Man vs. Nature

I inherited a few new responsibilities around my house a couple of years ago. Figuring out how more of my home operated became a superpower I didn’t know I needed. Growing up in the burbs, I watched my mom wrangle the landscaping space by herself. In fact, it took her a long time to let landscapers take over the helm. It helped to have such a good example. In that vein, my youngest and I took over our lawn. We hadn’t fully committed to it at first. I had forgotten all that was entailed to maintain a green, plush yard.

Truth be told, I never knew.

So, naturally, it suffered. Between everyone walking across it through an opening in my bushes and lack of the proper care, it was sparse in areas and crab grassed. Even when we became more diligent about cutting it, no luck. I’d finally given in and hired landscapers and ironically not much better. Then, the gardeners broke my fence and compelled me to take it over again.

Now, I felt determined to revive it being that the landscapers still cut some of my neighbor’s lawns and would see its lack of progress. So, I talked to other homeowners I knew and people who had farming experience. I also did my own research online and discussed lawncare with my mom. After watering it more often and fertilizing and de-weeding the grass, we had a touchdown. For the greater part of the summer, my lawn grew thick and gloriously. I was so proud. In hindsight, I should have snapped more before and after images.

With Fall upon us, I watered it less. It remained thick but the color changed to an autumn brown to match the turning leaves on the trees. I grew worried that I killed the lawn yet again, but upon reading I learned how the grass can go dormant with no water. This was the same color as the grass on other (but not all) neighbor’s yards and anywhere else like the highway where there were no inground sprinklers. Our region is similarly experiencing a drought, so needless water use isn’t encouraged.

I kinda liked the color. In the end of the day, it comes down to preference. Some do choose to have greener lawns even now at the end of October. So long as I wasn’t harming all of the progress we’d made, I decided to leave it be. Allow Nature to take its course. This was after I’d purchased an $80 bag of seed, but it was okay. I could still spread it when it was time. Over the summer, I’d had quite the green thumb and was not concerned about reanimating the yard when the time came. For now, I am enjoying one of my favorite times of year.

Am I the only weirdo? Comment below if you prefer green or brown grass in the Fall! -Dr. T