There shouldn’t be lawns . Well, not so much and large an area of them at least. More wildflowers, bushes, trees, more floral diversity and native habitat.
Monocultures, not so much.
Right now where I am, (South Oz, Adelaide hills) it is dry. So little rain this year, sod of all it in Autumn and none predicted yet too.
mordredsays
Looks a bit like my “lawn”. My neighbour had his lawn mower running for what felt like hours on wednesday and started it again today – maybe he missed a blade somewhere.
I think the average German male with a garden has more passion for his lawn mower than his partner.
Reginald Selkirksays
I don’t allow dandelions in my lawn.
Snarki, child of Lokisays
“I don’t allow dandelions in my lawn”
Do you yell at them to “GET OFFA MY LAWN!” ?
Because you should.
And how does this topic fit with the MAGAt appetite for “lawn ordure”, also, too?
Tethyssays
Needs some violets for a really lovely color combination. I’m just about to start the first lawn mowing of the season to remove all the dandelions before they go to seed,
I’ve got plenty of food for the bees, and my neighbors can contribute their dandelions. The most important thing is to not spray or treat the lawn with chemicals that are harmful to insects. I’ve had a huge increase in my bee population since I started leaving permanent piles of sticks around my yard for the tiny bees, and nice leaf piles for the various bumblebees to overwinter in.
Dennis Ksays
I like it. My dandelions are rather more sporadic. Do you have a press hidden somewhere? Oh wait, never mind — prohibition was repealed awhile ago, I guess.
Reginald Selkirksays
@5: No, I don’t yell at them. I dig them out with a trowel.
birgerjohanssonsays
Dandelions eventually take over completely. By contrast, pasture for cows and other grazing animals are rich in many different flowers (but you need boots for obvious reasons).
Ordinary lawns are really poor in diversity. You might as well pour cement all over and paint it green.
it green.
birgerjohanssonsays
A question – do dandelions have nitrigen-fixing symbionts in their root system? It would explain why they have taken over the lawn in front of my house.
Rich Woodssays
@birgerjohansson #10:
I don’t think nitrogen-fixing would particularly help dandelions, since they are comparatively small plants that usually produce just the one flower that very readily spreads its seeds. The roots are quite thick, almost like rhizomes, so they store enough reserves to be able to produce new leaves and a new flower after being chopped up by a lawnmower.
“… for the pollinators” is a good excuse for just about everything. It’s why I don’t pick up stuff from the bedroom floor, honestly.
ardipithecussays
There are some tallish weeds around here that will form rosettes of foliage below the mowing height after a few mowings. I let them be because I think it’s pretty cool that, when confronted by whirling blades, they duck.
prairieslugsays
Dandelions have deeper roots than lawn grass and grow fast and have short lives. They bring a lot of nutrients from down deep and deposit them at the surface as its leaves decompose. As the roots grow, die, and decompose they leave many deep holes and tunnels that increase the soils drainage and air/water holding capacity and also increase carbon content. Many animals utilize the plant and it is edible. Dandelions colonize bare soil where the grass is doing poorly and can improve the soil over years to the point that grass will re-establish and thrive. In my opinion a proper lawn should always have Dandelions, Clover, Violets and other small flowering plants. A grass monoculture is a biological desert, probably not accumulating much soil carbon and more likely to have problems with compaction, poor drainage, and drought.
StevoRsays
@ ^ prairieslug : Well, grass can be diverse and do come in many different species and even genera but still – yeah.
“Grassland” also covers alot of plants that are forbs and sedges and rushes etc.. as well.
That’s pretty.
There shouldn’t be lawns . Well, not so much and large an area of them at least. More wildflowers, bushes, trees, more floral diversity and native habitat.
Monocultures, not so much.
Right now where I am, (South Oz, Adelaide hills) it is dry. So little rain this year, sod of all it in Autumn and none predicted yet too.
Looks a bit like my “lawn”. My neighbour had his lawn mower running for what felt like hours on wednesday and started it again today – maybe he missed a blade somewhere.
I think the average German male with a garden has more passion for his lawn mower than his partner.
I don’t allow dandelions in my lawn.
“I don’t allow dandelions in my lawn”
Do you yell at them to “GET OFFA MY LAWN!” ?
Because you should.
And how does this topic fit with the MAGAt appetite for “lawn ordure”, also, too?
Needs some violets for a really lovely color combination. I’m just about to start the first lawn mowing of the season to remove all the dandelions before they go to seed,
I’ve got plenty of food for the bees, and my neighbors can contribute their dandelions. The most important thing is to not spray or treat the lawn with chemicals that are harmful to insects. I’ve had a huge increase in my bee population since I started leaving permanent piles of sticks around my yard for the tiny bees, and nice leaf piles for the various bumblebees to overwinter in.
I like it. My dandelions are rather more sporadic. Do you have a press hidden somewhere? Oh wait, never mind — prohibition was repealed awhile ago, I guess.
@5: No, I don’t yell at them. I dig them out with a trowel.
Dandelions eventually take over completely. By contrast, pasture for cows and other grazing animals are rich in many different flowers (but you need boots for obvious reasons).
Ordinary lawns are really poor in diversity. You might as well pour cement all over and paint it green.
it green.
A question – do dandelions have nitrigen-fixing symbionts in their root system? It would explain why they have taken over the lawn in front of my house.
@birgerjohansson #10:
I don’t think nitrogen-fixing would particularly help dandelions, since they are comparatively small plants that usually produce just the one flower that very readily spreads its seeds. The roots are quite thick, almost like rhizomes, so they store enough reserves to be able to produce new leaves and a new flower after being chopped up by a lawnmower.
When life hands you dandelions, make wine.
Some music to go with the scene
Vor Sonnen-Aufgang
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=b39CfCN2bNE
“… for the pollinators” is a good excuse for just about everything. It’s why I don’t pick up stuff from the bedroom floor, honestly.
There are some tallish weeds around here that will form rosettes of foliage below the mowing height after a few mowings. I let them be because I think it’s pretty cool that, when confronted by whirling blades, they duck.
Dandelions have deeper roots than lawn grass and grow fast and have short lives. They bring a lot of nutrients from down deep and deposit them at the surface as its leaves decompose. As the roots grow, die, and decompose they leave many deep holes and tunnels that increase the soils drainage and air/water holding capacity and also increase carbon content. Many animals utilize the plant and it is edible. Dandelions colonize bare soil where the grass is doing poorly and can improve the soil over years to the point that grass will re-establish and thrive. In my opinion a proper lawn should always have Dandelions, Clover, Violets and other small flowering plants. A grass monoculture is a biological desert, probably not accumulating much soil carbon and more likely to have problems with compaction, poor drainage, and drought.
@ ^ prairieslug : Well, grass can be diverse and do come in many different species and even genera but still – yeah.
“Grassland” also covers alot of plants that are forbs and sedges and rushes etc.. as well.
Looks like mine. I prefer dandelions to grass anyway.
“Keep meadows, not lawns!”
It looks like prime space for rabbit berthing.
“Dandelion Wine” a very good novel by Ray Bradbury.. Not SF.