In February, we talked about the All Lawn typology, a component of WSU’s “Greening Urban and Residential Spaces: Enhancing Performance Objectives through Landscaping in a Changing World”, published in 2024. We covered the strengths and weaknesses of that typology in WSU’s effort to provide services to us, our communities and our environment. We learned that having your entire yard in lawn can provide people and pets with a spacious and safe place to recreate, has a cooling effect for your home, and does an ok job cleaning water as it promotes some infiltration. It provides some wildlife habitat, but not a very diverse one. If only there was a typology that performed better for the environment while still providing people with the recreational space and comfort they need…
What’s that?! This typology does exist?! It’s called the Lawn & Garden typology and it really is the best of both worlds. You’ve likely seen it before as you drive through cities and towns across the country, or even in your own backyard! Those trees, shrubs and flowers do much more than offer visual appeal to our urban and rural communities. Let’s dig a little deeper and learn more about the benefits of incorporating these other plants into our lawns.
The first and most obvious reason to incorporate a garden into your lawn is the beauty it offers. Different shapes and colors of leaves, berries and flowers from each plant and the variation they offer throughout the seasons can be stunning. And having easy access to this beautiful scenery provides enormous benefits for our moods and mental health. Waking up in the morning and looking out your window at a cheery and colorful garden can help you start your day off on the right foot.
What about garden maintenance? Isn’t that a lot of work? It can be, but most people love it! Maintaining your garden is a very rewarding experience as you literally get to visualize and interact with the fruits of your labor. Plus, it’s another opportunity to get outside and enjoy the day. Not only do you get to see thriving plants, you also have the opportunity to study insects, birds and other animals that frequent your garden for shelter and food. This brings us to the environmental benefits of our Lawn & Garden typology.
In the hit baseball movie, Field of Dreams, the saying “If you build it, they will come” also applies to gardens, especially if they include pollinator friendly plants. You will be amazed at what shows up at your all you can eat garden buffet, especially if you selected several different types of plants! Native plants are a great way to help the wildlife that reside in your neighborhood, so consider them. This diverse habitat will provide your yard with crucial habitat in the form of food, shelter, and even water through dew and transpiration. But the benefits don’t stop there!
Trees, shrubs and flowers supercharge your yard's ability to improve air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen and also knocking down dust and other particulates. Not to mention, their root systems grow much deeper than turfgrass. This allows your garden to greatly improve water infiltration and water quality for your community. Considering all of these upsides, can there be any cons to planting a garden? Let’s take a look.
Incorporating a garden into your lawn is mostly a very positive thing. But, there are some side effects you need to consider. First, if a garden is working like it should, it will likely attract bees and other animals. That’s a good thing! We just want to make sure we place the garden in a spot that is unlikely to be disturbed much, by a flying soccer ball, say. This ensures the kids can play and the bees can eat in peace! Gardens also take up some space, so you need to balance that space and the space available for your family to recreate. Speaking of recreating, there is another typology that gets the reputation of being great for that, but is it? We’ll talk about synthetic turf, or artificial turf, next time!
Check out our Lawn Care Playbook to learn how you can prepare your best lawn this spring!
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