Just finished mowing my jungle of a back yard.

[Aristus]

Took me an hour and a half. It hadn't been mowed in (I'm not kidding) a couple of years. A fuck-ton of work to get it cleared away.

And there's still more to do over the next couple of weekends.

But I hosed down the back yard and the front afterward.

If the pyromaniacs want to burn down the neighborhood this Fourth of July, they won't get this house...

[3catwoman3]

1. The whole idea of grass seems so ridiculous.

We water and fertilize it so it will grow, so we can cut it down, and then do it all over - again and again.

[Aristus]

2. That's why it's been two years.

The stuff in my yard isn't really grass. It's underbrush, and it's long and dry enough to be a fire hazard with all the fireworks going off tonight. So I cleared it all away. There are a ton of weeds left, and I have no plans to try to re-grow a once lush, green lawn. Whatever the stuff is that's coming out of the ground, I'm just going to keep it short and neat. No watering, no fertilizer, etc.

[zuul]

6. It really is stupid.

Not to mention the fact that manicured lawns offer no habitat for bugs and bunnies and other critters.

When I bought my house, I removed every single blade of grass and replaced it all with ground over and shrubs. I love not having to mow the damn grass.

[Ocelot II]

10. I did the same thing. No grass at all.

I've planted mostly natives, which attract pollinators, need little care, and tend to be drought-resistant. It's been unseasonably hot and dry here, and lawns have turned brown because turf grasses have very shallow roots so they can't get water from the soil below a couple of inches. If it doesn't get rain after about a week it dies. Most native plants, especially prairie species, have very long roots, sometimes as long as 10', so they can access water far below the surface. I do water every few days, but even if I didn't most of my plants would survive.

[SharonClark]

8. I love the feel of grass under my feet.

I lightly fertilize in the fall and I don't water the lawn.
Except for mowing every 5-days to 2-weeks, depending on time of year, it's low maintenance.

[George McGovern]

3. At least after I've mowed the lawn I can see the dog poops better . . .

[ColinC]

4. I relate to this comment far too well

[Harker]

5. Spattered on the house? n/t

[GemDigger]

7. We just did the same thing and attached hoses to all possible faucets after soaking the lawn.

Last year my damn idiot neighbors almost burned down the carport by picking up all the paper after the fireworks, put it in a trash bag, dumped the hot coals from their bbq on top of the paper stuff, leaned it against the carport wall and went to bed. For some reason my dog wanted to go pee at 5:30 so I took him out and realized the smoke I smelled was too close for comfort. Just as I came back around with the first pail of water, it went from smoke to flame.

Nope staying home, hooking up all the hoses and not going to bed until all people in my building are asleep and I have scoured the area for hot things.

[In_The_Wind]

9. Wow! I'm impressed.

[Aristus]

11. Me too.

I can't believe the chore I've been dreading for months is actually done. I've found myself going to the back window every once in a while and just looking out at the lawn, absurdly pleased to not see a tangled jungle at long last...

[In_The_Wind]

12. Wait until you see bunnies scampering through ...

looking confused

[Trailrider1951]

13. You should have gone with this brush clearing alternative:

www.rentaruminant.com

More expensive perhaps, but they are eco-friendly and drop organic fertilizer as they clear the vegetation.