an even height
Not mowing when the lawn is wet
Removing no more than 30% of the plant tissue in any one cut
Alternating the direction of cut from the previous mowing
Scarifying/dethatching and sweeping/raking (to remove dead grass, leaves, and other debris, and to
Rolling, to encourage tillering (branching of grass plants) and to firm the ground (for sports use only)
Top dressing with sand, soil or other material
Aeration with a spike aerator or plug/core aerator (to relieve compaction of the soil and allow greater
absorption of nutrients)
Seeding to cover patchy areas and maintain thick turf
The prevalence of the lawns in films such as Pleasantville and Edward Scissorhands alludes to the
importance of the lawn as a social mechanism that gives great importance to visual representation of
the American suburb as well as its practised culture. It is implied that a neighbor, whose lawn is not in
pristine condition, is morally corrupt, emphasizing the role a wellkept lawn plays in neighborly and
community relationships. In both of these films, green space surrounding a house in the suburbs
becomes an indicator of moral integrity as well as of social and gender norms as lawn care has long
been associated with men. These lawns also reinforce class and societal norms by subtly excluding
minorities who may not have been able to afford a house in the suburbs with a lawn that was the
symbolic representation of safety and stability. The lawn as a reflection of someone's character and
the neighborhood at large is not restricted to films, the same theme is evident in The Great Gatsby, a
book written by American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald. Character Nick Carraway rents the house next
to Gatsby's and fails to maintain his lawn according to West Egg standards. The rift between the two
lawns troubles Gatsby to the point that he dispatches his gardener to mow Nick's grass and thereby
Most lawn care equipment over the decades has been advertised to men, and companies have long
associated good lawn care with good citizenship in their marketing campaigns. As well, the
appearance of a healthy lawn was meant to imply the health of the man taking care of it; controlled
weeds and strict boundaries became a practical application of the desire to control nature, as well as
an expression of control over their personal lives once working fulltime became central to suburban
success. Women were encultured over time to view the lawn as part of the household, as an essential
furnishing, and to encourage their husbands to maintain a lawn for the family and community
During World War II, women became the focus of lawncare companies in the absence of their
husbands and sons. The lawn was promoted as a necessary means by which women could help
support their male family members and American patriotism as a whole. The image of the lawn
changed from focusing on technology and manhood to emphasizing aesthetic pleasure and the health
benefits derived from its maintenance; it was assumed that women would not respond positively to
images of efficiency and power. The language of these marketing campaigns still intended to imbue
the female population with notions of family, motherhood, and the duties of a wife; it has been argued
that this was done so that it would be easier for men returning from war to resume the roles their wives
had taken over in their absence. This was especially apparent in the 1950s and 1960s, when lawn- care rhetoric emphasized the lawn as a husband's responsibility and as a pleasurable hobby when he
The lawn aesthetic in Europe and Australia seems to exhibit the same cultural tendencies as a
representation of order, power over nature, patriotism, and suburban family life while still adhering to
other gender constructs present throughout the world's suburbs. However, there are differences in the
particulars of lawn maintenance and appearance, such as the length of the grass, species (and
therefore its color), and mowing.
Types of lawn plants
Lawns need not be, and have not always been, made up of grasses alone. Other plants for lawnlike
usable garden areas are sedges, low herbs and wildflowers, and ground covers that can be walked
The area on the right has not been mown since the previous autumn.
Thousands of varieties of grasses and grasslike plants are used for lawns, each adapted to specific
conditions of precipitation and irrigation, seasonal temperatures, and sun/shade tolerances. Plant
hybridizers and botanists are constantly creating and finding improved varieties of the basic species
and new ones, often more economical and environmentally sustainable by needing less water,
fertilizer, pest and disease treatments, and maintenance. The three basic categories are cool season
grasses, warm season grasses, and grass alternatives.
History of the grasses used in lawns
Prior to European colonization, the grasses on the East Coast of North America were mostly broom
straw, wild rye, and marsh grass. As Europeans moved into the region, it was noted by colonists in
New England, more than others, that the grasses of the New World were inferior to those of England
and that their livestock seemed to receive less nutrition from it. In fact, once livestock brought
overseas from Europe spread throughout the colonies, much of the native grasses of New England
disappeared, and an inventory list from the 17th century noted supplies of clover and grass seed from
England. New colonists were even urged by their country and companies to bring grass seed with
them to North America. By the late 17th century, a new market in imported grass seed had begun in
Much of the new grasses brought by Europeans spread quickly and effectively, often ahead of the
colonists. One such species, Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), became the most important pasture
grass for the southern colonies.
Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is a grass native to Europe or the Middle East. It was likely carried
to Midwestern United States in the early 1600s by French missionaries and spread via the waterways
to the region around Kentucky. However, it may also have spread across the Appalachian mountains
after an introduction on the east coast. Kentucky Bluegrass is now one of the top three pasture
grasses in the United States and the most desirable species of grass for lawns.
Farmers at first continued to harvest meadows and marshes composed of indigenous grasses until
they became overgrazed. These areas quickly fell to erosion and were overrun with less favorable
plant life. Soon, farmers began to purposefully plant new species of grass in these areas, hoping to
improve the quality and quantity of hay to provide for their livestock as native species had a lower
nutritive value. While Middle Eastern and Europeans species of grass did extremely well on the East
Coast of North America, it was a number of grasses from the Mediterranean that dominated the
Western seaboard. As cultivated grasses became valued for their nutritional benefits to livestock,
farmers relied less and less on natural meadows in the more colonized areas of the country.
Eventually even the grasses of the Great Plains were overrun with European species that were more
durable to the grazing patterns of imported livestock.
Many different species of grass are currently used, depending on the intended use and the climate.
Coarse grasses are used where active sports are played, and finer grasses are used for ornamental
lawns for their visual effects. Some grasses are adapted to oceanic climates with cooler summers, and
others to tropical and continental climates with hotter summers. Often, a mix of grass or low plant
types is used to form a stronger lawn when one type does better in the warmer seasons and the other
in the colder ones. This mixing is taken further by a form of grass breeding which produces what are
known as cultivars. A cultivar is a crossbreed of two different varieties of grass and aims to combine
certain traits taken from each individual breed. This creates a new strain which can be very
specialised, suited to a particular environment, such as low water, low light or low nutrient.
Diagram of a typical lawn grass plant.
Cool season grasses
Cool season grasses start growth at 5 °C (41 °F), and grow at their fastest rate when temperatures are
between 10 °C (50 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F), in climates that have relatively mild/cool summers, with two
periods of rapid growth in the spring and autumn.They retain their color well in extreme cold and
typically grow very dense, carpetlike lawns with relatively little thatch.
Bluegrass (Poa spp.)
Bentgrass (Agrostis spp.)
Ryegrasses (Lolium spp.)
Fescues (Festuca spp., hybrids, and cultivars)
Native plant regional selections (for taller lawns):
Red fescues (Festuca rubra)
Feather reed grass (Calamogrostis spp.)
Tufted hair grass (Deschampsia spp.)
Warm season grasses
Warm season grasses only start growth at temperatures above 10 °C (50 °F), and grow fastest when
temperatures are between 25 °C (77 °F) and 35 °C (95 °F), with one long growth period over the
spring and summer (Huxley 1992). They often go dormant in cooler months, turning shades of tan or
brown. Many warm season grasses are quite drought tolerant, and can handle very high summer
temperatures, although temperatures below −15 °C (5 °F) can kill most southern ecotype warm
season grasses. The northern varieties, such as buffalograss and blue grama, are hardy to 45 °C
Zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.)
Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.)
St. Augustine grass
Buffalograss (drought tolerant)
Carex species and cultivars are well represented in the horticulture industry as 'sedge' alternatives for
'grass' in mowed lawns and garden meadows. Both low growing and spreading ornamental cultivars
and native species are used in for sustainable landscaping as low maintenance and drought tolerant
grass replacements for lawns and garden meadows. wildland habitat restoration projects and natural
landscaping and gardens use them also for 'user friendly' areas. The J. Paul Getty Museum has used
Carex pansa (meadow sedge) and Carex praegracilis (dune sedge) expansively in the Sculpture
Gardens in Los Angeles.
Some lower sedges used are:
Carex caryophyllea (cultivar 'The Beatles')
C. divulsa (Berkeley sedge)
C. glauca (blue sedge) (syn. C. flacca)
C. pansa (meadow sedge)
C. praegracilis (dune sedge)
C. subfusca (mountain sedge)
C. tumulicola (foothill sedge) (cultivar 'Santa Cruz Mnts. selection')
C. uncifolia (ruby sedge)
Ground cover alternatives
Some lawns are replaced with low ground covers, such as creeping thyme, camomile, Lippia, purple
flowering Mazus, grey Dymondia, creeping sedums, and creeping jenny.Other alternatives to lawns
include meadows, drought tolerant xeriscape gardens, natural landscapes, native plant habitat
gardens, paved Spanish courtyard and patio gardens, butterfly gardens, rain gardens, and kitchen
gardens. Trees and shrubs in close proximity to lawns provide habitat for birds in traditional, cottage
and wildlife gardens.
Greater amounts of chemical fertilizer and pesticides are used per acre of lawn than on an equivalent
acre of cultivated farmland, and the continued use of these products has been associated with
environmental pollution, disturbance in the lawn ecosystem, and increased health risks to the local
Other concerns, criticisms, and ordinances regarding lawns come from the environmental
Some lawns are composed of a monoculture (single species) of plants, which reduces biodiversity,
especially when the lawn covers a large area. They usually are composed of introduced species not
native to the area, which can further decrease a locale's biodiversity and vital habitats supporting an
Lawn maintenance may use inorganic fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides,
which can harm the environment. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has
estimated[when?] nearly 70,000,000 pounds (32,000,000 kg) of active pesticide ingredients are used
on suburban lawns each year in the United States. It has also been estimated that more herbicides are
applied per acre of lawn than are used by most farmers to grow crops.
For example, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Kuwait, and Belize have placed restrictions on the use of
the herbicide 2,4D.
It has been estimated that nearly 17 million gallons of gasoline are spilled each summer while re
fueling garden and lawncare equipment in the United States; approximately 50% more than that
spilled during the Exxon Valdez incident.
The use of pesticides and fertilizers, requiring fossil fuels for manufacturing, distribution, and
application, have been shown to contribute to global warming, whereas sustainable organic techniques
have been shown to help reduce global warming.
A lawn sprinkler
Maintaining a green lawn sometimes requires large amounts of water. This was not a problem in
temperate England, where the concept of the lawn originated, as natural rainfall was sufficient to
maintain a lawn's health. The exportation of the lawn ideal to more arid regions of the world, however,
such as the U.S. Southwest and Australia, has crimped already scarce water resources in such areas,
requiring larger, more environmentally invasive water supply systems. Grass typically goes dormant
during cold, winter months, and turns brown during hot, dry summer months, thereby reducing its
demand for water. Many property owners consider this "dead" appearance unacceptable, and
therefore increase watering during the summer months. Grass can also recover quite well from a
In the United States, 50 to 70% of residential water is used for landscaping, most of it to water lawns.A
2005 NASA study "conservatively" estimated there was 128,000 square kilometres (49,000 sq mi;
32,000,000 acres) of irrigated lawn in the US, three times the area of irrigated corn.
That means about 200 gallons of fresh, usually drinkingquality water per person per day would be
required to keep up our nation's lawn surface area.
It is possible that lawn maintenance could come at the expense of precious resources, especially
when faced with extreme weather conditions. This situation is described in Water in Australia by David
Ingle Smith, who observed in 1995 data that under extreme conditions during summer drought
periods, up to 90% of the water used in Canberra, Australia was applied to lawns.
An increased concern from the general public over pesticide and fertilizer use and their associated
health risks, combined with the implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act, has resulted in the
reduced presence of synthetic chemicals, namely pesticides, in urban landscapes such as lawns in the
late 20th century. Much of these concerns over the safety and environmental impact of some of these
synthetic fertilizers and pesticides has led to their ban by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency and many local governments. The use of pesticides and other chemicals to care for lawns has
also lead to the death of nearly 7 million birds each year, a topic that was central to Silent Spring by
Decreasing environmental impact
In the United States, lawn heights are generally maintained by gasolinepowered lawnmowers, which
contribute to urban smog during the summer months. The EPA found, in some urban areas, up to 5%
of smog was due to small gasoline engines made before 1997, such as are typically used on
lawnmowers. Since 1997, the EPA has mandated emissions controls on newer engines in an effort to
A 2010 study seemed to show lawn care inputs were balanced by the carbon sequestration benefits of
lawns, and they may not be contributors to anthropogenic global warming.
However, lawns with high maintenance (mowing, irrigation, and leaf blowing) and high fertilization
rates have a net emission of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide that have large global warming potential.
With the use of ecological techniques including organic lawn management, the impact of lawns can be
reduced. Such methods include the use of native grasses, sedges, and low herbs; higher mowing
techniques; low volume irrigation, 'grasscycling' grass clippings in place; an integrated pest
management program; exclusive organic fertilizer and compost use; and including a variety of trees,
shrubs, perennials, and other plants surrounding the lawn. A positive benefit of a healthy lawn is it
filters contaminants and prevents runoff and erosion of bare soil.
In addition to the environmental criticisms, some gardeners question the aesthetic value of lawns,
especially in climates and cultures different from the lawn's homeland in England.
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