Low-lift habit shifts for a climate-friendly yard
You don't need to plant a native meadow to make a difference.
This newsletter was originally published on July 6, 2023 as part of Living Small’s monthly Living Landscapes series about sustainable gardening. Now Living Landscapes is becoming it’s own newsletter in 2024: Sign up here!
It’s been hot—really hot. The news out of Washington has been grim. My inbox is flooded with emails promoting Prime Day deals. But instead of focusing on all the bad news and consumerism, I want to share a few ways that many of us can make a difference this summer—right in our own backyards.
Our gardens and yards (no matter how small!) are places where we can make a tangible, positive change. I’ve written before about my admiration for ecologist and conservationist Doug Tallamy, who got me to realize how much good we can do if private citizens better steward our land; I encourage you to check out his books and non-profit Homegrown National Park. But this is not a post about completely overhauling your landscape. This is a list of small habit shifts that you can apply to your yard work to better the climate.
Stop spraying your yard. Studies show that neither mosquito or tick spraying are effective, but that they are potentially toxic to children, pets, and helpful pollinators. If you get your yard sprayed, I implore you to reconsider. Instead, experts recommend attacking mosquitoes in their infancy by placing mosquito “dunks” in any standing water. Then protect yourself from both ticks and mosquitoes with bug spray. On a patio or porch a well-positioned fan deters mosquitoes, and there are more ideas here in this Washington Post article.
Mow less often. It’s better for the grass and the beneficial insects who live there. I wrote all about lazy lawncare for Gardenista earlier this summer. In short: Mow high and less often.
Fire your lawn guy. Okay, you don’t have to fire him, but maybe redefine your relationship? Do you actually know what your lawn service is putting on your turf? Are you paying someone to sprinkle toxic fertilizers and pesticides where your family plays? As we get later into the summer, weekly mowing may also be overkill, so you may want to move to a bi-weekly schedule.
Water less. This will conserve water, of course, but did you know that overwatering your lawn encourages mosquitoes to breed? If it gets a little brown mid-summer, who cares? If you have a sprinkler system that goes rain or shine, figure out how to dial it back to the bare minimum. Also, please don’t be that person who is watering the sidewalk. If you water manually: Hurray, this means less work for you!
Remove invasive plants. Overwhelmed with weeding? Focus on the foreign thugs. What is invasive in your region will differ from mine, but a quick google of “invasive plants” plus your state/region’s name will give you a list to work from. The Smithsonian’s got a list of the top six invasive plants in the U.S. here. Removing invasives will help native plants to prosper, and prevent the invaders from spreading more. Some municipalities are even rewarding people for these efforts: In Missouri, they’re giving trees to anyone who takes out their Bradford pears. Hot tip: My mom keeps hers at bay by pays the grandkids a bounty for every garlic mustard plant they pull.
Turn off your lights at night. Light pollution is harmful to pollinators and other wildlife. Equally bad, because of all our outdoor lighting the Milky Way is no longer visible to a third of humanity (and 80-percent of North America). If you still want some light in your yard, put the lights on a motion sensor and use yellow LED bulbs, which are less attractive to insects.
Keep your cats inside. They’re a huge threat to birds. If you have an outdoor cat and can’t bear the thought of confining them, outfit them with both a bird-alerting bell and a scrunchie collar cover ($8 and up, birdsbesafe.com).
Hang up a laundry line. If you have space, now’s a great time to harness the power of the sun to dry your clothes. You’ll save on your energy bills and help keep your house cooler. Plus, everything will smell heavenly.
Make your next tools electric. If it’s time to replace your mower, blower, or other gas-powered garden equipment, make sure the next one is electric. Electric-powered machines are quiet, odorless, and convenient. Pssst… If you found yourself frustrated with electric lawn equipment with cord or quick-dying batteries in the past, know that today’s models all have batteries that can run for hours.
Further readings
I never thought I’d say I found corporate landscaping inspiring, but it is encouraging to imagine a future where a native meadow–not a manicured lawn–is a status symbol for corporate giants like Ford and HP.
We’ve been using our Flexlite camp chairs nearly everyday at the lake near my parents’ house, and I can say they were worth every penny.