Governor Beverly Perdue has been urged in a North Carolina paper to make changes to the 1.5-acre grounds around the mansion, and the reporter makes some important points about lawn:
First, a word about grass. It looks stately but costs in terms of natural resources and money. Grass drinks lots of water, and even in a nondrought year is sprinkled frequently. The lawn is also mown and leaf-blown and fertilized and sprayed; in a sense it drinks petroleum as much as water. The great lawn -- kept green on the taxpayer's green -- is part of the problem, not the solution.
The reporter then goes on to expound the virtues of growing vegetables and saying not a word about switching to organic lawn care for whatever amount of lawn remains there. And though he makes the point that keeping the lawn green all summer wastes water, there's no suggestion that the lawn simply be allowed to go dormant. And let's face it, wouldn't a vegetable garden actually require more water than turfgrass? (Though at least for a good cause - food).
RESULTS
No word yet on sustainable landscaping practices. No word yet on a vegetable garden.
