people who don't rake their [expletive] yards

[clement]

The part that I am saying borders on the absurd is the "keeping up with the Joneses" culture around neighborhood lawns. I grew up in a suburb so it's not like I don't know what it's like. Many people are competing for the most perfect looking lawn (i.e., most pristine, least natural looking). Those families who decide not to make it a priority are typically talked about by the lawn dads for ruining the (uniform) look of the neighborhood. And there is a general socially constructed perception of beauty that is about keeping the grass cut extremely short (which means frequent air and noise polluting), keeping it a bright green color (which means frequent unnatural watering even during the dog days of summer), and removing anything that resembles a weed (which often means polluting the ground with chemicals and in some cases actually removing plants that provide some benefits to the surrounding plant and animal life - not to mention some weeds providing a mixture of foliage in a yard can actually look much more natural, and in my opinion, nicer).

In the particular picture that I posted, it's also about the size of the lawn. It's one thing for suburban dwellers to create small garden patches that they plant, decorate and maintain the way they wish. But when it starts to get into the acres, and it's maintained with machines and chemicals in this completely unnatural and environmentally unsustainable manner, to me it is bordering on the absurd.

[Arthur Dent]

I pretty much killed my lawn this year. I left it unwatered for several summer weeks when I was on vacation, and then finished it off by letting the dead leaves sit over it for a good month or so. Anyone know a good lower maintenance ground cover alternative that works with dogs? Bare dirt isn't so attractive and tends to make a mess especially when it rains.

[docellis]

I pretty much killed my lawn this year. I left it unwatered for several summer weeks when I was on vacation, and then finished it off by letting the dead leaves sit over it for a good month or so. Anyone know a good lower maintenance ground cover alternative that works with dogs? Bare dirt isn't so attractive and tends to make a mess especially when it rains.

gravel/rocks?

[tothebeach08]

I pretty much killed my lawn this year. I left it unwatered for several summer weeks when I was on vacation, and then finished it off by letting the dead leaves sit over it for a good month or so. Anyone know a good lower maintenance ground cover alternative that works with dogs? Bare dirt isn't so attractive and tends to make a mess especially when it rains.

stone patio with an inground pool in the middle.

[docellis]

I pretty much killed my lawn this year. I left it unwatered for several summer weeks when I was on vacation, and then finished it off by letting the dead leaves sit over it for a good month or so. Anyone know a good lower maintenance ground cover alternative that works with dogs? Bare dirt isn't so attractive and tends to make a mess especially when it rains.

stone patio with an inground pool in the middle.

he rents.

[Leroy]

I pretty much killed my lawn this year. I left it unwatered for several summer weeks when I was on vacation, and then finished it off by letting the dead leaves sit over it for a good month or so. Anyone know a good lower maintenance ground cover alternative that works with dogs? Bare dirt isn't so attractive and tends to make a mess especially when it rains.

Leaving grass unwatered in the summer won't kill it. It just goes dormant. Leaving a layer of dead leaves will kill grass, because it can't get oxygen. I would say grass designed for heavy cover should be ok. As long as you rake once in awhile.

[docellis]

I pretty much killed my lawn this year. I left it unwatered for several summer weeks when I was on vacation, and then finished it off by letting the dead leaves sit over it for a good month or so. Anyone know a good lower maintenance ground cover alternative that works with dogs? Bare dirt isn't so attractive and tends to make a mess especially when it rains.

Leaving grass unwatered in the summer won't kill it. It just goes dormant. Leaving a layer of dead leaves will kill grass, because it can't get oxygen. I would say grass designed for heavy cover should be ok. As long as you rake once in awhile.

Wrong!

I have never raked my yard. 3 years. No raking. I wish it would kill the grass. It doesn't. I have large trees. My grass doesn't die.

Edit to add: My last house, I lived in for about 4 years. Never owned a rake. Many large trees. Grass didn't die.

[Arthur Dent]

I'd like something a little more natural looking than gravel, but maybe it'd make sense to use gravel or bark or something as filler and plant some shrubs in the places the grass has most trouble. Hopefully, Leroy is right and it's mostly just gone dormant.

[Leroy]

I pretty much killed my lawn this year. I left it unwatered for several summer weeks when I was on vacation, and then finished it off by letting the dead leaves sit over it for a good month or so. Anyone know a good lower maintenance ground cover alternative that works with dogs? Bare dirt isn't so attractive and tends to make a mess especially when it rains.

Leaving grass unwatered in the summer won't kill it. It just goes dormant. Leaving a layer of dead leaves will kill grass, because it can't get oxygen. I would say grass designed for heavy cover should be ok. As long as you rake once in awhile.

Wrong!

I have never raked my yard. 3 years. No raking. I wish it would kill the grass. It doesn't. I have large trees. My grass doesn't die.

Edit to add: My last house, I lived in for about 4 years. Never owned a rake. Many large trees. Grass didn't die.

Well I'm speaking for my own situation. If I leave a layer of leaves down, then pack about two feet of snow on top, it will die. Probably not much of an issue in Texas, St. Louis or South Carolina.

[JCShutout]

I should preface it by saying that my contribution to this rant was not a response to omaha's original rant, but just something that his rant made me think about ranting about. I would be aggravated too if a bunch of leaves from other people's trees were all blowing into my yard if I was going to the trouble of raking my leaves. (NO leaf blowers please!)

I don't see what's wrong with it.

It's completely unnatural (I'm talking about the yard). Grass doesn't grow like that, and you have to run sprinklers to maintain it. It's environmentally unsustainable and it looks sterile. If people want nature, go to the woods or to the country and see how rustic and imperfect it is. To me that is beauty.

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