[NatureNS] Lawn flowers/weeds

From: "David&Jane Schlosberg" <dschlosb-g@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2007 14:40:02 -0300
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And don't forget, the whole suburban cottage idea came out of the Arts and
Crafts movement of the early 20th century, begun in England.  This concept,
as I understand it, had to do with the rise of the middle class as a result
of the industrial revolution.  People felt that "a man's home is his
castle."  Everyone should have this little heavenly haven to come home to
after work.  Probably, the wealthy, educated men who conceived of and
promoted this idea had gardeners.
Cheers.
Jane

-----Original Message-----
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca
[mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca]On Behalf Of Wild Flora
Sent: Sunday, June 17, 2007 8:03 AM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: RE: [NatureNS] Lawn flowers/weeds



Joan asked, "I wonder when large lawns became a status symbol?

I have a fascinating book on that topic: "The Lawn: A History of an American
Obsession" by Virginia Scott Jenkins, published by the Smithsonian
Institution Press in 1994. Jenkins says that the lawn as we know it now is a
product of the American suburbs of the 1950s. However, the idea of lawn got
its start at the end of the 18th century, when a few upper class Americans
tried to imitate the landscaping style of English and French country
estates. (As it happens, this landscaping style is spectacularly unsuitable
to growing conditions in most of North America, but apparently the
attraction of lawn-as-status-symbol was already far stronger than the
counter-argument of lawn-as-pain-in-the-neck.)

Within 100 years, the popularity of lawn had trickled down to the American
upper middle class. However, by this time the style already looked almost
nothing like the aristocratic European landscapes that originally inspired
it. European visitors to North America in the 19th century regarded the
American front lawn as "strange," according to Jenkins.

In the 20th century, the lawn was adopted by the middle middle class, which
took it along as the suburbs were developed, making lawn the conventional
style of landscaping for conventional suburban housing throughout North
America. The popularity of lawns was encouraged by the growing popularity of
golf, which helped to funnel money into development of tools, chemicals, and
special seed mixes required to maintain lawns (especially in environments to
which they're not suited). A third influence was increasing affluence and
the 40-hour work week--because of these, the North American middle class now
had the time and money necessary to maintain those lawns. Today lawn care is
a multi-billion dollar industry that benefits from the widespread, yet
questionable, notion that a well-maintained lawn is a status symbol.

Wild Flora


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