Posted on Sep 3, 2023
More Kansas City homes are embracing native lawns, but local laws still hold gardeners back
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Posted 8 mo ago
Responses: 3
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Abundant wildflowers, tree-lined creeks and tall shrubs and deep-rooted grass that evolved for survival in the Midwest defined the landscape of Kansas and Missouri.
They formed self-sustaining systems that nurtured a rich variety of insects, frogs, buffalo and small mammals.
Then, we planted turf.
Europeans imported the idea of lush, single-species lawns as a status symbol. The aesthetic stuck.
That crowded out the local plants as development stripped away and sold the topsoil and ate up ground with high-maintenance, shallow-rooted bluegrass and fescue.
Today, grass is the most common crop in the United States, covering a total area about the size of Georgia. And Kansas City environmentalists argue that the proliferation of traditional grass lawns over the past century-plus brought a multitude of problems — among them, flooding, river contamination and pests.
But the local ordinances and the rules of homeowners’ associations across the Kansas City area practically insist on Euro-style turf."...
..."Abundant wildflowers, tree-lined creeks and tall shrubs and deep-rooted grass that evolved for survival in the Midwest defined the landscape of Kansas and Missouri.
They formed self-sustaining systems that nurtured a rich variety of insects, frogs, buffalo and small mammals.
Then, we planted turf.
Europeans imported the idea of lush, single-species lawns as a status symbol. The aesthetic stuck.
That crowded out the local plants as development stripped away and sold the topsoil and ate up ground with high-maintenance, shallow-rooted bluegrass and fescue.
Today, grass is the most common crop in the United States, covering a total area about the size of Georgia. And Kansas City environmentalists argue that the proliferation of traditional grass lawns over the past century-plus brought a multitude of problems — among them, flooding, river contamination and pests.
But the local ordinances and the rules of homeowners’ associations across the Kansas City area practically insist on Euro-style turf."...
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