By Ian Wilson
There’s nothing like the sight of rolling hills green with grass. However, those hills can easily become overgrown with weeds and briars. Many people choose not to mow their lawns, either because it’s time-consuming, or because they are environmentally conscious and trying to provide a habitat for wildlife. The first is understandable, the second is noble, but there are certain risks involved in letting your lawn become overgrown. First, there are allergens. Many people, including myself, have severe pollen allergies. Letting your grass grow long is a sure-fire way to exacerbate that condition. Pigweed, ragweed, wild parsnip, and hundreds of other allergen-causing weeds can be hiding in amongst the blades of grass, just waiting to make your eyes water, your nose run, and your life generally miserable. Speaking of weeds, leaving off mowing can help the spread of invasive weeds species in the US. These are non-native, hostile invaders from other parts of the world that can easily overrun native plant species. A number of these can be quite toxic to people and pets. See the list of noxious weeds from the USDA for more info, or you can check this list of noxious weeds. And let’s not stop at plant life. A lot of folks want to provide a habitat for wildlife. Admirable, but there are certain critters you just don’t want near your home. Fleas and ticks thrive in unkempt lawns. Disease-carrying mosquitoes and other biting flies tend to frequent long grass and weeds as well. All this being said, you don’t have to have a perfectly manicured, spotless, weedless suburban lawn. Mowing your lawn infrequently isn’t necessarily a bad thing, so long as it gets mowed now and then. Depending on how quickly your grass grows, as little as three or four times a year is sufficient. Not all of the weeds growing in your lawn are invasive or toxic. Some are beneficial, even edible. Some provide food for bees, birds, and butterflies. You can set aside a part of your yard every year for wildlife habitat, or start a butterfly garden. You can plant plants that repel pests and attract beneficial species. We must all do our part to ensure a clean, safe environment for people and animals.
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Author**Opinions expressed on blogs about which I write are the opinion of the blog authors and DO NOT necessarily reflect my own opinion. |