A tweet describing one person's struggle to maintain a biodiverse lawn in the face of city regulations elicited ire on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
User Ted (@shrugdealer) tweeted, "HUGE F*** YOU TO THE MISERABLE A******* WHO COMPLAINED TO THE CITY ABOUT MY BIODIVERSE FRONT YARD. Got a 'Notice to Clean' about 'weed abatement' so I guess my meadow has to go to satisfy some spiteful NIMBY. I'm fuming, guys." She followed with hashtags including "#F***YourLawn."
The comments were full of people with similar stories and sentiments.
"This s*** makes me so mad. Lawns are an absolute waste of time, money, and water. RIP your natural, beautiful glade," one user commented.
"I read an article recently where a woman in Georgia had to go to court twice to argue that her biodiverse garden wasn't too tall and it was the most frustrating thing to read. I'm sorry people suck so bad," another one wrote.
While green-grass lawns have long been the default choice for yards in the United States, more and more people have begun to advocate for alternative landscaping methods, such as utilizing native plants, wildflowers, or irrigation-free xeriscaping.
These approaches offer numerous benefits for humans and animals alike. They are generally more affordable to maintain, due in part to low (or nonexistent) water bills for their upkeep. They create a healthy ecosystem for local pollinators, who in turn are critical actors in the human food supply chain.
Non-grass yards can even be used to feed their caretakers directly, such as in the example of this homeowner who grew a "mini food-forest" featuring basil, zucchini, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and more.
From planting ground cover such as clover or buffalo grass to xeriscaping or fully rewilding yards with native plants, choosing to ditch grass may be one of the best ways to do good for the environment in your community — that is, as long as nobody reports you for it.
One X user replied to Ted's tweet, saying, "When one of my best friends moved into her current house, years ago, she carefully xeriscaped with drought-resistant native plants and shrubs, in lovely colours. Until a neighbour complained & the HOA forced her to rip it all out and put in a bluegrass lawn. In the US southwest."
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