Why do we have grass lawns?

Lawns aren’t natural. Why do so many Americans have them?

Grass lawns are so ubiquitous in the US you would assume that they're the most natural and obvious choice for what to put in our yards. But turf grass is not only not native to the US, but it takes a lot of time, money, and resources to maintain.

Today, some cities are offering "cash for grass" programs and giving residents as much as $25,000 to replace their turf grass lawns with more environmentally sustainable options.

But some people still like green grass lawns and enjoy maintaining them, so what should they do? In this video we go through the multitude of options that yard owners have and talk to experts to see what they have to say.

Sources and further reading:

Lawn People: How Grasses, Weeds, and Chemicals Make Us Who We Are by Paul Robbins

The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession by Virginia Scott Jenkins

The American Lawn: Surface of Everyday Life by Georges Teyssot

Civilizing American Cities by Frederick Law Olmsted

Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream by Andres Duany et al.

American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn by Ted Steinberg

Scotts Lawns: Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard by Nick Christians & Ashton Ritchie

[juliegolick]

Even though there are plenty of beautiful, low-maintenance, low-water landscaping options out there, a lot of HOAs require their members to have grass lawns. It's infuriating!

[mr.timeman]

"A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule." - Michael Pollan

[katethegoat]

It's wild to me that Americans would be so detached from their environment to not have regional variations on something this simple

[alyssa]

this didn’t even mention the NOISE all of this lawn maintenance makes. as someone who lives in a neighborhood, more days that not I get to listen to a couple hours of mowing, leaf blowing, weed eating. It makes it awful to sit outside, the thing that a lawn should supposedly inspire you to do.

[ElvisSirinBo]

It's frustrating to hear about the growing number of homeowners' associations (HOAs) requiring specific types of lawns and enforcing strict maintenance rules. These requirements can be a significant financial burden for homeowners, as failing to comply can result in hefty fines. HOAs often have very specific guidelines and can be quite stringent in enforcing them, sometimes to the point where it feels like they are looking for any excuse to impose fines.

[rafaelvieira]

To plant plants that fight zombies, ain’t that obvious?

[John-Smith]

You guys should talk more about low water lawns like clover lawns. Or ones similar to clover lawns that are good for pollinators, low maintenance and low water, low to the ground, and still covers the entire yard, rather than mulch or dirt covering like 70%.

[ShadoSpartan]

the worst thing that you forgot to mention is the growing number of HOA homes require to have these kinds of lawns and you have to keep up with maintenance otherwise you get fined hundreds of dollars. You know, because HOAs have nothing better to do than find the tiniest infraction to charge you extra money

[kylemunley]

There's a homeowner in my neighborhood who has taken a very similar approach to their yard as Sara Bendrick discusses in your video here and I have to say, I think it's the most beautiful and interesting yard in our community and was the catalyst for me to begin talking to landscape designers about how to transition my yard into something similar. That really is a fantastic way to not only make something more eco-supportive to your neighborhood, but also add some real visual flair to your home.

[ISanderI]

As a European (Dutch specifically) it's wild to me that lawns are so desirable. The alternative shown in this video is actually the standard where I'm from, and to me looks so much nicer!

[satriaamiluhur]

I live in indonesia and in my backyard there's papaya tree, mango tree, a small 2 y/o guava tree, and several banana trees from 3 different cultivars. Free fruits during fruiting season !!!! 😂😂😂

[Daniellahehehe]

Local plants and grasses will always look better than grass we see in the suburbs

[mho...]

long story short:
"its an outside carpet"
personally like "wild grasslands" waaay more & prefer moss'es & other flowers & "weeds" freely growing over these artificial green carpets ( wich have their charm, but more work then worth imho)!

[theecherokeerose]

my lawn is native prairie grass on land that's never been plowed. When it's mowed, it looks like an ordinary lawn. Outside of a 2 acre zone around the house, the land that is not mowed gets harvested by a local farmer once a year for winter hay fed to cows. For agricultural property tax purposes, the county considers it to be a crop.

[tapio_m]

I don't understand watering your lawn. Seems like if your city's climate isn't able to provide the necessary amount of water for that plant, then that plant is not supposed to live there.

[Eoin-B]

Coming from the UK and Ireland, all that lawn care is pretty hilarious. We just have to cut it and that's pretty much it. There was a reason they were popular here. We had the ideal climate and soil. Italians and Spanish didn't even try to have them.

[michaelbyz]

Waste of money, waste of space, waste of resources, waste of water, waste of energy, what a waste.

[alexbaxter]

In the UK its becoming more common for home owners and councils to leave patches of green to grow wild - in some cases even seeding wild flowers, so that there is natural variation for wildlife. Really helps break up towns and cities more with these urban meadows.

[embodythejotun]

In hot arid areas totally doesn't make sense. Here in the northern midwest, I have a lawn, but never water it because it doesn't get that hot and there's so much humidity and rain that watering is just not needed. Most people here do not have sprinkler systems or bother ever watering.

Yards should reflect their environment.

[ikesau]

Hey Vox, I'm pretty sure lawns don't take up more land than agricultural crops in the US. The NASA Ames source (from 2005) says 128, 000 square kilometers for lawns. The FAO says (in 2005) 1, 689, 000 square kilometres for cropland (you can see this on the OWID Land Use topic page)