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When Erica Tharp and her husband bought their home in Framingham four years ago, the lawn needed some work. Tharp looked at the scraggly grass with its dying tree, and decided she wanted something that was less work and more eco-friendly.
"That was the goal — minimal maintenance and as least harm as possible," she said.
So Tharp, a yoga teacher, decided to rip out her front lawn and replace it with drought-resistant grass and native wildflowers. Now there’s waist-high goldenrod, orange butterfly weed and black-eyed Susans.
It's not all free and easy; Tharp is fighting back some overly ambitious clover, and even the native plants are suffering from the summer drought. But it's a lot less work than a traditional lawn, she says: No weekly mowing, no fertilizer, and lots of happy bees.
"That was the goal — minimal maintenance and as least harm as possible," she said.
So Tharp, a yoga teacher, decided to rip out her front lawn and replace it with drought-resistant grass and native wildflowers. Now there’s waist-high goldenrod, orange butterfly weed and black-eyed Susans.
It's not all free and easy; Tharp is fighting back some overly ambitious clover, and even the native plants are suffering from the summer drought. But it's a lot less work than a traditional lawn, she says: No weekly mowing, no fertilizer, and lots of happy bees.
Want to help the planet? Rethink your lawn
Posted from wbur.orgPosted in these groups: 
Environment
Framingham
Environment Framingham
Posted 8 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."'How do we make things less bad?'
There is, of course, a place for lawns — it's hard to have a family cookout or slip-n-slide without them. Lawns also suck up rainwater and store some carbon (though far less than deeper-rooted plants). And having a green lawn in New England is less disruptive than having one in the desert Southwest.
But most of the lawn around here is non-native turf, so it needs a lot of water, fertilizer and pesticides to stay green. And it doesn’t offer much food or habitat to native animals, especially when cut very short.
So scientists who study how people manage their lawns — yes, there are such people, many associated with the federally funded Yard Futures Project — are looking for ways to encourage alternative lawns, or at least alternative lawn care."
..."'How do we make things less bad?'
There is, of course, a place for lawns — it's hard to have a family cookout or slip-n-slide without them. Lawns also suck up rainwater and store some carbon (though far less than deeper-rooted plants). And having a green lawn in New England is less disruptive than having one in the desert Southwest.
But most of the lawn around here is non-native turf, so it needs a lot of water, fertilizer and pesticides to stay green. And it doesn’t offer much food or habitat to native animals, especially when cut very short.
So scientists who study how people manage their lawns — yes, there are such people, many associated with the federally funded Yard Futures Project — are looking for ways to encourage alternative lawns, or at least alternative lawn care."
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