Quick question:
Why do we have lawns? I mean where did the custom of filling your land with a weed come from? was it a statement made by wealthy people to show that they didnt need to grow their own food or something?
I know its not vitally important but, i wanna know why I have a lawn!
Grass is not a weed per se.
I believe the custom comes from haveing an estate surrounded by pastures for cattle and (later) sheep. Sheep tended to keep the grass cut close rather like the lawns we know today.
I suppose the open grassland was indicative of agricultural development from forested or semi-forested land. A country squire puts his land to work, and that means opening it up and removing a lot of the trees.
Aesthetically, the low growing grass tends to make your suburban house look a bit bigger and (hopefully) more imposing (powerful, authoratative, well-off, whatever). Having it hidden by bushes and whatnot wouldn’t.
oooooooooh, eye see:)
maybe i’ll buy a sheep - then i wont have to keep cuttin it…
True, if you keep sheep, you will have a lawn like a bowling green (complete with lots of little black balls).
I’ll get some dungbeetles too then, build them a little hut, it’ll be fine, and mre fun than a dog.
If you want to use livestock to maintain your lawn, you’d be better served having a few geese. Much closer grazers, less doodoos, no need to shear and they’re great security to boot.
but you cant make a sweater from a goose
No, but you can make great pillows, cushions and quilts. Plus you can slaughter, clean and cook your geese yourself much more easily than you can with sheep. And you’ll have no need to construct a sheep-dip.
Oh. And there’s the eggs as well.
have we veered off topic yet?
seriously, would gettin some animals to maintain the garden be a good business investment?
(i mean them eatin the grass, not teachin a cow how to work a flymo)
I’m guessing that lawn is descended from pasture, and in working farm pasture would be nearer to the residence than tillage. Livestock was more valuable than crops, so for security this made sense. Also livestock might require more regular attention (twice-daily milking, delivery of winter feed) and possibly accomodation in a barn or stable (likely to be near the house, or even part of the same structure). So the efficient arrangement for a mixed farm is pasture near the house, tillage further away.
Over time, as large farmers become more prosperous and turn into country landowners, pasture becomes parkland (still often used for grazing) and eventually some of it becomes garden, not used for grazing. Grass continues to be popular because it looks well and requires little maintance. It drains better than paved areas or gravel. And you can walk on it, which is not true of most other plants. And, in parkland, it will grow in the shade of most trees, which other plants might not do. And of course healthy grass will help to prevent the garden being invaded by weeds.
Yes, it would. And geese would be better than sheep from this point of view.
Whether you get geese or sheep, of course, you’ll need good perimeter security (i.e. a fence and a gate, kept closed).
And if you live in an area where grass doesn’t grow in the winter you’ll need winter feed arrangements.
How much grass have you got?
Another reason for keeping the area around your house mowed is to keep out vermin. If you have meadow coming right up to the house, you have a place for mice, etc. to live and they are, therefore, more likely to find ways into the house.
I once read an article which claimed that we evolved from ancestors that inhabited savannahs, and feel most comfortable when we can turn our surroundings into savannahs. The author used our predilection for lawns as an example, and would have had us believe that you have an expanse of grass around your house because you are “wired” to like that kind of setting.
Take it or leave it. I can’t remember the source.
Ditto what yabob said. Except that savannah means mostly grass with a few trees. Completely treeless looks bad to most people.
Also, anything 19th century Victorian upper class twits did got copied by the middle class, and so on, regardless of any rational reason. Geez, look at ties for example.
A well-kept lawn was sign of a well-to-do person’s estate. So eventually everybody wanted that.
Just pray that walking around in holey underwear doesn’t catch on among the idiot riche.
Eventually every cleared area gets green with weeds and grass. I can’t think of anything else to have around your house that wouldn’t eventually become a “lawn” of some sort assuming enough rain except maybe concrete Grass is relatively clean, meaning you can walk on it and then go into the house without bringing much of it with you. Can’t say that for sand or dirt. Having trees too close to the house is just asking for one of them to crush the place. I think “lawns” exist because they make sense in most areas.