A New Law(n) to Help
All over neighborhoods across the state, “biological deserts” dot our properties, line our sidewalks, and fill our parks and greenspaces. These green deserts require gallons of water to maintain, gallons of fuel to mow, and produce little environmental value. Well, a new lawn law is here to help, and now is the time to take advantage.
In July, a new law came into effect in Minnesota requiring cities to allow property owners to replace their turf lawns with managed natural landscapes. As long as the natural landscape is intentional, maintained, and weed free, cities can no longer restrict alternatives to turf grass based on grass height or aesthetic requirements (or neighbor complaints). Historically, a landowner trying to install a pollinator garden, low mow lawn, bee lawn, or other lawn alternative risked running into local ordinances restricting vegetation in yards. However, growing concern over depleting pollinator numbers has led many homeowners to replace their often unused turf lawns with more pollinator-friendly landscaping. Now, Minnesota has joined a growing trend across states to make this type of landscaping more accessible.
Why Traditional Lawns are an Ecological Problem
Turf lawns (typically Kentucky bluegrass), have been the standard for building developments throughout the country for decades. When cared for properly, these lawns are great for recreation and offer a “clean,” put-together aesthetic. Environmentally speaking, however, turf grass lawns are next to useless. Turf lawns provide little food or shelter for pollinators, they create dense monocultures, they store little carbon due to their shallow root structures, they capture little runoff (again due to shallow roots), they require excessive water and fuel emissions (from mowers) to maintain, and they are effective dead zones for birds and wildlife. You might hear turf lawns referred to as “biological deserts” for all of these reasons.
To really make a difference for the environment, we need to rethink our view of lawns. A 2005 study estimated that turf lawns take up about 2% of the total surface area in the continental US. This doesn’t seem like much, but it is more area than any irrigated crop takes up. Consider also that only about 12% of the land cover in the US is a protected natural space, and the amount of land dedicated to turf grass becomes significant. Now in 2023, urban expansion has likely increased that total area. The same study also extrapolated that to keep that much lawn well watered would require 700-900 liters of water per person per day. In a world where droughts are becoming increasingly common, that is an astronomical amount of water use on a landscape that offers little in ecological return. Why not take that land and turn it into something that offers better environmental benefits, and requires fewer valuable resources to maintain? –This is where natural lawn alternatives come in, and why this new law is so helpful for urban habitat restoration.
Natural Landscape Alternatives
There are a number of different alternatives to a traditional lawn, all of which (if managed properly) are covered in the new law allowing natural landscapes. Each type of lawn replacement varies in look, maintenance requirements, and functionality, so if you are interested in putting in a turf replacement, consider how you want the space to look and be used.
Check out our quick guide for information on some of the different natural landscape options. Remember, this is not an exhaustive list! Many properties can incorporate some combination of these different options, as well as others like rain gardens, edible wild gardens, etc.
Why Now?
So why are we talking about this now (the law passed a couple months ago after all)? Well, just because it is fall, doesn’t mean that there’s not still time to plan a natural landscape. Small planting and seeding projects can happen all the way up till frozen ground (usually November). Even if you’re not able to get an installation done this year, thinking about your project in the fall sets you up for success in the spring. You can use winter to design the space, pre-order plants and seed to make sure you get the species you want, and have everything ready to go for spring. Then, when everyone else is just starting planning their projects, you are ahead of the game and ready to install. Your plants, which have a longer growing season to establish before winter, will thank you too.
Converting lawn to a natural landscape doesn’t have to be intimidating. Our best advice if you don’t know exactly what you want is to start small. Just convert a section of your grass to something more environmentally friendly—you can always add on in future years. Just know that if you are using an installation contractor (like us!), certain sized projects may be more cost effective. Finally, don’t think you need to completely get rid of your lawn. We like to encourage the best environmentally friendly landscaping, but if you use your lawn, or are nervous about committing fully, then incorporate part of your lawn into your natural landscape design. Again, you can always remove more later if you decide you like the natural look more (or you realize how awesome it is not having to water and mow every week). As always, reach out to us if you have questions on designing or installing a natural landscape—we’re happy to help with consultation, design, installation, and maintenance!
To truly make our urban areas and residences (rural or urban) environmental refuges, we need to rethink how we put the green in “green space.” While turf grass has its place, there are many more environmentally friendly landscaping options to turn to. So this year, take advantage of the new law to create a new natural “lawn” on your property.
References
New Law Overview: https://www.lmc.org/news-publications/news/all/fonl-managed-natural-and-native-landscaping-permitted-in-cities/
2005 Study: