From a Weekend Retreat to a House in the Country A thirty-year long learning curve.
e-mail:
  • Home
  • Posts
  • About Snow Fences
  • Building a Reusable Snow Fence
  • Building a pond
    • Pond Building Distaster
    • Pond Building Success
    • Pond Impressions
  • Logging begins
    • Logging coninues
  • Bald Eagle
  • Mowing lawns
  • Spring
  • Hummingbirds
  • Planting a vegetable garden
  • Garden Watering Made Easy
  • Best Mouse Trap
  • Summer Pleasures
  • Protecting your house.
  • Woodstoves
  • About Firewood
  • Firewood Shed
  • Snowed in
  • Contact
  • Home

Lawns: How it all began ......

6/28/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
PictureThe original Tavern on the Green
                  Lawns: How it all began ....         
             
A Brief History of the  Lawn Mower

Before the 19th century, only the owners of stately homes had lawns. In order to keep the grass low they had two choices: to have a flock of sheep (think of NYC's Central Park’s Sheep Meadow and the house and sheep stable that eventually became the famous Tavern on the Green restaurant) or to employ a team of dedicated people who were scything, gathering and carting away grass. Compared to our lawns today those lawns were not very smooth and even. 

Picture
Tavern on the Green nowadays
Picture
The lawn mower was invented in 1830 by Edwin Beard Budding in England. Mr. Budding was the supervisor in a cloth factory and noticed one machine that trimmed cloth. He had the idea to put a smaller version of the cutting mechanism on wheels and attach a handle. It looked roughly like a modern push reel mower from the 1950’s, but it was very heavy and difficult to maneuver. Operators were promised a healthy exercise. On to top of it, it was very expensive and did not cut well. It was not a bestseller.

Finally, the introduction of better mechanicals, drive chains and Bessemer’s new lightweight steel, made the small push mower practical. By the end of the 19th century, the lawn mower was a part of gardening life, a status symbol. Having a lawn signaled to your neighbors that you were well to do. You did not need the lawn area to plant vegetables, you could afford to buy them. Budding also invented the monkey wrench- familiar from the factories of WWII  and the saying ‘throwing a monkey wrench into the system’ , but his lawn mower’s descendants have changed the world forever.
​

Where we are, we have abundant annual rainfall and loads of lakes and streams. Greenswards  and open land to play are a gift of nature. But not everywhere is suitable.  In his fascinating book “At Home”, Bill Bryson noted that ‘In the United States, lawns cover more surface area (50 thousand square miles) than any single crop. 60 % of all water that comes out of taps for all purposes is sprinkled on lawns. 70 million tons of herbicides and pesticides are soaked into our lawns. Our lawns may not be as green as one might think!’

So unless you have abundant water and are organically inclined, the current water wars in California should give us all pause in how we use our land and nurture our environment. For us, green expanses create bounty. The 'edge effect' in biology brings diverse creatures to our property and joy to us. If your land is different, then you can work with what nature provides to achieve the same - but different panorama.

Picture
The Sonoran Desert in Arizona is an incredibly  rich biome. It doesn't need our green expanses. It supports a vast array of local and migratory life. It is as exquisite as ours, just different. It is just as precious.


See also our web page on Mowing Lawns at countryforcity.com.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    >This is about our journey from being Big City people to learning how to embrace a country lifestyle. 

    We bought an old farmhouse (built in the 1850's); we have hay fields and woods, streams, bridges and a long drive way. Our neighbors are far away. We are so far away that we have to go to the post office to get our mail. For us it has been paradise.

    Archives

    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015

    RSS Feed

    Building a pond
    Cats In Country
    Country Cats
    Country Lifestyle
    Country Living
    Farmhouse
    Farm Lifestyle
    Farm Living
    Firewood
    Hummingbirds
    Huskies
    Making A Pond
    Snow Fence
    Snow Fences
    Vegetable Garden
    Vegetable Gardening
    Weekend Retreat


    All

    Subscribe for free!
Photos from Marco Verch (CC BY 2.0), janicebyer, BillDamon, chumlee10, Kaibab National Forest, David Jakes, Tony Webster, billmiky, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Gunn Shots., It's No Game, girlgeek0001, frankieleon, Tony Webster, marcoverch, berniedup