Despite the original posters overly extensive post, with certain questionable content, the central point is still quite vaild. We as a nation spend more money on grass than on any other crop. That by itself should be reason enough. Read up on the history of lawns and you'll find that they were orginally created as a means of demonstrating wealth (aka, I have this big area and I can afford to do nothing with it except grow grass I can't eat) Regarding the comments of junegem13 and zachslc, you might want to read up on the legal history of this movement. As it turns out, most weed laws (ones based on hight, not on noxious weeds) are unconstitutional. Nonetheless, if you are in a city or subdivision and decide to do a wildflower meadow where there is not an reasonable ordinance, then you should notify your neighbors and the city about why you are doing and the legal preceedants. The EPA has all this information. Regarding property values, that was the original complaint neighbors made against one landowner when she converted her lawn into meadow. When they were unable to demonstrate an actual decrease in property values, the city ordinance was ruled unconstitutional. Afterwards, the neighbors decided if they couldn't beat her that they'd join her and replace their own yards with meadows. Property values in that one neighborhood are now some of the highest in the city (Specific names and places, are available if you want them). Time and time again, lawn alternatives done correctly have shown to raise values, not lower them. In Charlottesville, VA local government is working on an ammendment to exclude native meadows from our weed ordinance. Other cities are doing the same very quicky, especially since the weed ordinance as written by many localites constitutes a legal liability to local governments.

What a fun thread. I'm so glad that it has been bumped up. We are still laughing at some of the names and you have inspired us to try to class-up our little corner of heaven with a name too. Our city repair people "fixed" the street in front of our driveway so that it is quite a bit lower than the driveway and water accumulates there with every rain or snow. My DH teases with the neighbors on our flat street, far from any lake, that they're jealous because we have Lake Front property. So, of course, that leads to the name "Lake Front Place" - nicely pretentious for our unpretentious street. But now DH has come up with, "God's Little Acher" and leaves me to choose my favorite. What a conundrum! Are we entitled to a separate name for the house and the garden? I plan on using "Allee View" for the backyard as it seems to be a source of interest to people driving down the alley peering through the fence.

A forest will choke out a thicket, I often recomend that fruit and nut trees be planted on purpose, so that we lock up carbon and produce food for ourselves, and chocke out the brush plants that are unpleasent to walk through. When you go on a hike along a tail it seems that you are always either bordered by clearing/lawn or by a thicket, but once you break through that thicket you can useually travle quite quickly and easily and have plenty of space to move about. The main reasonfor removing trees and brush historicly wasn't to make things more pleasent, it was to open up land for agricultural use. with a field we can grow staple cerial grains, or legumes, or use it as pasture for animals, while some trees may provide seasonal food for some critters it takes alot of work to survive off of them year round (and trust me when I say thing, willow does not taste that good) . Our modenr day lawns were not contrived from thin air, you need to look at were they came from to understand how they fit in. Lawns are popular mainly in the south (sure, lots of people like them, but in the south they are sick for them) the south had a large portion of its caucasian inhabitants come from scotland (the southern drawl is very closely related to the scots accent) in schotland they have huge green field that are kept down to a few inches all summer long, this is because there is alot of rain and people raise sheep. Now, in the south there isn't as much water in the summer, and there aren't as many sheep, but people still liked the look of home so a lawn with mowers and irrigation is what they came up with.

Hi addictedtoroses, Anyone with such an addiction ... can't be all bad. When I saw your intro, I thought, "Never too late to par-ti-ci-pate". So - welcome aboard. But - you were here before I was. Wife's Mom, a teacher, willing to be dragged into aged category only kicking and screaming - encouraged kids to call her "Grammy". When she visited us in Korea, not too many years after Korean war, Korean women, many of whom lived really tough lives, couldn't believe that she was Sue's mother - swore she was her sister. Now several years departed this life. I think their Mom's Dad, who died when they were under 10, was "Grandpa": mine was (their Grandpas were never together). I don't remember what they called my stepmother - "Grandma", I think. They were somewhat older: I was married at 30, son born two years later. Son, now past 40, born in Korea, never married - no children (to speak of). Daughter, nearing 40, married over 13 years ago (she proposed). After about 5 years, hubby came home, announced he'd met his "dream ___" - and it wasn't her. (Don't remember the other part of the word, at the moment). Over 8 years ago. I said that I was glad there were no children, she said, "The way things were for the last while, Dad - I wasn't about to have any". She found a friend, introduced by a high school buddy that she's stayed friends with over the years, with whom she seems to have been getting on well, about a year and a half ago. He in Toronto - she in AZ. We've seen some more of her in the past year or so. Smart, vivacious, multi-faceted, caring. A person to be proud of. And thankful for. Good wishes to you and yours for the coming days. joyful guy/Ed