Boy, I sure picked the wrong year to restore my lawn.

The nice folks at Earthworm Organic Lawn Care reseeded our front and back yard in April. We eagerly followed their instructions and watered diligently the first ten days. My dad even lent us his favorite sprinkler — a sturdy, yellow lawn tractor.

The dandelions were never happier.

May came and went, and so did our motivation. Now our grass is officially dormant. The clover still looks good.

I’d like to blame the brown lawn on my upcoming wedding or my new freelance design business. But, to be honest, Brian and I are not lawn watering people. In the heat of summer, I’ll set up a soaker hose around an established tree, but never give a second thought to the grass.

How can I waste water on the lawn when our neighborhood wetlands are dry as a bone?

On the flip side, all this brown gives me extra incentive to plant new shrubs and perennials.

So, how is your lawn holding up under these drought conditions? Are you a regular waterer or can you turn a blind eye when the grass turns brown?

It’s the time of year when one of my neighbors is mowing his or her lawn. All day, every day, someone somewhere is mowing.

Sometimes, I crave a little peace and quiet and wish we’d all designate a day of mower silence.

Then I get on our mower (it’s a garden tractor, really) and mow myself into happy delight. Obviously, I’ve got a love/hate thing going, here. And on top of that, I just love the way the lawn looks when it is just mowed.

How about you? Is more horsepower the way to improve the way your place looks or save time? Raise your hand if you have a power mower and at least two of the following: string trimmer, power hedge trimmer, blower, chipper/shredder, tiller, chain saw or auger (uh-oh, I have more of those than I’m eager to admit).

Or are you on the quiet, peaceful, manual (or no yard) side of the fence? Was that a choice to go green and quiet? Hard or easy transition?

Here’s the scoop. I want less lawn, not more. I want yard of native grasses, not turf grass.

For the past six years, we’ve ignored our lawn. We mow, but we never water. In the spring, our grass kinda turns green. By summer, it is brown and crunchy with bare patches of dirt. Sometimes we pull the dandelions before they go to seed. Sometimes we don’t.

No, we’re not trying to be bad homeowners. Our neighbors ignore their lawns, too.

I thought that neglect was the most environmentally responsible path. Then I met Bob Mugaas, turf grass expert at the University of Minnesota.

(more…)

There is a reason why dog parks are covered in mulch. Grass loves full sun, lots of water and a little fertilizer. It doesn’t tolerate shade — or active, curious dogs.

Fido needs a place to play, but a patchy lawn can be terribly problematic. This time of year, bare spots quickly become mud baths. What is a dog-lover to do?

Laura writes:
“i added a second dog to my family and its taking its toll on the grass in front of my deck steps. i’m interested in ground cover alternatives to grass as well. i’ve been struggling for three years to get different kinds of grass to grow in this super shady heavily trafficked area.”

How do you keep your dog and your grass happy? Have you switched to a tougher ground cover? Re-trained your dog? Or given up on your lawn?

Robyn’s lucky. Her neighbor sneaks into her yard (with a Bobcat) to remove troublesome boulders. My neighbor sprays herbicides on my raspberry bushes.

Here’s the full story:

For the past three years, my backyard neighbor and I have pretty much ignored each other.

Every now and again, her black lab sneaks into my yard. The owner promptly retrieves her pet but never the mess he left behind. I could handle a misplaced poo if she smiled or said “Hi” when I greeted her, but this neighbor has no interest in me.

Cursing every time she pulls a weed or trims her tress, it’s also obvious that my neighbor has no interest in lawn care or gardening.

This spring, she suddenly started to care about the plants on our property line — rather the dandelions growing under the shrubs and hostas on our property line. If I had seen my neighbor spraying herbicides on these plants, I would have stopped her. All I saw — and smelled — was the aftermath of her chemical warfare.

(more…)