# Historic Lawns, Modern Lawns, Future Lawns

- Link: https://www.oldhouseguy.com/historic-lawns-modern-lawns-future-lawns/
- Published: 2020-03-21T13:29:52-04:00
- Author: Ken Roginski

Historic lawns and how today’s modern lawn came about is probably something not 
many people would ever stop to think about.

Today however historic and modern lawns are something we all need to understand 
for lawn care has gotten out of hand and has a huge impact on our environment and
our pocket books.

Big business has as usual made big profits from convincing (brainwashing) homeowners
to follow their standards for curb appeal.

[⌊ashford castle⌉⌊ashford castle⌉[

Early lawns were merely pasture fields.

## The Historic Lawn

Lawns originally became popular with the aristocracy in northern Europe during the
Middle Ages.  Grassy fields outside of castles were important to be able to see 
the approach of intruders at a distance. The early lawns were not always distinguishable
from pasture fields. The damp climate of maritime Western Europe in the north made
lawns possible to grow and manage. ^(1)

Before the invention of mowing machines in 1830, lawns were managed very differently.
They were an element of wealthy estates and manor houses, and in some places were
maintained by the labor-intensive methods of scything and shearing. In most situations,
they were also pasture land maintained through grazing by sheep or other livestock.
Areas of grass grazed regularly by rabbits, horses, or sheep over a long period 
often form a very low, tight sward similar to a modern lawn.^(2)

**1806:** U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, an avid horticulturist, was among the
first to replicate European lawn styling in America at his Monticello estate.^(3)

Other wealthy U.S. landowners followed suit, but most early American yards stayed
devoted to vegetable and herb gardens, or grazing animals.^(4)

**1871:** – First lawn sprinkler patented.

**1870’s:** Front yard produce gardens moved to the rear as maintained grasses took
their place.

**1876:** The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) brought grass to the masses 
with lawn-growing displays at Philadelphia’s Centennial Exhibition.^(5)

[⌊historic lawn at Monticello⌉⌊historic lawn at Monticello⌉[

Monticello was the first American home to replicate a European lawn.

**Late 1800’s:** By the late 1800’s, the front lawn became an exhibitive space. 
The rise of printed gardening advice enforced this position. It became a part of
regular news circulation—newspapers covered lawn care and flower cultivation in 
an effort to boost circulation—and consequently, everyday conversations. The awareness
of lawns and their significance was made into an everyday occurrence.^(6)

**1930’s:** Front lawns became standardized in the 1930’s when, over time, specific
aspects such as grass type and maintenance methods became popular. The lawn-care
industry boomed, but the Great Depression of the 1930’s, and in the period prior
to World War II, made it difficult to maintain the cultural standards that had become
heavily associated with the lawn due to grass seed shortages in Europe.^(7)

[Everything for the Lawn ](https://archive.org/details/everythingforlaw18pete/page/n1/mode/2up)–
1896 Lawn catalog archive

[Everything For the Lawn ](https://archive.org/details/everythingforlaw19pete_0/page/n1/mode/2up)–
1905 Lawn catalog archive

[Making a Lawn ](https://archive.org/details/makinglawndoogue00doogrich/mode/2up)–
1912 Lawn How-to book

[Everything for the Garden ](https://archive.org/details/everythingforgar19pete_19/page/n1/mode/2up)–
1922 Garden catalog archive

## The Modern Lawn

In the middle of the 20^(th) century, three overlapping developments helped promote
the lawn across North America. The first was Levittown, one of the first cookie-
cutter affordable-dwelling suburbs, built between 1948 and 1952 by Abraham Levitt
and his sons William and Alfred on Long Island. This was the first American suburb
to include lawns already in place when the first tenants took possession (see [Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb ](https://www.oldhouseguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Levittown-Documents-of-an-Ideal-American-Suburb.pdf)–
PDF). ^(8)

[⌊levittown house⌉⌊levittown house⌉[

Levittown homes came equipped with a new weed-free lawn.

The Levitts, who also built subdivisions in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Cape Cod, 
and Puerto Rico (several of them also called Levittown), **pioneered the established
lawn, which residents were required to keep up but forbidden to fence in**. The 
importance of a neat, weed-free, closely-shorn lawn was promoted intensely in the
newsletters that went out to all homeowners in these subdivisions, along with lawn-
care advice on how to reach this ideal. ^(9)

The second factor giving lawns a boost in the 1950’s was the need for inexpensive
housing to accommodate returning GIs and their young families. These were soldiers,
trained in neatness and obedience, and these were the conformist fifties, when **
everyone was on the watch for signs of Communism and crabgrass**. At times, the 
two seemed morally equivalent.^(10)

[⌊dandelion harvest for eating⌉⌊dandelion harvest for eating⌉[

This innocuous “weed” is actually one of the most nutrient-dense plants you can 
eat. It blows superfoods like spinach and kale out of the water. Everything, from
the flower all the way down to the roots, is edible.

**Dandelions are a very beneficial plant and can look natural and beautiful**. [Read about the benefits of Dandelions. ](https://www.moneycrashers.com/eating-dandelions-health-benefits-leaves-greens-roots-flowers/)

With the advent of herbicides, in the 1940’s, still tighter control became possible.
As long as a hand trowel was the only option, weeding a lawn had been considered
more or less hopeless, and most guides advised against even trying. (A lawn “thickly
starred with the glowing yellow blossoms” of dandelions “isn’t in itself a bad picture,”
the journal _Country Life in America_ observed consolingly.) The new herbicides 
allowed gardeners to kill off plants that they didn’t care for with a single spraying.
^(11)

One of the most popular herbicides was—and continues to be—2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic
acid, or 2,4-D, as it is commonly known, a major ingredient in Agent Orange.

**Regrettably, 2,4-D killed not only dandelions but also plants that were beneficial
to lawns, like nitrogen-fixing clover.**

**To cover up this loss, any plant that the chemical eradicated was redefined as
an enemy.**

**“Once considered the ultimate in fine turf, a clover lawn is looked upon today
by most authorities as not much better than a weed patch”** is how one guidebook
explained the change. ^(12)

[⌊dioweed killer for dandelions 1950's⌉⌊dioweed killer for dandelions 1950's⌉[

1950’s Dioweed Killer by Bonide allowed people to kill their Dandelions. Today Bonide
is still killing things.

## Future Lawns

Today homeowners and corporations with their sprawling lawns spend a crazy amount
of money maintaining a weed free lawn. Just because grass is green does not mean
that these lawns are natural to our environment as we are led to believe. Modern
lawns are merely a place to dump fertilizers and other chemicals to force grass 
to grow in an environment that they do not belong in.  These chemicals then seep
into the ground or are washed away with the rain and end up in our drinking water.
Water is an important resource that is taken for granted and lawns require a ton
of water.

As with everything today big business rules us and the politicians and will not 
be going away anytime soon if ever. We are now at a critical time as our environment
erodes away and global warming requires the use of more water to keep our lawns 
green. As human beings we need to be more responsible and listen to what our environment
tells us not what businesses tell us so they can keep their investors happy.

### Plant a Clover Lawn

The answer to the problem can be solved with a Clover lawn or a lawn mixed with 
clover.

Clovers make great lawns. They grow easily, and they don’t need as much water as
grass.

They also don’t need fertilizer or herbicide.

They reach a certain height and stop growing, so you don’t have to cut them.

[⌊clover meadow to replace grass⌉⌊clover meadow to replace grass⌉[

A Clover lawn seems like the way to go for the future lawn.

Clovers also make soil healthier. They grab nitrogen out of the air and put it in
the soil, providing nutrition for more plants.

[Yes – clover actually “fertilizes” plants around it naturally improving soil health for free and it doesn’t get into our drinking water ](https://www.americanmeadows.com/grass-and-groundcover-seeds/clover-seeds/plant-clover-to-improve-soil-health)
like Scotts and other fertilizers.

![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/icon1.jpg)

**Advantages and Disadvantages of Clover Lawns** – This article is brief and to 
the point on what you need to know about clover. This convinced me to purchase clover
seed. [Read it now. ](https://web.archive.org/web/20250430071914/https://dengarden.com/gardening/clover-lawns)

![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/icon1.jpg)

**Microclover versus Dutch White Clover** (the clover we know) by Penn State Department
of Plant Science [Read it now ](https://web.archive.org/web/20200617193832/https://plantscience.psu.edu/reduce-runoff/questions-about-microclover).

**You really need to read the articles above. This is the smart way and more importantly
the responsible way to go. It is more authentic for a historic house, you will help
protect our drinking water and the environment, and save a ton of money**.

We all know that there is an extreme problem with the decline of our bee population.
[ I chose to purchase Dutch White Clover ](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B5DBG1I/kenroginskihisto)
for it is the traditional clover that has the white flowers that bees and other 
pollinators love and require. Here is another good source at [Earth-Wise Seed Co. ](https://earthwiseseed.com/)

Yes I do believe that curb appeal is important and **a well manicured lawn is the
key to curb appeal**. You may not have a picture perfect weed-free lawn soaked with
chemicals but what is most important is neatness. My goal is to allow dandelions
to grow, plant the new clover I ordered and spot kill some weeds. My most important
maintenance will be trimming for a manicured appearance.

We all know that [Round-up can cause cancer to humans and is also killing off our bee population ](https://www.businessinsider.com/glyphosate-cancer-dangers-roundup-epa-2019-5)
but Monsanto, the corporation that produces Roundup is a strong corporation with
politicians in their pockets so unfortunately money rules on this.

I have purchased[ 30% Vinegar ](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Green-Gobbler-1-Gal-30-Multipurpose-Vinegar-GGUV30G/300620485)
through Home Depot. House-hold vinegar contains only 5% acetic acid therefore you
would need to go to a place like [Home Depot ](https://doityourselves.com/the-hidden-truth-about-home-depot/)
for a strong 30% acetic acid strength. Take 1 gallon of this vinegar plus 2 tablespoons
of Dawn dish detergent. I put it in my old Roundup spray bottle to kill the weeds
growing in my sidewalks etc. The weeds were brown within 2 hours. In other areas
where there was shade the results were not as good. The vinegar still comes out 
to the same price as Roundup – maybe more but I will be doing something better for
the environment. If you have any suggestions please post a comment below.

**The following are two very well made videos about the history or lawns, the problems
of modern lawns, and what we can do. **

 

 

**Do you recall your frustrations of trying to start a lawnmower that just won’t
start?**

![](/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/icon1.jpg)

Two other good articles:

 * [Flowering Bee Lawns – A Toolkit ](https://www.oldhouseguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Flowering-Bee-Lawn-Toolkit.pdf)
 * [Why You Should Grow a Lawn for Bees ](https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/bee-lawn-leave-certain-weed-flowers-intact-help-pollinators)

Sources:

1,2 [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn)

3,4,5 [Pennington  ](https://www.pennington.com/all-products/grass-seed/resources/the-history-of-the-american-lawn)

6,7 [Scientific American ](https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/the-american-obsession-with-lawns/)

8,9,10 [Planet Natural ](https://www.planetnatural.com/organic-lawn-care-101/history/)

11, 12 [New Yorker Magazine  ](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/07/21/turf-war-elizabeth-kolbert)