Oh gosh the world would be a better place without the guilt system that religion foisted on us. Feeling bad for keeping an immaculate lawn is truly silly. Sure, try to reduce agrochemicals if you can, but if you derive pleasure from a nice lawn alongside providing flowering plants to pollinators and feeding and watering all visiting birds, then why not? Life is too short to sweat the impact of domestic gardening, as someone said above, at least it's not covered in plastic and the soil is full of life. We can all try and do what we think is our best. At least all of us as gardeners care about the environment and embrace the changing seasons. Guilt tripping people is utterly counterproductive.
I have 2 quite big wildflower areas,took me 5 years,mix of annual and perennials,path just mowed through the middle.i don't feed,water or weed the other lawns. I cut every 3or 4 days hand mower leave the clippings.it won't print my picture will have another go another time. The vaccine is kicking in!
I believe just admitting to have a garden, not a paved over “car space” is a good start. Afterwards lawn, meadows, borders, bushes trees…..everything is better than concrete in one way or another.
I have a concrete terrace and the best contribution I could make are my pots of overflowing plants of all types. Never worry about what you have, just be happy that it is doing more for the environment and bio diversity than grey slabs! 🌸 🌺
Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
A manicured short lawn is still a million times better than artificial grass!
I'd quite like to get rid of my small back lawn and replace it with a big wildlife pond with just walkways around. Loads of people would hate that! Each to their own.
You can have a 'better' lawn in environmental terms, if it troubles you. Don't get obsessive about moss and clover or treat it with chemicals, for a start. And mow it with preferably a push mower or, failing that, an electric one (corded or cordless) and you're doing the best you can. If your desire for a perfect lawn leads you to douse your garden in poison and burn fossil fuels then you probably should feel guilty about it.
Not using fossil fuels is a useful size restriction. If you have a big enough lawn that you can't reasonably mow it with a battery mower then you've got room to let some part of it grow longer. If you can do the whole thing with an electric mower plugged in to the house, then I don't think you should feel bad about it.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I've been thinking about this and just had the discussion with my husband. We've agreed that a section of our lawn is very suitable for it, so we'll not mow it apart from an access path. In the autumn we'll prepare better and sow Yellow Rattle etc.
I've never really considered my two, relatively small 'lawns' as environmentally sinful. However, having started to think about it and digested the replies on this thread, I don't feel too bad. I mow with a electric mower on a fairly irregular basis. There is a lot of moss, clover, dandelions, etc., which aren't removed (just trimmed). No feed, fertiliser, weed-killer or any other treatment is used and magpies, blackbirds and starlings enjoy a daily feed on grubs/worms/slugs.
I reckon that puts my grassed areas on the positive end of the scale (environmentally, if not aesthetically )
When I moved in my house 4 years ago the entire front garden was gravel and the back garden was mostly paved with a bit of lawn and very thin flower beds. Not very big areas but a wasteland when it came to wildlife. I removed most of the paving out back and replaced with lawn, and over the last year been tackling the front by putting raised beds in (just one board high) so that I can grow flowers and veg on top of the gravelly clay soil. I have thought about letting the grass grow but it's just not practical when I've got a dog with the necessary clean up 💩! So on balance, although I'd like to do more by having a wildflower area, there just isn't room and what I'm doing is far more beneficial to wildlife than what was here before (I especially know this because the pigeons got a good meal out of my freshly planted cauliflower seedings! 🤦) But I still had a pang of guilt the other week when I got the lawnmower out even though I only ever cut on the highest height anyway. It's good that awareness is out there, as long as it stays positive and not guilt tripping those who want/need to keep a traditional lawn.
A smaller manicured lawn, with a bit more space around it for wild complex mixed plants and wildlife could possibly feed both the bees and your soul's desire for a well tended lawn perhaps...?
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I'd quite like to get rid of my small back lawn and replace it with a big wildlife pond with just walkways around. Loads of people would hate that! Each to their own.
Not using fossil fuels is a useful size restriction. If you have a big enough lawn that you can't reasonably mow it with a battery mower then you've got room to let some part of it grow longer. If you can do the whole thing with an electric mower plugged in to the house, then I don't think you should feel bad about it.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I reckon that puts my grassed areas on the positive end of the scale (environmentally, if not aesthetically