There is an ordinance in this city that says people must keep lawns cut to six inches. I see weeds a lot higher than that in some of the 'big shot's yards.' It used to be that the city cut the grass on city lots that needed mowing, but I see some that have been neglected.
This summer is one of the dry summers. It is so dry that a few people have bought garden hoses for the first time since World War II. The last time they used a hose was when they stuck one end in the gas tank in the John Deere to siphon gas out for the car to go to town back during the war when gas was rationed. That was when Lowell Thomas was reading the evening news and Edward R. Murrow was dodging bombs in London.
This might end up being a big blessing—this drought. We may lose our yards and be faced with a tough decision—to plant grass seed or lay sod; or, lay Astro Turf.
Lawn grass keeps a lot of big companies going and stockholder happy in their Florida condos. If you own a chemical company selling everything from insect killers to weed killers for lawn grass applications; you are in good shape.
I have always wondered where those chemicals go if they don't end up in our drinking water or don't find their way into the world's oceans.
Then you have another batch of big companies selling brand name lawn mowing machines. People are paying more for their lawn mowers they ride around on than I paid for my brand new Ford Fairlane 500, back in the day.
The companies make mowers: Those you push without motors, called, "reel" mowers, and those you push with motors, called, "rotary" mowers, and, finally those mowers you ride around on that can be either rotary or reel.
The last reel mower I saw was a rusty one in the front yard of a house on Diamond Mill Road where Air Hill intersects with it.
Nobody seems to know which is best and nobody is satisfied with one or the other. It is like wives, cars and husbands—most everyone seems to want a new one; or they want to try the neighbor’s out.
Lawn machines give off tons of pollutants and some governments want us to mow before or after certain hours to cut down on air pollution. Not to mention filling the tanks with gasoline because that adds even more contaminants to the air we breathe.
Astro Turf might be one blessing for those who fork over twenty bucks each time their patch of green is cut. This turf grass is green; lower than 6 inches and never needs cut. If it is good enough for football players, who are worth millions of dollars a year to the corporations that own them, to play on, it should be good enough for any front yard anywhere.
Another solution to lawns of dead grass is landscaping. You can put in trees, shrubs and bushes; and add a few drought tolerant flowers, and never have to mow again.
I don't know what will happen to the Japanese Beetles around here if a lot of people give up grass. The beetles will have no grass roots to eat while in their grub cycle of life. That could be a good thing too. For those who have forgotten, this was the drought of 2007.