11 ms·

Can we just get rid of grass lawns already... replace it with something that looks good and doesn't need water and weekly cutting

by wppick 11y ago

mrfusion 11y ago
Agreed. I think it's so amazing we actually make up work for ourselves.
- oh_sigh 11y ago
  It's not "making up work". People value a lawn, and put in work to maintain it. I find it funny that so many people on hacker news don't understand this concept. I'm sure a lot of people here would love to live in a concrete cube and drink soylent all day long while plugged into the internet on their oculus VR, but it's shocking to me that you can't comprehend how other people can value different things from yourself.
  - mangodrunk 11y ago
    You're presenting a false dichotomy. Sure, you may value a lawn, but it comes at a price with little return. There's environmental issues with lawns. No, that doesn't mean putting in concrete would be better. Here's some examples: http://www.sunset.com/garden/earth-friendly/lose-the-lawn-low-water-landscaping http://www.sunset.com/garden/earth-friendly/lose-the-lawn-lo... You can have a space filled with vegetables, fruits, shrubs etc.
    - cpwright 11y ago
      There is a lot of work involved in vegetables and fruits, and to some degree shrubs. Most anything that you like, deer will also like. You also can't as easily run around and play various games in something that has shrubs all over it. All of the examples you are showing are, in my opinion, trying to create an outdoor sitting room; which is not what many families want (in my case, I have a deck for that). I don't water my grass, and it isn't as pretty as some people's yards; but it is perfectly fine for playing in; and looks decent enough. The whole "sprinkler systems are bad" argument doesn't hold much water in suburban NY.
    - oh_sigh 11y ago
      > with little return Isn't that the entire point of my post? That different people value things differently? You may see it as "little return", but other people may not. There are environmental issues with lawns in some locations. I don't suggest having a lawn in the desert. There are a ton of areas throughout the US where having a lawn is just fine, and is environmentally neutral.
at-fates-hands 11y ago
Not sure if this was sarcasm or not, but having a lot of landscaping architecture friends it's an interesting idea. In places where grass is hard to grow (Southwestern US) you see a lot of rock varieties and other materials that they substitute for grass and it looks great. Just Google, "las vegas yards" and look at the image search. The last place I lived, my neighbor was tired of his grass in his bakyard (about a 1/4 acre) so he created a huge concrete terrace in his back yard, along with a large rubber hard court for basketball and other activities for his and the neighborhood kids. He still kept his small front yard grass, but the entire backyard was now completely utilitarian.
- rmxt 11y ago
  Yay for (sub?)urban heat island growth! :( Not sure where the last place you lived was, but I hope that if it were the desert, that there's some sort of aesthetically pleasing option that exists between a water hungry green grass lawn, and an asphalt or impervious concrete surface. Even if it's not the desert, permeable paving sounds like a win-win solution for aesthetics, functionality, and environmental impact. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permeable_paving https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permeable_paving
  - at-fates-hands 11y ago
    It was in North Dakota, and I wonder if this is what he was using. I remember him going on and on about how environmentally friendly these pavers were and how they could filter water and last a longer than normal concrete pavers have have virtually no maintenance costs. Either way, it looked really nice and had me thinking about the maintenance and costs of my yard.
- patorjk 11y ago
  When I lived in the New Mexico in the early 90's people started overhauling their grass yards with rock landscaping (with a few plants dotted in). The results tended to look great. I'm surprised this hasn't taken off in more places across the country.
abetaha 11y ago
In Arizona and other water starved states they use artificial grass in their lawns, and some of them look reasonable. I am starting to see the trend in the bay area as well.
- oh_sigh 11y ago
  Instead of not having grass yards, maybe people should just go the full mile and not live in areas completely inhospitable to human life?
  - CPLX 11y ago
    Like New England in the winter?
  - ido 11y ago
    A watered desert is actually extremely humanly hospitable for the majority of the year (probably more so than less temperate areas like central & eastern europe or the midwest).
    - eru 11y ago
      Central and Eastern Europe are bearable, if you put clothes on.
      - ido 11y ago
        The high deserts of the western united states (generally speaking) even more so :)
ptaipale 11y ago
Yeah, an Astroturf home lawn is what we want. Seriously, lawns, like other parts of gardens, are something that people do for hobby - they like the work. Yes, it is somewhat contradictory that then people also want to avoid the chores of mowing. A rock garden may be better but anything will need maintenance work to look neat.
oh_sigh 11y ago
Water is not scarce in a lot of areas. Also, you make it sound like the government is paying for people to cut their yards. People do it themselves out of their own free will.
- milesokeefe 11y ago
  >People do it themselves out of their own free will. In many places in the US, you are legally required to keep your lawn below a certain height, and not just in HOA neighborhoods, it is often enforced by the city.
Brakenshire 11y ago
If the alternative is some more appropriate local plant or plants, then great. If the alternative is concrete or astroturf, please don't. The trend of people paving over their front gardens for car parking is causing a lot of flooding problems in the UK (because water runs straight off concrete, and isn't absorbed). It also makes the general environment much less pleasant and human if everything surrounding roads is paved as far as the eye can see, rather than filled with gardens, whether they're wild or highly tended. You end up with these grim concrete tunnels of development where no one wants to spend their time. That in turn damages pedestrian culture, and the health and social benefits which go with it.
dwb 11y ago
Mind your own business! http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/868.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pag...

Can we just get rid of grass lawns already... replace it with something that looks good and doesn't need water and weekly cutting

by wppick 11y ago

Can we just get rid of grass lawns already... replace it with something that looks good and doesn't need water and weekly cutting

mrfusion 11y ago

Agreed. I think it's so amazing we actually make up work for ourselves.

oh_sigh 11y ago
It's not "making up work". People value a lawn, and put in work to maintain it. I find it funny that so many people on hacker news don't understand this concept. I'm sure a lot of people here would love to live in a concrete cube and drink soylent all day long while plugged into the internet on their oculus VR, but it's shocking to me that you can't comprehend how other people can value different things from yourself.
- mangodrunk 11y ago
  You're presenting a false dichotomy. Sure, you may value a lawn, but it comes at a price with little return. There's environmental issues with lawns. No, that doesn't mean putting in concrete would be better. Here's some examples: http://www.sunset.com/garden/earth-friendly/lose-the-lawn-low-water-landscaping http://www.sunset.com/garden/earth-friendly/lose-the-lawn-lo... You can have a space filled with vegetables, fruits, shrubs etc.
  - cpwright 11y ago
    There is a lot of work involved in vegetables and fruits, and to some degree shrubs. Most anything that you like, deer will also like. You also can't as easily run around and play various games in something that has shrubs all over it. All of the examples you are showing are, in my opinion, trying to create an outdoor sitting room; which is not what many families want (in my case, I have a deck for that). I don't water my grass, and it isn't as pretty as some people's yards; but it is perfectly fine for playing in; and looks decent enough. The whole "sprinkler systems are bad" argument doesn't hold much water in suburban NY.
  - oh_sigh 11y ago
    > with little return Isn't that the entire point of my post? That different people value things differently? You may see it as "little return", but other people may not. There are environmental issues with lawns in some locations. I don't suggest having a lawn in the desert. There are a ton of areas throughout the US where having a lawn is just fine, and is environmentally neutral.

at-fates-hands 11y ago

Not sure if this was sarcasm or not, but having a lot of landscaping architecture friends it's an interesting idea. In places where grass is hard to grow (Southwestern US) you see a lot of rock varieties and other materials that they substitute for grass and it looks great. Just Google, "las vegas yards" and look at the image search. The last place I lived, my neighbor was tired of his grass in his bakyard (about a 1/4 acre) so he created a huge concrete terrace in his back yard, along with a large rubber hard court for basketball and other activities for his and the neighborhood kids. He still kept his small front yard grass, but the entire backyard was now completely utilitarian.

rmxt 11y ago
Yay for (sub?)urban heat island growth! :( Not sure where the last place you lived was, but I hope that if it were the desert, that there's some sort of aesthetically pleasing option that exists between a water hungry green grass lawn, and an asphalt or impervious concrete surface. Even if it's not the desert, permeable paving sounds like a win-win solution for aesthetics, functionality, and environmental impact. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permeable_paving https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permeable_paving
- at-fates-hands 11y ago
  It was in North Dakota, and I wonder if this is what he was using. I remember him going on and on about how environmentally friendly these pavers were and how they could filter water and last a longer than normal concrete pavers have have virtually no maintenance costs. Either way, it looked really nice and had me thinking about the maintenance and costs of my yard.
patorjk 11y ago
When I lived in the New Mexico in the early 90's people started overhauling their grass yards with rock landscaping (with a few plants dotted in). The results tended to look great. I'm surprised this hasn't taken off in more places across the country.

abetaha 11y ago

In Arizona and other water starved states they use artificial grass in their lawns, and some of them look reasonable. I am starting to see the trend in the bay area as well.

oh_sigh 11y ago
Instead of not having grass yards, maybe people should just go the full mile and not live in areas completely inhospitable to human life?
- CPLX 11y ago
  Like New England in the winter?
- ido 11y ago
  A watered desert is actually extremely humanly hospitable for the majority of the year (probably more so than less temperate areas like central & eastern europe or the midwest).
  - eru 11y ago
    Central and Eastern Europe are bearable, if you put clothes on.
    - ido 11y ago
      The high deserts of the western united states (generally speaking) even more so :)

ptaipale 11y ago

Yeah, an Astroturf home lawn is what we want. Seriously, lawns, like other parts of gardens, are something that people do for hobby - they like the work. Yes, it is somewhat contradictory that then people also want to avoid the chores of mowing. A rock garden may be better but anything will need maintenance work to look neat.

oh_sigh 11y ago

Water is not scarce in a lot of areas. Also, you make it sound like the government is paying for people to cut their yards. People do it themselves out of their own free will.

milesokeefe 11y ago
>People do it themselves out of their own free will. In many places in the US, you are legally required to keep your lawn below a certain height, and not just in HOA neighborhoods, it is often enforced by the city.

Brakenshire 11y ago

If the alternative is some more appropriate local plant or plants, then great. If the alternative is concrete or astroturf, please don't. The trend of people paving over their front gardens for car parking is causing a lot of flooding problems in the UK (because water runs straight off concrete, and isn't absorbed). It also makes the general environment much less pleasant and human if everything surrounding roads is paved as far as the eye can see, rather than filled with gardens, whether they're wild or highly tended. You end up with these grim concrete tunnels of development where no one wants to spend their time. That in turn damages pedestrian culture, and the health and social benefits which go with it.

dwb 11y ago

Mind your own business! http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/868.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pag...