Home » Plants & Animals » Cottage Garden » Al Gore's Gone Native -- And On His Very Own Lawn, No Less!

Al Gore's Gone Native -- And On His Very Own Lawn, No Less!

© Barbara M. Martin

Note From Your Editor: When I wrote this article way back in April, I had no idea it would become the source of such controversy. If you have discovered it by way of SLATE, Welcome! If you would like to see my thoughtful response to the controversy entitled POLITICS IN THE GARDEN: LIBERALS UNITE! please link to it and all the rest of my weekly articles here. ENJOY! Barbara Martin 9/97)

Have you heard??? Al Gore's "Gone Native!" Well, in terms of his yard, any way. Al Gore's place (or actually, just a corner of it) recently got a makeover. Do you think this is a viable model for the All-American Yard?

I'm not sure that our lifestyles and sense of aesthetics and decorum would allow us to get rid of ALL of our lawn areas. After all, even Al Gore only redid a corner! (And I do like to walk barefoot on the grass as much as the next person!) But would you maybe consider getting rid of half of it? In this case, Cut Your Lawn In Half doesn't mean mowing height!

So what ARE you supposed to do with the remaining half that IS lawn? To be realistic, I think we do still expect our grass lawns to look presentable and are willing to put some effort into keeping them looking good. To that end, I would urge you to care for your lawn according to the best practices recommended for your local area. This would include good soil preparation, selecting appropriate grass varieties and following a regular maintenance program designed to minimize the chemical inputs. This will also save you time and money and who ever has enough of those anyway! If you didn't find the information you need under my links from last week, you might try some of the links listed at the end of this article.

I suspect most of us really only need a nice grassy space to play on or spread out the picnic blanket or maybe even just like the way an open uncluttered monochromatic area sets off the surrounding parts of our gardens or homes. As long as you mow it often, a low maintenance lawn will provide that.Here's another look at the concept of Be a Grower not a Mower -- rethinking the great American lawn and suggestions on what you can do instead.

The copyright of the article Al Gore's Gone Native -- And On His Very Own Lawn, No Less! in Cottage Garden is owned by . Permission to republish Al Gore's Gone Native -- And On His Very Own Lawn, No Less! in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.