|
Post by lilolpeapicker on Apr 19, 2015 15:05:54 GMT -5
For years I've wondered what the attraction of a perfect lawn is and I still have no clues. For some I guess it is the aesthetic look(to them). it seems to bring them peace.
|
|
|
Post by Latitude33 on Apr 21, 2015 21:26:37 GMT -5
Update #4, sister put in an application with Turf Terminators via Facebook (I don't do social media) under my name just to see if that would create some movement. Health Coach suggests to let it go....
|
|
|
Post by octave on Apr 21, 2015 22:18:56 GMT -5
We tried Cherimoya when we were in Puerto Rico last May and although the taste was delicious I had a hard time getting past the texture. It reminded me of a cross between slime and yogurt. Yuk.That's possibly my favorite texture in foods. Some mushrooms have a similar texture, as well as okra. Yum!
|
|
|
Post by desertwoman on Apr 21, 2015 22:48:48 GMT -5
I'm with Brown. Cerimoya, 'shrooms, okra...can't do it.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Apr 22, 2015 8:04:56 GMT -5
For years I've wondered what the attraction of a perfect lawn is and I still have no clues. I think that part of it is a completion with the neighbors to have the "best" and most weed free lawn. At the neighborhood Christmas party this past year the neighbors were discussing lawn service companies and they spend thousands of dollars on lawn care! I just sat there and kept quiet because hubby warned me that I was not to lecture anybody at the party. Then when one person asked who we used I said no one, we garden organically and have honeybees so if it's green - we mow it. They just moved right on to discussing which companies had the best prices. Lat - it sounds like that company is overwhelmed with work and will get to you eventually. I am curious about these rebates. If it would not be too rude to ask, I am wondering if it is a substantial sum of money? It almost must be for a company to make an income working to get them.
|
|
|
Post by octave on Apr 22, 2015 8:30:07 GMT -5
In my area people take dandelions very personally. It is as if their presence is a personal affront, an offense to the integrity of their lawns. Most lawn companies are hired primarily to stop dandelion proliferation, then of course they tack fertilization, aeration and whatever else to their service package.
I honestly do not know nor understand why dandelion has gotten such a bad reputation in the first place.
|
|
|
Post by Latitude33 on Apr 22, 2015 22:45:29 GMT -5
Have to agree with octave on this one, and would add soursop (same genus as cherimoya) and "ice cream bean", aka Inga edulis, to my list. Definitely a different texture than most contemporary and traditional foods but the experience is part of the joy for me. Maybe its a tropical/temperate thing?
Rexx, the water reduction rebates can vary from region to city. Water politics is very convoluted here. Locally, my water agency is offering up to $800 ($1/sq ft) for drought tolerant replacement plantings. The water wholesalers also have additional rebates that factor in. There is so much emphasis on urban water reduction here despite the fact that Big Ag consumes 80% of the water resources. Every savings helps to be sure, but the CA Farm Bureau continues to defend high irrigation crops such as rice and almonds even in these tight times.
|
|
|
Post by desertwoman on Apr 23, 2015 0:44:24 GMT -5
Lat, that reminds me of a different but similar water restrictions we have here. In residential neighborhoods- the rule is no watering between 10AM and 6PM, and no water is to spray out of garden areas (i.e sidewalks, driveways etc.) Yet drive down the city streets any given day and the city, county, and state properties (government buildings, and parks) will be watering lawns (!) in the middle of the afternoons and watering the sidewalks, besides! Some of the very agencies who set the rules, break them. Go figure.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Apr 23, 2015 7:58:27 GMT -5
Thanks Lat, I was curious. $800 sounds like a lot of money but does not sound like a lot to re-landscape a whole front yard but maybe if they do a lot of them it makes it worthwhile.
My brother had is tiny front yard ripped up and replaced with sod and some new shrubs planted in the front of his house and I think that it was over $2000 a couple of years ago.
I hope they get it done for you and you take some pics. I would be interested to see yards in an area like yours that is in such a serious drought situation.
We have so much rain in my area that people have to mow about every 5 days in the Spring. Later in the season it will be every 7 - 10 days but we do spend a lot of time mowing and pulling weeds.
I NEVER have watered my lawn either. If it gets really hot and dry the grass will turn brown but it becomes dormant and will revive when it rains. However the lawn nuts water theirs so that it remains green unless we have water restrictions.
|
|
|
Post by OregonRed on Apr 23, 2015 9:53:22 GMT -5
Lat33, I wonder also, if you may be getting skipped over because your lot is smaller AKA more sq ft pays more, we want the big jobs, not the little ones. my friend the wood floor man was like that, no I'm not bidding on doing your bathroom... now if you want your whole 2000 sq ft houses, that's different.
|
|
|
Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Apr 23, 2015 10:13:30 GMT -5
Pea and Brown, I think you're right about the aesthetic value of a nice lawn; I even admire mine after it's just mowed (but I don't do anything to it except mow it and rake the leaves). I most certainly don't preen it or add poisons to it like other residents do.
I suppose it's also something of which someone can be proud without displaying personal achievements (or lack thereof). Reminds me of the annual Woodward Cruise in which car lovers come for miles and from different states to watch the several mile long parade of old cars, some dating back to the old Model T eras. No doubt some are magnificent, and I'm sure the owners get a lot of admiration for their loving care in keeping these old beauties running. And it's very visible - something others can see.
I think lawns and cars establish some kind of bonding rituals for their admirers.
Octave, I also don't understand the vehemence of opposition to dandelions, unless it's just the fact that they can be prolific, are quite visible, and violate someone's established order of what's allowed to grow and what's not. Reminds me of winter after a heavy snow or blizzard. To me, it's absolutely beautiful, and so peaceful. Often the snow glitters as if there were diamonds or rhinestones embedded and sparkling - another example of the pure beauty of snow, and that even if we have to struggle to get around, there are times to still admire winter's charms. (But don't get me wrong - I'm glad I'm past the working age and don't have to get out every morning to shovel the snow so I can get to work. It's one advantage of getting old!)
But within a limited amount of time people rush out to reclaim domination of the sidewalks and streets, using their snow blowers and snow throwers to belch fumes into the air and hurl snow into piles so the concrete ribbons which humans have created for travel are once again visible and establish that once again humans are in control, at least for a while.
My aunt and uncle used to make dandelion wine; I've seen birds on them - what the dandelion haters need to do is educate themselves to the uses the little beauties can provide, not just outright resent them. I think it's a similar issue with other native plants and what many people consider weeds.
Brown, good for you for standing up to the lawn lovers! I'm sure they had no idea what you were talking about, nor any interest in learning. I too never water the lawn - why waste money on something that doesn't produce food? Some neighbors have suggested in August when the lawn slows down and starts to get brown that it's time for me to water. Even though I politely explain to them that the green will return of its own when the fall rains come, that glazed look seems to automatically appear in their eyes.
Perhaps some people are just too conditioned to believe what they're told to do by municipal honchos and never bother to question what's really right for them or for the planet.
Lat and DW, you've touched on what I consider a big hypocrisy - that we as individuals are often forced into restrictive behavior with resources while commercial enterprises are favored with the end results. Every time I read something about the California water allocations, I think of the movie Chinatown.
There's a similar issue with lead abatement, which has now become so expensive that it's prohibitive, and from what I've been told by contractors, is not something they want to deal with because of the penalties which could be involved. Yet how much junk from China continues to be imported without screening for lead until after it's on the shelves? This is an issue that just infuriates me. (www.ewg.org/key-issues/toxics/lead.) Or see: www.purelivingchina.com/learning-center/lead-exposure/: read the paragraph "What is it and why is it a concern in China?".
|
|
|
Post by Veggie Gal on Apr 23, 2015 11:49:59 GMT -5
All I can say is Lat is lucky he lives in Los Angeles county, he can benefit from rebates to remove his lawn. I live in Orange County and it is not allowed here. In my neighborhood, a homeowner took out his lawn and replaced it with high quality fake grass, for lack of a better term. The HOA will not allow it and made him remove it. I could not tell it wasn't grass. More and more people are removing their grass and planting native plants and making nice walkways with pebbles and stones, which is allowed. I live in an area of big lawns, even the financial district close to my home just completed the new PIMCO building and they have vast lawns around the building. It's ridiculous that the landscape architect couldn't grasp that we are in a drought, makes me wonder if he is from CA, I think I'll check that out.
|
|
|
Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Apr 23, 2015 12:11:41 GMT -5
VeggieGal, I really don't understand the differece between counties. I would have thought that since a drought has been declared, that affected counties would at least recognize if not try to remediate it. But for Orange County to disallow what is really a trendsetting move in LA County just doesn't make sense. On the other hand, local communities and their "leaders" don't always act sensibly. It's not always appropriate to assume that people in fact will act rationally or in their best interests. HOAs have assumed so much power and sometimes wield it like the Sheriff of Nottingham. I personally think they're often just another layer of meddlesome wanna-be bureaucrats. Maybe the landscape architect for the PIMCO building also does landscaping and decided to enrich his company rather than think creatively? But here's a chance that he missed - he could have become a trendsetter by xeriscaping creatively and demonstrating how progressive he was. Yet he opted for a maintenance and water intensive lawn. Duhh.... Sometimes it's as if there are people who are still stuck in post WWII concepts and think that resources are limitless.
|
|
|
Post by desertwoman on Apr 23, 2015 16:16:36 GMT -5
Veggie Gal, maybe it's time for a HOA meeting where this can be discussed. Those folks need a serious reminder of the water situation in CA.
|
|
|
Post by OregonRed on Apr 23, 2015 22:06:31 GMT -5
( ask Lat33 about WWII thinking at the humungous CG he is at -- did he tell you guys he got voted in and accepted as the Pres! )
|
|