I used to admire the look of weed-free lawns I would pass\nwhile on my daily walks in spring and summer\u2014no dandelions, no clover, no creeping\ncharlie\u2014and wish my lawn were similar. I had all those \u201cweeds,\u201d and more:\nplantain, wild strawberry, you name it. Not that I would ever use herbicides on\nmy lawn, though sometimes as I pulled creeping charlie that had crept not only\nthrough my lawn, but also into my veggie and flower beds, I felt sorely\ntempted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, though, I see my lawn with new eyes: a place full of\nlife, rather than the dead zone that a perfect (and usually herbicide-treated)\nlawn is. We call certain plants \u201cweeds\u201d because we don\u2019t like their look or\nwhere they grow, but many of them are beneficial, both to us, and to beneficial\ninsects. Bees, for instance, that are under threat from pesticides and\nherbicides, love the clover flowers in my lawn. Sometimes I find more bees on\nthe clover (we mow our grass high, so often have lots of clover flowers) than\non other bee-attracting plants in my garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the\nearliest \u201cweeds\u201d to appear in the spring is the dandelion. A veritable war is\nwaged every spring against this plant, yet all parts of dandelions are edible\nand rich in antioxidants. Their flowers are one of the earliest in the spring\nfor bees to feed on; dandelion\u2019s peak flowering time is from late March to May,\nwhen many bees and other pollinators emerge from hibernation. Each flower\nconsists of up to 100 florets, and each one is packed with nectar and pollen,\nmaking this early, easily available source of food a lifesaver for pollinators\nin spring. Bumblebees, solitary bees, and honeybees all visit the flowers for\nfood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet despite the benefits of dandelions, herbicide ads on TV\nand the Internet invariably feature an intrepid suburban householder, armed\nwith his herbicide sprayer, dousing the plants, then watching with smug\nsatisfaction as they wither and die. I call these ads anti-life, because not\nonly do they wage war on an innocent and highly beneficial plant species, but\nthe use of herbicides (and pesticides) on lawns is hazardous to pets and\nchildren alike, and the chemicals eventually find their way into our water\nsources. If you\u2019re super concerned about dandelions taking over your lawn,\nthough (your neighbors might give you nasty looks if you live in suburbia),\nthen consider just removing the seed heads once they form. That way, the\ninsects get to enjoy the flowers beforehand. However, if you\u2019re not concerned about\ndandelions spreading, consider leaving those seed heads: the seeds are a\nfavorite of many birds, including\nblackbirds, goldfinches, sparrows, siskins, and towhees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another important way I\u2019m seeing with new eyes is my\nattitude towards insects. Have you noticed that there are far fewer of them\naround these days? We\u2019re in the middle of what\u2019s being called an \u201cinsect armageddon,\u201d\nwith insect populations plummeting. Not only does this have dire consequences\nfor our food supply (35% of global food crops are pollinated by bees and other pollinating\ninsects), but also for the many species of animals that rely on insects for\nfood. Many of us are afraid of insects, and I used to be as well, since when\nwere young, most of us were taught to fear insects or find them disgusting.\nExcept for poisonous ones, many insects are our friends, and now I view them\nthat way. So whenever I find any in my home, I either try to shoo the flying\nones out a window or door, or gently catch crawling ones and take them outside.\nI also coexist with spiders, as they catch and eat insects we consider household\npests, such as roaches, earwigs,\nmosquitoes, flies, and clothes moths. If left alone, spiders will consume most\nof the insects in the home, thus providing effective and chemical-free home\npest control. I find myself leaving spider webs alone for longer periods of\ntime. But when I do dust (when preparing for a party or a song circle, for\nexample), and find a spiderweb with its resident spider, I gently remove the\nweb, so the spider doesn\u2019t get injured and will live to build another web and\nhelp me out with those darned mosquitoes and flies. And just in case you\u2019re\nwondering: Scientists say that pests like flies, mosquitoes, and cockroaches\nmay actually increase in numbers in coming years, so don\u2019t worry about your\nresident spiders feasting on them!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I used to admire the look of weed-free lawns I would pass while on my daily walks in spring and summer\u2014no dandelions, no clover, no creeping charlie\u2014and wish my lawn were similar. I had all those \u201cweeds,\u201d and more: plantain, … Continue reading