Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Grass Is Always Greener on the Other Side!

My neighbor, Lowell, takes excellent care of his lawn.

I want to rip mine out of the soil and compost it into fertilizer.

It's not that I hate to mow grass. I don't mind it a bit. But if you've spoken to me in the last year or so, you know that I have some kind of tic in my brain against useless landscaping. Hence the day that I enlisted half my neighborhood (without meaning too) to dig out a 15 foot square patch of groundcover that had been growing and spreading for some ten years. USELESS stuff - did nothing but harbor bugs, collect garbage and take over my patio with it's spring growth. In it's place is my punkin patch - which is growing in much the same way - but I have four little pumpkins growing with those giant, conquering vines. I feel the same way about grass!

I don't have children and my pets stay in the house. Most of the time.

I have no need for a lawn, and even if I did have children, I would want them to get to explore our tiny yard like a jungle. Lawns don't allow for exploration. There's a park down the street with wide open stretches of grass. The kids can play baseball and tag there - if I ever have any kids. The 'jungle' offers new and exciting colors and places to see and learn about. Why do those corn stalks have tassles? How long do I have to wait for the green peppers to turn red? What happens when I pull the dead flowers off the plant?

I woke up this morning out of a partial dream about what I'm going to do with the back half of the side yard that runs along the patio, and the small piece of front yard that isn't completely hidden by shade. I've decided I pretty much don't care a bit about what the neighbor's might say, and Alex will NOT mow grass.

I need an excavator. Thank goodness I have a strong back and a sharp shovel!

1 comment:

boilingmarigolds.blogspot.com said...

Slowly my yard is being taken over by flowers and vegetables, but I do enjoy my lawn. Yes, it has weed mingled in it that confound me, but strolling through my garden walking on th soft grass is more enjoyable to me than the struggle of diggin it up and keeping the weeds out of it while waiting for soething else to grow.
It takes about an hour to mow and I use that time every week to refocus, and dream!
I am loving your gardening adventures tho!