Ajuga

It started innocently enough. A gift of a couple of plants from a fellow gardener. Who knew they were so prolific!

It wasn't long before, like rows of soldiers in an invasion, they were headed out onto the lawn.

That was several years ago and since then, the Ajuga has pretty much won the war, having taken over an entire section of the yard. Is that a bad thing? It is if you enjoy a perfect monoculture of grass. But, I don't and I don't see it as a bad thing. I look forward each spring to the little "meadow" in our side yard.

Ajuga begins to bloom right around the same time as the mowing season begins. I simply put off mowing that area until after they finish blooming. Mowing them down after that period doesn't seem to set them back.

Our home is on a lot that is surrounded by woods. If you look hard enough, you can see some of the neighbors, so I don't have to worry about them complaining about how my lawn looks. No one can see it.

As a society, I think we need to rethink what makes a nice lawn. Now, I'm not advocating for letting a lawn become a hayfield, but those fertilized and watered and weeded, perfect lawns are hard on the environment - and the aquifers for that matter. Much of the problems of the Chesapeake Bay have to do with the excessive use of fertilizers that make their way into streams and creeks and rivers and, eventually, the Bay.

All of those chemicals on the lawn also kill off the natural biodiversity that should be found there. Our front lawn is not very large since half is taken up with a turn-around area for the driveway. In the small piece of lawn, however, from spring through fall, you can almost always find a robin or two throughout the day. They pull an astounding amount of earthworms out of this little piece of lawn. It may not be the "ideal" lawn of the burbs, but I think it is a lot healthier than most of those that are (ironically) so admired. My next door neighbor has one of those picture perfect lawns, but I never see any robins on his lawn.

People like to be admired for the skill in growing a great lawn. My lawn doesn't have much to do with my skill. It has more to do with trying to be environmentally friendly.