[NatureNS] Lawn flowers/weeds

Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 21:37:48 -0300
From: Joan Czapalay <joancz@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
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Wonderful, Marian.  Lawns do not seem very supportive of biodiversity, 
do they? I wonder when large lawns became a status symbol?
 I notice several people here in the city have converted their lawns to 
plantings of native shrubs and plants. There is also a move towards 
growing kitchen gardens instead of Kentucky Blue Grass. Interesting 
switch. Cheers, Joan

Marian Fulton & Art Harding wrote:
> I once had a neighbour come by and ask why the cinch bugs had not attacked
> my lawn.  I told him because I had more weeds than grass and they did not
> like it!  I love my weedy lawn; it does not require watering or much work
> except for occasional mowing and in my opinion looks just as good as the all
> grass lawns that require so much work and noxious chemicals.
>
> Marian Fulton
> Hantsport NS 
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca]
> On Behalf Of iamclar@dal.ca
> Sent: 16 June 2007 20:28
> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> Subject: [NatureNS] Lawn flowers/weeds
>
> All:
>
> At present, our regularly mowed, but rather unkempt front lawn boasts
> (probably
> the neighbours think, suffers from) a range of modest flowers that have
> colonized from other parts -- excluding three of our own or nearby garden
> escapes. We?ve never used pesticides thereon, or really tried to nourish it
> as it should be.  These are in unsystematic order, probably not with the
> latest
> nomenclature: Common Dandelion, Taraxacum officianalis (the only one we
> regularly dig up -- fewer than on some neighbouring lawns); Mouse-ear
> Chickweed, Cerastium vulgatum; Creeping Cinquefoil, Potentilla reptans;
> Field
> Speedwell, Veronica arvense; Corn Speedwell, V. Offiicianalis; Creeping
> Buttercup, Rannunculus repans;  White Clover, Trifolium repens; Field Mint,
> Mentha arvense; Ox-eye Daisy, Crysanthemum vulgare; Mouse-ear Hawkweed,
> Hieracium pilosella.
>
> None of these is at all exciting -- they?re everywhere in the province --
> all
> of them are European or Eurasian ?weeds? and some are warned against.  We
> once had some (native?) Bluet, Houstonia caerulea, but it?s gone --
> out-competed?  We like the "weeds" and there will be more to come. We
> usually
> let patches of them get some growth and flower before mowing them, except
> the
> Ox-eyes, which we confine to edges. Note that three of them are creepers
> (repens, reptans), and their foliage avoids the lawnmower -- (un)natural
> selection in action.
>
> Altogether, more fun than a uniform, well manicured turf.
>
> Cheers, Ian McLaren
>
>
>   

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