Our lawn

I just was reading Garden rant's post on Michael Pollan and the American lawn. It is well worth a read.

Gosh, did you know that Americans pour more chemicals on their lawn than our industrial farms? Yikes.

We ripped out lawn a couple of years ago and now have only a little organic piece. It is now all beds for veggies and flowers, with some bushes thrown in for good measure. As a new homeowner I couldn't bear the thought of investing my time or energy in mowing and watering all that turf. Way too much work. If I was going to work and water, why not get something tangible for my effort? So far, I'm the only person on our block who's got a veg garden in their front yard. At first, it felt a bit...adventurous or daring. I got over the yard looking different gradually. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Organic tomatos and corn. Robins munching on happy worms. Lots of bees and butterflies. I think that is beautiful.

He writes that "the lawn is a symbol of everything that's wrong with our relationship to the land. Lawns require pampering because we ask them to thrive where they do not belong." Ana and I were just commenting on the craziness of the immaculate green lawns in Tucson. Total insanity to see them getting all that water in the middle of a hot spring day. That should be illegal, in my opinion.

This year I've interplanted more edibles among some of the flower beds. Argula and strawberries are growing amid roses and bulbs. I'm going to borrow the White House garden idea to edge my veggie beds with zinnias and nasturiums. Last year I've edged them with Italian parsley, but I really like the zinnias -- tall and pretty.