Roll Gardening & Green
“A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.”
by Luanne Panarotti
...Consider Leptinella x. Platts Black (Black Brass Buttons), whose fern–like foliage in bronze/black forms a soft mat for bare soles, or Potentilla reptans (Plenifora) with double yellow flowers offset by dark green leaves. And, who couldn’t use some extra thyme? A number of varieties work well as walkable groundcovers, such as Thymus citriodorus (Archer’s Gold), with bright gold foliage punctuated by light lavender–pink flowers in late summer. Thymus serpyllum (Magic Carpet) has deep green foliage that tightly grips the earth, and releases a fresh lemon scent when crushed by footfall.
REFORM! Reconsider the way you maintain your remaining lawn. The EPA estimates that 5% of the nation’s air pollution comes from the use of traditional, gas–powered lawn mowers. If you’ve pared back your lawn enough, you may be able to mow it yourself with a manual reel mower. No fuel smell, no hot motor, no deafening din—just the “clickety–clack” of the blades and you, burning 400 calories an hour while breathing in the fragrance of fresh–cut greens.
Whatever the mower, make sure that the blades are kept sharp, and set to a height that removes only the top 1/3 of the grass. Leaving the plants slightly longer above the ground encourages an equivalent growth in the roots, enabling the plants to plumb further into the soil for moisture during times of drought.
It’s estimated that 30% of water usage on the East Coast is dedicated to the upkeep of lawns. If you must, water deeply, but not often. This conserves a precious resource while encouraging root growth and discouraging thatch. CONTINUE...
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