Mike Palmer shares the pros and cons of traditional lawns and his favourite wilder lawn alternatives
Where do you stand on lawns? Not literally, but as passionate gardeners, are we lawn lovers or loathers? For some of us, lawns may be perceived as encroaching upon our precious borders, robbing us of the potential for more plants. But there are many compelling factors we need to consider in recognition and praise of our verdant swards, so allow me to share with you some gripping grassy pros and cons and some fascinating lawn alternatives.
I think we can all agree there’s something quite special about the quintessentially English emerald-green striped lawn, serving as the perfect foil for borders packed with trees, burgeoning perennials and shrubs. Collectively, our lawns, striped or otherwise, account for an approximate 1.4 million hectares of grass covering the UK, alongside parks, sports fields, and agricultural pastures.
The benefits of a lawn
Lawns provide all of us with numerous benefits. Alongside the obvious welcoming aesthetic appeal, they offer perfect areas for recreation. Kids, young, and not so young, love playing on them, teenagers lured away from mobiles and gaming stations for 10 minutes to kick a ball around (although not on my lawn, thank you very much), and, for all of us, enjoying a family picnic, perhaps, or a sneaky snooze on a glorious, summer’s afternoon.
There’s also evidence that a well-maintained lawn will enhance the kerb appeal of a property, with studies showing that well-tended lawns help to sell our homes faster and at a higher price.
More importantly though, lawns improve the quality of the air around us by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, which is essential for the respiration process for all of us and, indeed, all living organisms. There are still more benefits, with lawns helping to minimise soil erosion and promoting biodiversity by providing invaluable habitats and food sources for a wide variety of plants, insects, and small animals.
Maintaining your lawn and your own wellbeing
Much time, effort and money can be deployed in the upkeep of the so-called ‘perfect’ lawn. Yearly springtime scarification and aeration help to remove dead organic matter and alleviate soil compaction and improve lawn health. Luckily, these strenuous, muscle-aching tasks which, back in the day, I used to perform manually as an overly enthusiastic young professional gardener, can be performed easily with helpful machinery – thank goodness!
Then, in the height of the season, there’s mowing, with mine usually nudging me to take at least one, possibly two trips out each week with the lawn mower, and o
