If jean trends can change, why can't our lawns?

I’ve worn high-waisted jeans, cargo jeans, bell bottom jeans, jeans as peddle pushers, boyfriend jeans, and of course, skinny jeans. I’ve even belted jean cutoff shorts and tucked a linen shirt into them. Jeans have taught me the mercurial nature of fashion and that cutoff shorts probably don’t need belts.

If clothing trends can change, why can’t lawns?

America’s lawns are due a fashion revolution, which is fitting as our current lawn aesthetic goes all the way back to revolutionary America.

Thomas Jefferson—inspired, ironically enough, by British gardens—created a big show-off lawn at his Monticello estate. Jealous, George Washington hired landscapers to install a big lawn at his estate. Other rich folks followed and the trend spread. By the 1950s, American subdivisions began popping up, and with it, the American lawn as we know it today. All these years later, and we’re still mowing. Thanks, Thomas Jefferson!

Not only is mowing a pain, but manicured lawns are a mono-crop that provide little for pollinators and birds. Native plants, in contrast, are a source of nectar for bees and butterflies, and a source of food for caterpillars.

And do you know who eats caterpillars? Baby birds. All the feeders in the world aren’t going to provide the protein baby birds need. If you love watching birds—and I think I speak for my generation when I say, “who doesn’t?”—you’ll want to plant food for caterpillars. The circle of life is complex, and you’ll get to watch it all unfold.

Personal Action: If you’re a homeowner, plant native plants in your yard.

Why it matters: A 2017 study found that Germany’s flying insects–the foundation of the food chain–have dropped a shocking 76%. And across the globe, 40% of insect species have declined. Alongside insects, birds numbers are falling. Within 50 years, North America birds declined by nearly three billion.

Habitat loss is one of the causes, and here is where our yards can be solutions. The life work of entomologist Doug Tallamy is to persuade homeowners to turn their yards into a habitat, thus creating a Home Grown National Park.

“Today’s environmental challenges are so enormous that it is easy to feel helpless, as if one person can’t make a difference – despite the cliché that suggests you can. In this case, however, the cliché is right on: by choosing ecologically-effective plants for your landscape, by shrinking your lawn, and by removing your invasive ornamentals–all actions a single person can take–you will be able to make a difference that you can see, and enjoy, almost immediately. Life will return to your property!” Doug Tallamy, Home Grown National Park

Some resources for getting started:

• An Audubon guide to finding native plants for your region

• An Audubon primer on native, non-native, and invasive plants

• The Garden Professors discuss the difference between cultivars and native plants

Public Action: Same as personal action.

Each person’s yard is an opportunity to change the narrative around what makes a yard attractive. My goal this year is to replace a swath of our grass with common blue violets, a plant native to New York state and one which is beautiful, blooms early, has edible flowers, and is an essential host for both fritillaries, a species of butterfly, and mining bees. Violets are also considered weeds. But why?

I want to make violets fetch.