World Changing Post #6

Alyssa Olson

World Changing Response #6

Landscaping

This chapter focused on the modern landscaping of our yards. The article began by discussing the issues that surround a yard full of grass. First off grass is an invasive plant that absorbs everything around it. Grass sucks out all of the water that touches it and also usually doesn’t allow much of anything to grow in or around it. Many people spend countless hours and tons of money just to keep their lawn in order and looking presentable.

There are many options as to what you can do to your lawn that doesn’t involve the average grass we are used to. Some people decide to pave their lawns, which isn’t exactly the best option but still requires low maintenance. Others spread wild grass seed on their lawns, which allows a variety of different grasses and flowers to bloom, ones that don’t require a lot of time or upkeep. Others choose to plant a garden. This option allows you to have a wide range of plants that are different heights, sizes and best of all will provide you with food for the year. Planting a garden instead of grass allows your yard to take on a new persona and lets you learn about organic gardening and seasonal trends. Although this approach has not yet gained widespread popularity I believe that with time people may begin to see the advantages of having a garden over a lawn.

I enjoyed this article because it seems to be one of the simpler ways to go “green” and to reduce your impact on your surroundings, yet it is one of the easiest to do too. I like the idea of not having your yard sectioned off and orderly but rather allowing nature to thrive and survive like it was designed to. The best part of doing this would be the large amount of produce that you would gain from the garden. Instead of letting the yard take us over we would finally reverse the relationship and be able to get something out of our yards.