Grass is Good. A Meadow is Bad. Huh?

This was not a call I've ever gotten before.  I was out of compliance with a township law and it had to be corrected.  At first, I was a little slow in processing what she was saying.  My grass needed mowed?  What?  Our grass is mowed.  And then, I realized what she meant.  Our hillside.  My beautiful little field of wildflowers and birds, butterflies and nature.  It had to go.   I am usually a rule follower, so I relayed the call to the husband and he set out for the backyard to scald our hill.  One hour later, it was all gone.

[caption id="attachment_1000" align="aligncenter" width="819"] :-([/caption]

I cried real tears when I saw it all leveled to the ground for the first time.  And then, I got mad.  I don't know why I got the call.  We keep our lawn in the front and below the hill mowed because of a sewer right of way.  It's either we mow it or the township comes through and mows it down to the dirt.  So, we kept that up and the other lawncare but the hill has just been a source of frustration for our entire time of living here.  We used to pay someone to mow it with one of those fancy mowers, lol, but that got expensive and unsafe for them because we've had some erosion.

That also was during the time when we dumped chemicals religiously on our lawn to make it look perfect.  Not anymore.  We use no herbicides or pesticides on our lawn or otherwise.  So, when we considered the hill this spring we decided to let it do it's own thing.  We figured it would stop the erosion because the plants could get a better foothold and it would help the surrounding wildlife.  We only have 3 neighbors in our vicinity, and one of them is doing the same thing.  Our hills aren't visible to anyone else and it was beautiful.  I loved walking down the hill and walking through clover and all types of wildflowers.  It was heavenly.  But now, it's all gone.  And why?  What is so bad about a meadow that's contained and is planned for and thoughtfully allowed???

There are a lot of articles and information out there about meadow lawns.  And it's positive.  Imagine all the water, chemicals, and lessened fuel needs that would occur if even a small portion of all lawns ran wild and let nature (who ALWAYS knows best!) do it's thing.

Here are some links I've found on the subject...

• Meadow Lawns


• Rethinking Your Backyard


• Letting Go: Part 1 The Lawn

And there are countless more out there.  I know that I am not the first person to get the call, and I won't be the last, but the next time, and I expect there will be a next time, I want to be prepared, ready with an answer and prepared for the conversation.  This time I wasn't any of those things because I was so caught off guard.

Just in case you're wondering what our yard looked like pre-scalp?  It looked like our neighbors...busy and full of life.  Not a dull landscape like it is now...

[caption id="attachment_1003" align="aligncenter" width="819"] Our neighbor's yard. He's not gotten "the call" yet. I'm glad it's still standing.[/caption]

Now, really, is that bad?  Is it a hazard in some way?  I'm just not understanding.  But I am learning...

The Suburban Survival Guide from New Jersey Audubon has some great ideas on how to let your backyard be a habitat without causing a stir...and I will be taking this info to heart!  I've also found a great source of info on Weed Laws and the history of them and their most famous battles.  I am encouraged that so many people have been successful in overcoming the weed laws and I am determined to turn my anger and frustration into motivation for making changes.  My meadow will be back!

[caption id="attachment_1005" align="aligncenter" width="819"] At least I still have my trees down below our hill to look at but not much grows there because of the black walnut trees. No wildflowers to be seen...[/caption]

I guess the part of this whole situation that has me the most out of sorts is the lack of understanding that the enforcement of rules like this have for our future.  If our world becomes a sea of grass and cultivated flowers we are robbing future generations of a world filled with the wildness of nature.  Having to travel to a park to see nature shouldn't be the only way.  Nature should exist all around us.  I know I sound like a far out hippie freak, but I don't care anymore.  I can't stand by and let this beautiful planet be tortured and destroyed, while people who are trying to do their part to save even a small fraction of it are the ones who are breaking the rules.

When I expressed myself to the zoning officer to say that we let it grow because of erosion and difficulty mowing because of it, her answer was a groundcover of some sort.  I've researched and researched groundcovers and have found that most people agree that all grasses and groundcovers are terrible at preventing erosion.  Erosion happens in artificial situations like our hillside that are then planted with shallow rooted grasses that can't hold the soil in place.  But that was the answer.

[caption id="attachment_1004" align="aligncenter" width="819"] At least I still have my garden...and I am thinking next year our hillside will just be an extension of that. Squash and cucumbers tend to grow pretty rampantly....just saying...[/caption]

Whew.  I feel better.  And if you came here looking for a food recipe, I'm sorry.  Sometimes things just need to be said.  There is no Homemade Served Here if there isn't a home that fosters those ideals.  Our life has been a continual evolution for me-based to planet-based and this is just another stepping stone along the way.