Turning your lawn into a controlled meadow makes economic sense

[Victor Schneider, Ph. D.]

Somewhere, there has to be a theory that says that leaves from trees
are good as ground cover, because there are species of grasses and
friendly weeds that can form a mat of roots that incorporates these
leaves and ultimately breaks them down into topsoil. That assumes
that the anal-retentive homeowner association rules prevalent in
the U. S. can be changed to accommodate experimental meadow-lawns,
in which mixtures of fallen leaves, mulched grass, live grass, and
friendly weeds are allowed to take over without benefit of fertilizer,
herbicides, edge trimming, or even watering. So far, it seems to work
quite well in my backyard, and I see it coming to a success in the front
as well. Just as long as you don't insist that every square inch of
lawn area be green because your association or zoning laws commanded it.

Since I am planning to get out of the experimental lawn business
pretty soon, I thought I'd pass on this tip.

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