Rethinking Lawns - benefits beyond grass

I have a beef with lawns. It's been on my mind for some time and I feel that right now, more than ever in these times of such economic uncertainty and unrest, nationwide that this might be an opportune time for people everywhere to begin rethinking the traditional concept of a lawn. Green grassy lawns look nice all mowed and edged and weeded into submission. But any homeowner will tell you that a lawn takes its share of resources to maintain. Can that investment of time and money bring you something valuable in return other than curb appeal? The answer is YES, of course! It just takes a slight shift in thinking to begin reaping the benefits of your own little miracle meadow.

Let's start with grass. There are over 10,000 species of grass that grow all over the world. Grasses are plants that essentially produce grains as their seed. Grass roots hold soil together and prevent erosion, grasses provide forage for animals and are also a major food source to humans world wide (bamboo, corn, rice, oats, wheat etc.). Are you eating the grass in your lawn? Are you letting it go to seed to produce grain? Probably not intentionally (I'll be honest and admit we are guilty of letting it happen a time or two when we got too busy to keep up with mowing). There is nothing wrong with having grass growing in your lawn. But if you are regularly dumping carcinogenic chemicals on your lawn so you can grow grass exclusively without any of those pesky, unsightly weeds, you are missing out on an abundance of highly nutritious and otherwise useful plants; all free for the taking!

So why is everyone obsessed with mowing, clipping, and herbiciding?

Turns out we have all been influenced to think of it as the pinnacle of homeownership that we should all aspire to attain; the "in" thing to do if we want to feel worthy of belonging in our community. Don't believe me? Think I'm exaggerating? Then tell me what goes through your mind when you drive by a house where the lawn has grown up 3 feet tall. We associate a perfectly manicured lawn with socio-economic status. It communicates to others that a person has the luxury of expending time and money to maintain swaths of grass solely for its aesthetic value. In other words, an individual with a grassy lawn can afford to devote their resources to growing something other than food for themselves or livestock. Land in any amount is truly such a valuable resource, it's insane to me to conceive of such waste, especially considering that we live in a world in which food insecurity is a daily struggle for many people. We need to shift this thinking. We need to stop recoiling in revulsion at the sight of weeds in lawns or sidewalk cracks. We need to stop pouring out chemicals that cause cancer and a multitude of other ills while contributing to the decline of pollinator populations essential to our food supply solely to grow a grain we have no intention of eating or using in any capacity.

Before you list your mower on Craigslist, I'm not suggesting you permit your lawn to flourish into a knee high meadow. That's not practical or desirable for most people. I also realize not everyone has the land, the time, the resources or the desire to be a homesteader. But everyone can take some small steps toward transforming their landscape into something that brings forth a real return on the investment.

Here are 5 of the most common beneficial plants I have in my untreated lawn.

These are some of the most tenacious, stubborn plants that will grow almost anywhere. Chances are if you live in North America, you are not far from at least one of these plants right now.

1. Plantain- This is the lawn "weed" I probably use the most. In fact, I have used plantain from my lawn 5 times in the past month; 2 bee stings, one nasty cut from scissors, a busted up leg from a scooter accident, and a pesky splinter that would not come out. Plantain is so common it is literally everywhere, even in parking lot pavement cracks or other places you would not expect. Despite being so common I have recommended it to people to use and found out they have no idea what it is. It can be used many different ways but the easiest way to use it is as a poultice where you mash the leaves (or chew them up) and place them on the affected area for a few hours. One of the characteristics of plantain is that it has a "drawing" quality to pull infection, splinters, bee venom etc. from a wound and promote healing. Last summer, my daughter got stung by a wasp near her eye. The swelling and pain were terrible and we had tried everything from ice, to lavender essential oil, to Benadryl but it still persisted and because it was so close to her eye we were limited to using things that would not irritate her eye if they got into it. Finally, the treatment that helped the most was the plantain leaf poultice. We even put the leaves into the freezer before applying for extra relief. Plantain is also edible, though in my opinion, not that tasty.

1. Dandelion - I'm sure most everyone knows this one without a photo. I love dandelion and I NEVER throw out a wayward dandelion from my yard. I even allow them to grow here and there in spots of my vegetable garden. If I do choose to remove one I use the leaves and roots. Each spring when I clear my garden beds for planting I always save all the dandelions. I wash and chop the roots then dry them for future use in teas and tincture blends. The leaves I sometimes dry for tea or just eat fresh. Fresh dandelion greens are more nutritious than spinach and much easier to grow! Yes, I know, they can be bitter. Bitter is a taste we are not accustomed to eating and often need to develop a taste for, but bitter flavored foods are extremely healthy and promote healthy digestion. I toss my dandelion greens with olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. If I'm not being lazy I will mince up a clove of garlic in there, too. Yummm!

1. Chickweed - another tasty green that is even available in winter time before a really hard frost. Chickweed is so plentiful in my garden that I do sometimes compost it because it isn't very useful once dried. You can throw chickweed into salads just like lettuce. It has a sweeter, mild flavor and is very nutritious. I can't remember where I read this but I read somewhere that during World War 2 when Victory Gardens were being promoted, people were encouraged to plant chickweed because it is easy to grow, self-seeds, and serves as a healthy salad green. Besides its use as a food, you can also use it to make soothing salves to quell itchy, dry skin conditions.

1. Burdock -These guys are probably on most people list of "unsightly" weeds for sure. Burdock does not have a delightful flower. It has a long tenacious tap root that makes it almost impossible to pull out by hand. They also tend to get very large quickly. I'll admit they are pretty awkward looking and, should I say, ugly. That's ok, burdock makes up for it by being a useful medicine and food. I wash and chop the roots then dry them for teas. Burdock is a great liver herb and is often used for digestive support. Supposedly, in Asian cooking, they prepare the long tap root as a cooked root vegetable. I have yet to try this, I will have to keep you posted.

1. Clover - I am a huge fan of red clover and buy it in bulk for my tea. I use it for its hormone balancing, lymphatic cleansing properties. Plus it tastes very nice. The clover most people have in their lawn is probably white clover as pictured here. White clover can be eaten or used for teas as red clover and may have some of the same attributes. Clover would not be considered a choice edible for humans but the bees love it and for that reason having clover in your lawn should bring you a little smile, you are helping support bee populations! Did you know that clover is a legume and like other legumes it fixes nitrogen in the soil? Yes, that's right, clover actually makes fertilizer for your soil in its root nodules. Amazing!

Not spraying your lawn means you get all of these and more for FREE to use at your disposal! Plus you don't have to buy weed killer and spend time spraying! It's a no-brainer, right?! Even if you mow your lawn these strong willed plants will still grow and flourish they just won't get quite as large.

Here is one of the identification guides I have that I use to identify wild plants. I also really like this book, Backyard Medicine, that I picked up at Tractor Supply recently. This can be an educational activity to do with kids. Throw a hula hoop down and give them a magnifying glass. Let them explore the plants inside the hoop. How many different ones can they find? Let them draw the plants from observation or do crayon rubbings of the leaves. Hours of entertainment for the nature lover!

Here are some other ways to put your lawn to work at making the world a better place one plant at a time:

1. Let it be- If you have a lot of land, consider leaving a portion of it forested or if it is cleared, establish or maintain a natural meadow of native plants and pollinator favorites. Native plants require very little care and are generally easy to grow.
2. Swap in edibles when possible - Plant edible and/or pollinator friendly annuals and perennials in your landscaping instead of traditional favorites. One of my neighbors has done their entire front landscaping in edibles. The heads of cabbage are incorporated where you might expect to see hostas. It achieves a very similar look but with the added bonus that you can eat it! Some parts of hosta are actually edible, too but that's a can of worms for another time. Be creative and think outside the box. Take walks around your area to get ideas but don't be afraid to try something really different. I have elderberry bushes where I was considering a privacy hedge... so glad I went with the berries!
3. Show the bugs some love - Plant a butterfly/pollinator garden. When I first started gardening I was only interested in growing vegetables. I just wanted good stuff to eat. I had no interest in flowers because I figured they took up space in my garden I would otherwise be able to use for more veggie plants. I had not yet realized the benefits attracting pollinators and other insects would have on the overall health of my garden. Since I have diversified what I plant I have fewer problems with pest insects, better fruiting, and not to mention, beauty and sheer delight to the senses! Some easy pollinator favorites that I have had luck with include daisy, sunflower, marigold, bee balm, lavender, and milkweed.

References

Bruton-Seal, J. & Seal, M. (2009). Backyard medicine: harvest and make your own herbal remedies. Skyhorse Publishing.

Gladstar, R. (2012). Medicinal herbs: a beginners guide. Storey Publishing.

International Agency for Research on Cancer. (2015, March 20). IARC Monographs Volume 112: evaluation of
five organophosphate insecticides and herbicides. https://www.iarc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MonographVolume112-1.pdf

Oregon State University. (n.d.). Grass are very common but very important plant. http://forages.oregonstate.edu/nfgc/eo/onlineforagecurriculum/instructormaterials/availabletopics/grasses/importance