7 ms·

Lawns are so, so very stupid. What an awful waste of land. You can get milkweed seeds very easily. I highly encourage you to do so, and other native wildflowers

Lawns are so, so very stupid. What an awful waste of land. You can get milkweed seeds very easily. I highly encourage you to do so, and other native wildflowers.

roflchoppa 6y ago
Ah thanks for reminding me, I bought a load of milkweed seeds and threw them in the fridge back in November. I’ll start germinating them right now.
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  Please be careful where you sow milkweed..the plant contains and will leak latex ..this can cause skin burns/allergies and should get into eyes or mucus membranes. [..] Thick, milky latex (sap) is present in all parts of the plant. ... Common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, is native to North America and is one of the most important northern plants for the monarch butterfly. Monarch caterpillars and butterflies are bitter and poisonous to birds, due to a toxic alkaloid in the latex.[..] [..] Caution: Do not get milkweed sap in your eyes (such as rubbing your eyes after touching the sap); wash your hands thoroughly after handling the plant. Also, some people may develop an allergic reaction when the sap touches the skin.[..] And the welts and scars post latex exposure and dermal damage wont go away easily. It’s also painful.
- bsder 6y ago
  Be careful that it is the correct milkweed. Some species of milkweed don't have enough caloric content to feed the butterflies sufficiently for their migration and they die partway through the trip.
fogihujy 6y ago
And, once you get used to having wild flowers and herbs in your garden, regular lawns seem quite boring.
- fastball 6y ago
  Might be good to consider that this is your opinion and not necessarily objective fact.
  - fogihujy 6y ago
    Of course! Stating the entertainment and/or artistic values of anything is voicing an opinion rather than stating a fact. I apologise if that wasn't clear from my previous post.
  - eggsmediumrare 6y ago
    It is an objective fact that lawns are an ecological catastrophe and we'd be better off minimizing them.
01100011 6y ago
Yes, but if you plant milkweed, please consider planting one that is native to your area. A list of CA native milkweeds: https://calscape.org/loc-California/Milkweed%20(all)/vw-list/np-0#:~:text=Asclepias%20californica%20is%20a%20species,the%20foothills%20of%20the%20Sierras https://calscape.org/loc-California/Milkweed%20(all)/vw-list....
- vharuck 6y ago
  For Pennsylvanians, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has a nice PDF listing native plants by type of site (sunny/dark, dry/most) and some notes for each plant (preferred soil type, if they're used by pollinators, etc.): http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/DCNR_20031352.pdf http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/docum...
- therealdrag0 6y ago
  What an awesome website. Lots of good information well laid out.
jonny383 6y ago
What an idiotic comment. Lawns are stupid? What about the roads you drive along daily? Or the car parks you park in? Or the gigantic concrete buildings you work in? Lawns are very obviously the least of society's concerns.
- BlargMcLarg 6y ago
  There are quite a few people claiming the opposite, actually. Large squares of regularly trimmed, flat grass only to show one's decadence isn't exactly the same as a road used daily. If they were at least used for playing children, that would be one thing, but most front lawns are large spaces not designed for any purpose beyond aesthetics, and many back lawns have similar structures. It is almost devoid of life thanks to the lack of protection from the sun combined with the lack of diversity in vegetation, just so someone can show off their property.
- TheGrassyKnoll 6y ago
  Then I'll add to the idiocy. I think fake lawns are stupid. (/opinion)
- killtimeatwork 6y ago
  Lawns are a big waste of potential. What could be a thriving ecosystem is basically an eco-wasteland. I would not be surprised if they were originally popular with aristocracy precisely because how stupid and useless they were (a Veblen good, signaling that the owner is rich enough to afford such stupidity).
- CalRobert 6y ago
  Honestly, those things are pretty stupid too. Car dependency, enabled through incorrectly priced roads that don't account for externalities, is one of the greatest drivers of climate collapse, and production of cement to make concrete is one of the largest sources of CO2 emissions.
- eggsmediumrare 6y ago
  Those are all bad too. It's idiotic to think this makes lawns less of a problem.
pjc50 6y ago
Lawns are an ornamental form of pasture that belong in rainy, temperate climes, and absolutely not in California any more than golf courses in Gulf states.
mint2 6y ago
Don’t get me started. And hoa’s and new housing dev or all apartment complexes have contractually mandated Macdonald’s-ified landscape that makes it all look like censored. All in the name the “MaXimIZe PropErtY vAlUEs!!” Scam. It’s a useless eyesore destroying the environment and cookie cutter McDonaldsification of the landscape doesn’t even maximize value. It looks like strip mall landscaping.

Lawns are so, so very stupid. What an awful waste of land. You can get milkweed seeds very easily. I highly encourage you to do so, and other native wildflowers.

roflchoppa 6y ago

Ah thanks for reminding me, I bought a load of milkweed seeds and threw them in the fridge back in November. I’ll start germinating them right now.

jelliclesfarm 6y ago
Please be careful where you sow milkweed..the plant contains and will leak latex ..this can cause skin burns/allergies and should get into eyes or mucus membranes. [..] Thick, milky latex (sap) is present in all parts of the plant. ... Common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, is native to North America and is one of the most important northern plants for the monarch butterfly. Monarch caterpillars and butterflies are bitter and poisonous to birds, due to a toxic alkaloid in the latex.[..] [..] Caution: Do not get milkweed sap in your eyes (such as rubbing your eyes after touching the sap); wash your hands thoroughly after handling the plant. Also, some people may develop an allergic reaction when the sap touches the skin.[..] And the welts and scars post latex exposure and dermal damage wont go away easily. It’s also painful.
bsder 6y ago
Be careful that it is the correct milkweed. Some species of milkweed don't have enough caloric content to feed the butterflies sufficiently for their migration and they die partway through the trip.

fogihujy 6y ago

And, once you get used to having wild flowers and herbs in your garden, regular lawns seem quite boring.

fastball 6y ago
Might be good to consider that this is your opinion and not necessarily objective fact.
- fogihujy 6y ago
  Of course! Stating the entertainment and/or artistic values of anything is voicing an opinion rather than stating a fact. I apologise if that wasn't clear from my previous post.
- eggsmediumrare 6y ago
  It is an objective fact that lawns are an ecological catastrophe and we'd be better off minimizing them.

01100011 6y ago

Yes, but if you plant milkweed, please consider planting one that is native to your area. A list of CA native milkweeds: https://calscape.org/loc-California/Milkweed%20(all)/vw-list/np-0#:~:text=Asclepias%20californica%20is%20a%20species,the%20foothills%20of%20the%20Sierras https://calscape.org/loc-California/Milkweed%20(all)/vw-list....

vharuck 6y ago
For Pennsylvanians, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has a nice PDF listing native plants by type of site (sunny/dark, dry/most) and some notes for each plant (preferred soil type, if they're used by pollinators, etc.): http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/DCNR_20031352.pdf http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/docum...
therealdrag0 6y ago
What an awesome website. Lots of good information well laid out.

jonny383 6y ago

What an idiotic comment. Lawns are stupid? What about the roads you drive along daily? Or the car parks you park in? Or the gigantic concrete buildings you work in? Lawns are very obviously the least of society's concerns.

BlargMcLarg 6y ago
There are quite a few people claiming the opposite, actually. Large squares of regularly trimmed, flat grass only to show one's decadence isn't exactly the same as a road used daily. If they were at least used for playing children, that would be one thing, but most front lawns are large spaces not designed for any purpose beyond aesthetics, and many back lawns have similar structures. It is almost devoid of life thanks to the lack of protection from the sun combined with the lack of diversity in vegetation, just so someone can show off their property.
TheGrassyKnoll 6y ago
Then I'll add to the idiocy. I think fake lawns are stupid. (/opinion)
killtimeatwork 6y ago
Lawns are a big waste of potential. What could be a thriving ecosystem is basically an eco-wasteland. I would not be surprised if they were originally popular with aristocracy precisely because how stupid and useless they were (a Veblen good, signaling that the owner is rich enough to afford such stupidity).
CalRobert 6y ago
Honestly, those things are pretty stupid too. Car dependency, enabled through incorrectly priced roads that don't account for externalities, is one of the greatest drivers of climate collapse, and production of cement to make concrete is one of the largest sources of CO2 emissions.
eggsmediumrare 6y ago
Those are all bad too. It's idiotic to think this makes lawns less of a problem.

pjc50 6y ago

Lawns are an ornamental form of pasture that belong in rainy, temperate climes, and absolutely not in California any more than golf courses in Gulf states.

mint2 6y ago

Don’t get me started. And hoa’s and new housing dev or all apartment complexes have contractually mandated Macdonald’s-ified landscape that makes it all look like censored. All in the name the “MaXimIZe PropErtY vAlUEs!!” Scam. It’s a useless eyesore destroying the environment and cookie cutter McDonaldsification of the landscape doesn’t even maximize value. It looks like strip mall landscaping.