I love you guys, but some of you are just fucking weird.

Also remember: Never lick your finger to turn the pages of a book, only boomer nazis do that.

  • Ram_The_Manparts [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    So no one in the global south ever cleared a space in their garden just for hanging out, until they were colonized by anglos? People in the americas, africa, and asia were just wading through thigh-high vegetation as soon as they got outside their homes?

    Is this really what we are going with here?

    • Pezevenk [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I think we're thinking of different lawns maybe? Like, a lawn is basically when you have a basic patch of green grass, right? A garden with space where you can hang out and chill isn't (necessarily) a lawn, it's just a garden. Gardens are cool, lawns are very bland and boring, they don't provide shade, they're sometimes bad for the native plants, and require way too much maintenance and water. Especially in places where there is a drier climate it's extremely wasteful. Like, over here having a lawn is really damn expensive. I know because when I was little my parents tried doing it, wasted a shitload of money, and it only lasted about 2 years or so before it just completely died, then they never tried it again. The people who have lawns over here are mostly rich and want to show off basically, especially if they're big lawns. They don't even want to hang out on the lawn, because stepping on it is bad for it so they have a patio or whatever anyways.

      • Ram_The_Manparts [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Yeah, I'm not thinking like having a 9 hole golf course in your yard. I'm thinking more like what my parents have in their little yard, like 2x5 meters where they can grill and let their great-grandchildren play.

        Don't think that's something only rich anglos wanna do.

        • Pezevenk [he/him]
          ·
          4 years ago

          I mean, as I said, there is a difference between clearing a space and putting grass. Perhaps this kind of grass just grows over there and it just needs to be mowed, idk. But over here you actually have to clear everything else, get rid of the trees because they'll probably ruin the grass, and then pay to put it there, and even after all is said and done, it looks dumb and you have to water it all the time. Trees are much nicer and people should really try to use stuff that is native to the place they're in to grow in their garden instead of both killing the stuff that is already there and wasting tons of water just to have something that looks like this. Again, if it is something that just grows naturally like that, it's alright although I'd still put some trees.

          I have a friend who has a summer home with an incredible backyard, or at least half of an incredible backyard. Half of it is lawn, and then the other half is where they grill, it's very cozy and has nice trees that make shade. No one ever goes to the part with the lawn. I also have a neighbour with an amazing garden and his doesn't have any lawn at all, he does however have a nice patio which fits many people and a well in the middle which looks very cool. He's like 95 years old so it's not like he does any serious maintenance on it either, apart from weeding out some places every now and then. It was still a very awesome garden to play in when we were little.

          Legit the only reason people here started having lawns is because they saw it in movies and they thought "wow turns out this is fancy, we should have that too".

        • Pezevenk [he/him]
          ·
          4 years ago

          but trees and roofs don’t really go together

          It's fine if they are far enough to not hit your roof, or if they are short trees. Many types of short and kinda wide trees are actually the best for shade etc. At worst you may have to trim some branches every few years.

          Grass is one of the most common plant types on earth. It naturally covers vast expanses

          Most places don't naturally have the kind of grass growth people want in lawns. Some places do, mainly very humid and slightly cold countries. Otherwise, while there may be grass, it's either brownish long grass or very patchy. So people waste a bunch of water on it, and sometimes pesticides too. Then there's also another issue, which is that it doesn't leave enough shelter for insects, because people try to keep their lawns clear and without weeds/bushes/etc.

          Apparently about a third of all public water in the US is used to water grass. And the US actually does have places where you don't need to water grass that much, in most places in the world clear green lawns are just a waste and a shame. And idk why people don't just use clover which has many of the same issues, but is usually more resilient and looks better.