Reducing Lawn

Helen's Haven™ Mixed Border BEFORE How the garden looked when we first moved here in 1997

The duties of lawn mowing fell to me at an early age.  As a child, Saturdays in suburbia were spent mowing the lawn.  Lawn mowing tends to be a typical task for the boys in the house.  Not ours.  My brother preferred doing any other chore, including cleaning the house.  We worked out a deal; he would clean for me and I would mow for him.  I believe I got the better end of the deal; so does he.

There is a movement in American for Lawn Reform, a collation started by friend Susan Harris with 9 others, made up of a mix of lawn-haters and lawn improvers.  I’ve always had a love affair with lawn.  But even with love, there is always room for improvement.

Motivated by being practical and efficient, I set out to maximize my lawn while minimizing the care.  A little bit of well place turf can go a long way.

Each year since 1997 when we purchased our home, I set about to reduce the lawn.

It started innocently enough, reducing lawn as a way of making mowing easier.  I wanted a continuous run.  My approach was to start the mower, go forward and complete the job with no other gyration – no turning in a terminal end, no working around a tree, no little area off by itself needing care, and no backing up.  If there was something in the lawn that needed to be worked around, like a table and chairs set, it was moved to another part of the property.

That first year’s season as I mowed, I left those awkward areas to grow so I could see the shape they made.  In doing so, it became clear where I would add beds.  The decision of what those bed areas would become was made at another time.

As a result, the perimeter around the property, with the exception of the street-side, became beds.  The trees in the center of the grass were tied together into a mulched island.  Awkward areas on the side of the property were no longer dealt with as grass.  Those areas became mulched beds with no vision of what they would become.  I was optimistic it could be figured out in coming years.  In the short term, I grew vegetables there.  In the long term, I amended the horrid, clay soil with of organic matter in the form of composted leaf mulch.

This mulching process was applied to all the areas throughout the property where the tall grass grew from not mowing.

AFTER defining the space, cutting an edge, adding wetted newspaper to kill the grass and covered with composted leaf mulch

The shapeless areas formed from the mowing efficiency effort were covered with 8 – 10 sheets of wetted newspaper, then piled high with 4 – 6 inches of composted leaf mulch purchased form the City’s compost operation.  None of these areas were planted that first year.

That first year, I was still deciding what the garden would be; how it would look.  This was to be the home where I raised my kids.  A place we were putting down roots.  There was no rush build the garden.  No rush to have it done in a day.  My oldest daughter was just one year old and she was followed by a brother and a sister within three and a half years.

I knew the garden needed to be organic, easy to maintain, with long sweeps of grass so my children could run safely and play with no threat of chemicals touching their bare feet.  They needed no fear of chemicals on the figs when they would stop their play on a summer day for a sampling or to pause for the taste of a ripe tomato from the vine.   I knew I needed to create a garden that would attract wildlife so they could marvel at nature’s beauty and harmony.   In those early years with kids, I focused on safety, shape and efficiencies.

Every year since that initial effort, I have reduced more lawn. The first year saw the most efficiencies, but subsequent years saw added value.

The second year found me further defining the shape of the beds created during the previous year while staying with the mindset of keeping a continuous flow.  Another year, found me doubling  the size of the front Red Bed; during another year I narrowed the width of the backyard “soccer” field.  Then there was the year I removed the area from the front path to the porch.  A great year was the one where I widened the right entrance into the secret garden; then I widened it again the next.  Last year, I added a bed next to the driveway so I could trial Proven Winners plants.

In 2010, my latest project was to widen the path to the north entrance of the garden.  Previously, the path had a mow strip on each side with a garden bed to the property edge on one side and a bed to the office on the other.

Each time I reduced lawn, I wondered what took me so long.  I may actually be out of ways to reduce for the near future.  As long as the kids are young and kicking a ball, the “soccer” field will be their domaine.  Wether it’s for a soccer ball, a putting green, a place to chase fire flies, or just a place to lie upon to view the stars in the night time sky; the grass that remains is there for my kids to enjoy.

BEFORE entrance into back garden

AFTER In the next couple of years, the this area will be planted for a lush tropical feel.

There are no gender roles in our household.  I still mow the lawn and I’ve taught my children to do the same.  We have a differing opinion when the lawn needs mowing, so more often than not, I’m the one mowing.  That’s OK.  I like to mow the lawn.  As a child and even today, the task of mowing is un-troubling; a time to think.  A time to gain clarity.  A time to see immediate results of a job complete, and in the spring, the smell of a freshly mown lawn has poets prosing, candle makers perfuming, and children giggling.

There will be a day when my kids move away.  My mind wonders what that bit of turf will become.  Will it stay the same for the nostalgia or for when they have kids of their own?  I can see change.  But for now, I’ll just enjoy my lawn with the kids on a summer day in the south.  Or perhaps, I’ll grab a blanket and a bottle of wine and see if my husband would like to join me to watch the evening stars.

Dig This

The easiest way to add a new garden bed is to commandeer existing turf.  Mark the shape either through efficiencies like I did above or by creating shape with marking paint or a garden hose.  Once the shape has been decided, mow at the lowest setting.

Using the marking paint or hose as a guide, take a straight-edge shovel to cut into the sod straight down.  This will become the bed’s edge.  Once the front edge is cut, turn around and repeat, this time inserting the shovel in at a 37º angle creating a wedge.  Throw and spread this dirt into the area to become your new garden bed.  Cover with 8 – 10 sheets  of wetted newspaper and then cover with 4 – 6 inches of composted leaf mulch or compost.  Let nature do the work for you.  Over time the earthworms and microbes will incorporate and decompose the area into usable, friable earth.

Each year, repeat by adding more compost or composted leaf mulch.

Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Like Page.

Each week, Helen host’s a garden talk WebTalkRadio.net show called Gardening With Confidence™.

Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum