We as Americans have an obsession with appearances, even when they requires us to take long hours out of our busy schedules to maintain them. Yard work is one of those time consuming projects that many people avoid, by moving into apartments. Keeping up one’s yard is important, but to the degree that some do, it can be redundant. An illusionary perfection of nature can actually be quite harmful, especially when you are using chemicals to accomplish your task. If you pass by homes with perfect weed free yards, the odds are they are toxic waste dumps created by their owners. Weed killers, pesticides, commercial compost, and most yard maintenance chemicals are toxic to bipeds and their pets. These products can cause suffering from visual problems, respiratory conditions, nervous system disorders, etc. The carcinogenic, disease causing elements of these products, can eventually even kill you. Using these products also contributes to surface water contamination, which can end up eventually in your drinking water. The wildlife that grazes on your plants, or lives in your yard, will also suffer. Is this worth the illusion of perfection? There seems to be something almost sinister of such perfection; life must suffer, so that you can look good.

One thing you can do is to plant foliage native to your region. This makes it so that you do not have to water the yard as often, and the wildlife will be benefited by having their natural food sources about. Wild gardens can be quite pretty, and they need less maintenance.

Don’t water your lawn during the summer. People here in the Pacific Northwest, commonly let there lawns die during the summer months. This saves on water resources, your time, and your bills.

Water plants during the hotter months only when you need to, and be sure it is the morning or late evening. Saturate the ground thoroughly, and you will not need to water as often.

Mow the lawn only when necessary. It looks pretty up to about about six inches anyway! If you are able to, use a reel mower, rather than gas. If you have weeds in your lawn, just mow over them. Be sure to mow though before the weeds have gone to seed, so as to prevent further spreading.

After mowing, use a rake, and spread the clippings out over the lawn surface. This will enrich the soil naturally, rather than stripping it of what it would normally receive as nutrition. Do the same for small tree debris, such as pine needles and seed pods.

If you have areas of your yard that are covered in rock, bark chips, etc., there is an easy way to deal with possible intruding weeds. Pour vinegar around the base of the weeds, and they will soon die thereafter. This also works for cracks in sidewalks, and other places you do not care if anything grows.

Spread diatomaceous earth around your yard and plants. This will help greatly reduce bug populations. Use commercial neem oil to spray plants that have been infested.

Have your whole household share in the yard work. You can even make an event out of it, and have an outdoor BBQ when you are all done. Doing things like this as a group, can bring people closer together.

Have a neighborhood edible garden in your backyard, and invite some of your neighbors to contribute their time. The neighbors will profit from the fruits of their labor, and you will help create a stronger community.

If we all accepted the chaotic beauty within nature, we would perhaps take a different view on *perfect* yards. Often people who obsess over a perfect image externally, are only trying to make up for what they lack on the inside.

Be wild. Be real.
[tags]yard work, yard maintenance, lawn chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, surface water, toxins, chemicals, wild gardens, environment, pollution, disease, work less, lockergnome, shadowmyth [/tags]