My Public Shame
Usually, I get notified by email when someone comments on the blog, but that has been spotty lately so I have been, like, "Oh, no Internet love for me. Boo hoo hoo." And then I went back and read some old entries and HEY! COMMENTS! HI THERE, INTERNET!
I want to clarify something about the dandelion post. I did not get all self-motivated and decide to eradicate these dandelions all by myself. Oh no, no, no.
Do you see the perfect lawns in this picture? The ones with no weeds? No, not the scrappy lawn at the bottom left. That's still my lawn. Look beyond that.
My neighbors have NO WEEDS.
I think it is eerie and they look like Stepford lawns, but, hey. What do I know?
So, I have a confession. When Saple (Hi Saple!) made this comment on the dandelion post:
I used to love them too now they are the bane of my lawn.. and it doesn't help that my backyard neighbor has a bumper crop every year... It drives me nuts.
...I cringed in recognition because, Saple? I am that neighbor. It only took TWO of my neighbors coming over to demonstrate their brand Weed Hounds
Shame is the world's best motivator. Ask my mother. If the Puritans lived in my neighborhood, they would have slapped a Scarlet Dandelion on my chest a LONG time ago.
Since I'm responding to comments from that post already, let me just continue that here to save time.
fhdogs: Would you like to come to my home and help get rid of a few (hundred no maybe thousand) dandelions? I don't know how I'm ever going to make a dent in ours. Although I did mow our grass for the first time today and that made many disappear. Unfortunately that doesn't help the actually problem. Just makes it look better.
I feel the same way about dirty laundry when I stuff it in the bottom of my closet. It doesn't make the problem go away, but the room looks so much nicer!
Lisa in Oak Park: I'm an unapologetic ChemLawn subscriber.
Next time I visit, Lisa, remind me not to lick your lawn this time. You could have told me sooner!
Trudy: I love dandelions. The bees love them too, so they're good for my vegetable garden. My lawn is full of purple and white violets too, also clover, which fixes nitrogen...Saw some orange butterflies at the violets the other day.
The clover and violets get to stay. They're more low profile so I've gotten away with that so far. Plus, pretty! And, yeah, um, the nitrogen thing. That's important, right?
Emily: Looks like my front yard! That's why we took out all the 'grass' and turned the whole (15x15) front yard into a big planting bed complete with mulch. It looked much nicer before the water main broke and it had a 5 foot deep trench dug in it!
This is what I REALLY want to do someday. Because a 10 x 10 patch of lawn is really not a lawn, right? I have area rugs that are larger than my "lawn".
Eric: This post was so relatable,it's a daily grind for me since I let them run wild last year. Think of it as aerating the lawn, those holes will make the grass grow better, I am sure.
Eric, this is brilliant. I'm going to start telling the neighbors that I didn't RUIN the lawn. I'm aerating the lawn.
Wanderluster: I can so sympathize. How is it I can grow hundreds of these things, yet I kill every houseplant I've ever owned?
Wanderluster, we obviously share some DNA. Perhaps we are related?
**Okay, one more response on here to this earlier entry about the squirrel or raccoon or the fanged mountain lion driving a tractor that destroyed my pansies.
I've been told blood meal helps. Problem is you have to keep putting it on as the rain washes it away. Posted by: Mari | May 13, 2008 11:37 AM
How about just blood? Like, the BLOOD OF A THOUSAND DEAD SQUIRRELS??? WHAT A FABULOUS IDEA!
Wait, was that not appropriate? Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you, Mari. Please come back.
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Comments
My next door neighbors have a perfect lawn with no weeds. They have it sprayed and cut by a professional. It looks lovely. However, I have kids that dance and run and climb and roll all over my yard. When we had a smaller yard I pulled out dandelions right and left. I mostly eradicated the dandelions and wild onions from my yard by hand. Now I have a bigger yard, more children, I still don't like the dandelions, but I've had to make my peace with them. My daughters blow the seeds all over the place and they multiple faster than I can dig. I'm not going to put down poison, so being that "weedy" neighbor is going to have to do.
Posted by: Jordana | May 15, 2008 11:12 AM
I did use the aerating comment on my neighbor the day before I made my post when he came rushing out to see my latest "green" attempt to eradicate the dandelions. He commented that the weed hound was the best non chemical option, in his opinion; and even thought he may borrow it. I do notice my yard actually has birds, butterflies, rabbits, etc (this is in Minneapolis) and his, while dandelion free with no manual labor, he's a chemical sprayer, is eerie in its apocalyptic void of life...
Posted by: eric | May 15, 2008 11:25 AM
I pulled up some of the large one yesterday but with the vacant (and by vacant I mean the owner doesn't do sh**) lot next door I can only keep up with so much. Since the plan is to eradicate the lawn in favor of groundcover and such - I'm not concerned with the condition of the grass. Join the lawn free revolution!
Posted by: Ryan | May 15, 2008 2:24 PM
I just mowed again today. (Second time this week!)
Again the lawn looks beautiful and dandelion free. I think that's about all that got cut.
Rain in the forecast for the next week so I figured I'd get at it while I could.
Posted by: fhdogs | May 15, 2008 5:27 PM
OH MY... I was not trying to call you out.. Don't get me wrong there are dandelions in my yard and every I pull them out. I have other weeds too, and every year I pull them out... but my neighbor does not have a lawn with dandelions.. He has dandelions with a few blades of grass stuck in between, literally it is a sea of yellow.. I am taking a picture for you to show you...
It doesn't help that I am allergic to them too..
My children will dance and roll in the grass as I do, hide among the tall grass when I don't mow in time or two weeks past time, and they will pick me handfuls of dandelions and I will graciously accept them while trying not to breathe..
Okay this turned into a rant.. and I did not mean it to...
Pulling a weed is so much better than shooting them with chemicals...
Posted by: Saple | May 15, 2008 11:07 PM
Oh Saple! I didn't think you called me out at all! I thought it was funny. I fully accept my public shaming from my neighbors :) They are sweet and it's all in good fun.
Posted by: jm | May 16, 2008 6:02 AM
I'm in the same boat you are - I have the one icky lawn on the block....my immediate neighbors used to have nasty lawns, but one hired a professional and one is just an anal lawn guy (new owner).
Sigh...so I stick out. However, our sprinkler system is fixed and I'm going to treat some "issues"....maybe I won't be that neighbor next year?
Posted by: Mary-Frances Main | May 16, 2008 8:35 AM
I'd rather spend my time and my resources with my kids than with my lawn!
Posted by: Carol | May 16, 2008 8:36 PM
Please don't obsess over having the perfect lawn! Time will show that all the chemicals used to maintain that green perfections have long term repercussions for kids and pets who play on it. We have as little lawn as possible, but it does serve a useful purpose. Hand weeding helps, but try corn gluten. It's becoming more available at garden stores and of course online (gardensalive.com is one good source). It's the protein from corn, a corn byproduct, and is totally safe. It inhibits seed germination, so it doesn't kill weeds, it keeps their seeds from germinating. You apply it in spring and fall, it is a nitrogen source so a fertilizer as well. It isn't a miracle cause it doesn't kill existing weeds, but it helps them from spreading. So it helps a lot, and combined with hand weeding makes weed control manageable. And lets you have a happy, healthy yard. Good luck!
Posted by: Susan | May 17, 2008 9:59 AM
He he, we're the 'hippie' neighbors in suburbia who mow their decent sized lawn with a reel mower. Our friends/neighbors brought up the 'weed seed factory' point of having weeds, but honestly, we were the only ones with a green lawn last august... due to all the crabgrass. ;-)
oh, and i so feel your pain with the squirrels!!!! i haven't had any do quite that number on my plants, but jeez, i want to strangle their furry little necks sometimes! try rock mulch... i used that on one of my plants where i've been having real problems with them, and turns out the furry buggers don't like moving a layer of 1" rocks to dig. or at least they haven't decided to move them YET.
Posted by: Bethany | May 18, 2008 8:06 PM
thanks for the great information…
Posted by: dthcnine | July 18, 2008 12:34 AM