Lawns

[laurat99]

I live in rural suburbia, in a sea of vinal siding subdivision. Many of my neighbors have what seems like an obsession with having perfect green grass lawns. My standards are no bare spots and it's neatly mowed/edged, it's all good. Hubby would mow only when absolutely necessary, so we use a mowing guy.

Could someone please explain to me why having a perfectly manicured yard is worth the time, trouble and expense? I get that some people like to be outside working. Flower and vegetable gardens I understand for the asthetic and food value.

Some of the same neighbors that are only organic "Whole Foods" kinds of people happily have lawn companies spray their yards for weeds, etc. I just don't get it, help me understand.

[amyrose5]

I am the last person to help you understand this. I don't get it at all. My husband, his parents, and his sister and all their neighbors are all obsessive about this. His sister is Ms. Organic Environmentalist but thinks people without sprinkler systems are some sort of white trash. She even went off on a long distance boyfriend constantly for not installing one even though he explained about fifty times that he lived in an area considerably rainier than here and didn't need to water all that often.

To me, it isn't very environmentally conscious to constantly water a lawn. As my agriculturally trained father would explain, most grass will go dormant in a drought and if you've planted a kind that won't on these Great Plains, you've been foolish.

But my husband waters ours. And mows twice a week. And edges it. And fertilizes it. And sprays it. And obsesses about moles and whatever other issues cause it to not look perfect. I keep my mouth shut. Although I've been tempted to suggest he find a job as a baseball groundskeeper.

[Papa Bear]

I don't get it, either. I used to live next door to a guy who I swear must have vacuumed his lawn at night. Another neighbor mowed his lawn 2, 3, sometimes 4 times a week. We joked that whenever he had a fight with his wife, he would mow. We later found out we were right.

OTOH, I currently have a neighbor who is rarely home. Because of the location of the windows, I can see very little of my yard, but I can see her entire back yard; it's ~90% of my view. She keeps up her lawn to reasonable, but not excessive standards, but every time it snows, she shows up with her snowmobile, and makes high-speed circles in her back yard until she wears away the snow and tears up the grass, leaving a big mud hole for me to look at until the next snowfall, when she does it again.

He husband / boyfriend / whatever is there even less frequently, but every time he's there, he builds an enormous bonfire (flames 20-30 ft high) under the trees. I'm always afraid he's going to set the trees on fire.

[amyrose5]

(05-05-2012 12:22 PM)Papa Bear Wrote:  I don't get it, either. I used to live next door to a guy who I swear must have vacuumed his lawn at night. Another neighbor mowed his lawn 2, 3, sometimes 4 times a week. We joked that whenever he had a fight with his wife, he would mow. We later found out we were right.

I hate to think someone is assuming that about us. If I had my way, he would not be wearing himself out doing pointless yard work and would spend more time with me instead. His job (with 12 hour shifts) wears him out enough as it is.

[zeusTHEgoose]

My theory is that the perfectly manicured lawn is the emblazoned image of the American Dream...

Just a theory...

[Lady Julian]

(05-05-2012 01:22 PM)zeusTHEgoose Wrote:  My theory is that the perfectly manicured lawn is the emblazoned image of the American Dream...

Just a theory...

Add a white picket fence, or at least two cars in the driveway, and that's a good theory.

[Presbygirl]

(05-05-2012 01:34 PM)Lady Julian Wrote:  

(05-05-2012 01:22 PM)zeusTHEgoose Wrote:  My theory is that the perfectly manicured lawn is the emblazoned image of the American Dream...

Just a theory...

Add a white picket fence, or at least two cars in the driveway, and that's a good theory.

And 2.5 kids?

[co_heir]

I don't understand it either. I like a good looking yard, but spending a whole lot of $ (which I don't have anyway) to have a perfect lawn is a bit much. Besides, the weeds in the back yard look pretty good after I mow.

[notdrinkingthekoolaid]

One advantage of living in an apartment: no lawn care.

(I don't get the obsession either.)

[boymom]

Gives the teenagers something to do. And something else to complain about.