Recent Articles from BRMC Newsletters

To Mow or Not to Mow

I am not a big fan of lawn mowing. In fact, the area of "lawn" (actually mostly clover now) in my backyard has been steadily shrinking since I moved in not quite two years ago. I recently added a small pond with the help of my father. He suggested putting it against the fence, back in a corner, so that it would not take up any lawn. I eventually convinced him that taking up lawn is actually a good thing. For my fellow mowing-averse, here are some better arguments not to mow than the not-so-effective "because it's a pain in the rear."

Most lawns do not use native grasses, which are adapted to our soils, rainfall amounts, and potential insect pests. In the quest for a "perfect" lawn, people generally use pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer, and lots of water, to say nothing of all the gas burned in mowing. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, using a gas-powered lawnmower for just one hour produces the same amount of pollution as driving a car 350 miles. And you get to walk behind it and breathe the fumes all the while. I have a nonmotorized mechanical push mower that zips through my lawn in no time and an electric weed-whacker for my edging. There are also electric lawnmowers that work very well (just make sure not to run over the cord).

Most people will keep kids and pets off a lawn that has recently had chemicals applied to ensure that they suffer no harmful effects. But wildlife can also suffer these effects. For example, robins searching for worms in your yard may be ingesting these chemicals. You may be killing off "good" insects like honeybees and butterflies. When it rains these chemicals wash into storm drains, which eventually empty into streams, causing problems for animals like dragonflies, frogs, and fish. If you have a stream or another body of water on your property, it is especially important to leave the banks unmowed for this reason. A riparian buffer-that is, natural vegetation along the shore-goes a long way in keeping runoff from entering the water and helps prevent erosion.

If you don't already have water, a pond or water garden is a good way to use up some lawn. Besides being beautiful to look at and relaxing, water is important to wildlife-it may attract frogs, dragonflies, and birds and give you a chance to get a close-up look. Another way to eliminate some lawn is a patio. There are many ways to do this without creating another impermeable surface that will cause runoff when it rains. Consider using flat stone with a low groundcover planted in between. Even brick, when laid with sand rather than cement, will allow water to be absorbed into the ground. Speaking of low groundcovers, there are several that withstand being walked on and can substitute for lawn. These only grow to a certain height so they require no mowing. Some good ones are mondo grass (Othiopogon japonicus), which gives a grass-like look without needing mowing, and creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum), which smells great when walked on.

Leaving unmowed areas in your yard is the quickest and easiest way to start a wildflower garden. Like hedgerows, unmowed areas provide cover for wildlife as well as food for birds, mammals, and insects. A wide-open expanse of lawn will have few animals because of a lack of cover and because there is no food available. If you prefer a more formal garden, use up some lawn space by adding perennial beds. Planting native flowers, grasses, and ferns means less work for you. Plant some native trees and add a generous circle of mulch underneath to hold moisture in the ground (and use up lawn). Native plants will be more able to handle local pests and diseases and do not require watering in many cases. The H.A. Allard Native Wildflower Garden, here at the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy's Mountain House, was not watered at all during last year's drought. Stop by and see it sometime-it is as healthy as ever.

There are more native plants commercially available now than ever before. They can range from tiny, delicate, spring ephemeral wildflowers to the impressive, six-foot green-headed coneflowers we have in the Allard Garden. Just be sure to make your purchase from a reputable nursery that sells only nursery-propagated plants (rather than ones collected from the wild). The Virginia Native Plant Society has a list of local sources of native plants and other useful information. Their Web site is www.vnps.org. The Piedmont Chapter can be reached at (540) 631-0212 and the Prince William Wildflower Society Chapter at (703) 368-2898. Once you have implemented some of the suggestions above, you can have your property certified as a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For more information on this program and to get an application, visit their Web site, www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat, or call them at (716) 461-3092.