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Formal lawns were popularized
in Britain beginning in the 18th century. In that country
of mild climate and evenly spread rainfall, grass does amazingly
well. The British penchant for lawns was brought into this
country, where in the northeast, and other parts of the country
grass also can thrive. South Florida, however, has a climate
that includes both warm and dry and hot and wet cycles and
soils that do not hold moisture well and are not naturally
fertile. Consequently, grass does not do well unless irrigated
during hot dry periods and fertilized and treated with pesticides.
These inputs have become increasingly expensive to the homeowner
monetarily, and perhaps more importantly, expensive to the
environment. For instance, it is estimated that the majority
of nitrogen getting into Phillippi Creek and then into Sarasota
Bay comes from fertilized lawns rather than from septic tanks.
Most homeowners are not willing to apply such inputs and consequently
their lawns are not particularly aesthetically pleasing. Nevertheless,
they still have to mow them or have them mowed. This process
itself is costly both to the homeowner and to the environment
as the amount of gasoline burnt in mowers adds to the urban
air pollution as well as noise pollution.
A second problem with grass is that it does nothing about
shading the house. House shading is extremely important in
this climate since it can reduce air-conditioning needs and
thus costs, dramatically saving both the homeowner and the
environment. Finally, trees and shrubs, because they have
more leaf surface in a given volume of air than grass will
increase CO2 uptake, contributing to a reduction in global
warming.
All of the above are good reasons for you to at least consider
reducing the area of grass surrounding your property. Just
reducing grass is only part of the solution, however. Clearly,
the previously grassed area must be planted with trees and
shrubs in order to obtain the maximum benefit. Rocks or gravel
will not suffice. The west side of your house particularly
needs shading to reduce the cruel afternoon sun from heating
up your house. In addition, driveways should be shaded so
that getting into your car on a summer's day becomes less
of an ordeal.
We suggest that you draw up a plan for gradually removing
your grass where you think it is practical and replacing it
with trees, shrubs and to a lesser extent flowers. If you
are watering and/or fertilizing your grass, stop doing it
sometime before you begin to reduce your lawn. A good time
to reduce your lawn is in April and May when rainfall is limited
and the temperature begins to increase. In a particularly
dry year, much of the plant material will have already died.
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