What are some options for better backyards that are still pleasant and useful?
Urban contexts support paved areas, herb beds, and planting beds of urban-tolerant plants. Suburban movements include the suburban meadow. The Audubon Society, for example, loves to promote diversified habitats to support wildlife. There is also the whole edible landscape movement, which has carved out a small foothold in the suburbs and might really take off more as food prices skyrocket and local markets grow in both interest and importance. In the country, where lawns and landscapes can be larger, just look at the surrounding countryside for ideas of what grows naturally. What is growing in that old field? If you cut your own lawn, instead of using a lawn service, maybe you want to make it a bit smaller. Can you cut your lawn in half and make one part the rough, like at a golf course? Then only cut the rough every other time you cut the “precious” lawn up near the house, or even less often? Really, our lawns are controlled by our perceptions. So when we plant something besides grass
