(A reprise of a favorite post, perfect for summer’s official kickoff.)
I HAVE A LOVE-HATE THING GOING WITH MOWING: I always feel it’s a time-waster, but I am also always relieved there’s “mowing to be done” since that means legitimate escape from things like writing the book I have due. Mowing has immediate, tangible results; you cut grass blades, and they look cut. You try to write and, well, sometimes you don’t get any words. So tell me, do you like to mow? We’ve talked about this before, and instead of repeating myself I could have checked that you’re following the tomato-growing tips and using a rain gauge when you water and pruning your fading lilacs…or asked if you’re almost done with the May chores list. But it’s a holiday, so before I go out to you-know-what (also known as avoid writing), I’ll simply ask if you like to mow, and also say one more thing: My frogboys, all my innumerable sisters and I wish you a happy, healthy, safe, delicious long weekend, mowing or its avoidance notwithstanding.
Yes, I like to mow, but especially like having gotten it done! “Done” being a relative term! And, yes, I pruned the lilacs just yesterday. I enjoy reading your website and mostly fantasizing about being as industrious as you are.
Welcome, Laura. I do it with smoke and mirrors; don’t believe a word (or a photo). :) Congrats on the lilac to-do being done; that’s next week here, the leading agenda item. See you soon again, I hope, and happy holiday.
You know I like to mow!
I actually had ‘lawn anxiety’ two weeks ago when I thought my mower was dead. The thought of not being able to mow before leaving for the work week literally made my tummy hurt. Turned out I had too much oil in it and when I drained the excess and the motor turned over I was giddy. I have control issues, obviously.
Happy first summer weekend!
My husband and I are too old to mow any more, but happily for our continuing to reside in this house, los hermanos Garcia are happy to do it for us at a most reasonable price and also to provide me with some Spanish language practice. Everything else we do ourselves, with the exception of ivy clearing.
And the May chore list is getting shorter, although it still exists. But the peonies are in full fat bloom, the fringe trees are scenting the air with the perfume the angels wear in heaven, and the garden is inviting, chores or no chores.
NOT AT ALL. The only good thing about mowing is I can add it to the compost pile, otherwise my grass is slowly dying off right now and I will be planting a front yard edible garden and make some real use of the space instead of just grass.
I am so happy to see all of you.
Welcome, 1916Home. I have reduced my lawn my lawn a lot, too, and love the idea of the conversion you are planning. See you again soon with a progress report, I hope. :)
Carol, I thought the word “mow” might be a magnet for you. :)
Brian, when the mower doesn’t start (or once when hydraulic fluid was dripping from the tractor that I use on the really big areas) I freak out. Powerless, literally. I get it.
And Rosella, all I can say is esta bien que los hermanos Garcias son un aspecto de su vida. Quizas ellos pueden visitarme algun dia tambien? :)
The only part about mowing that I like is that I get to ride around the Yard on my John Deer. All other parts of mowing
I do not like. Yes it needs to be done this week end. Trying to get Grandson to mow for me, He’s old enough and big enough but says he’s to busy. Looks like Monday is mow day.
John
PS: Have a great Week End!
John
Used to loathe it when I had to mow a large town block on a slope with a push mower. Now, with a bit of land, a ride-on and a pair of earmuffs, mowing means an hour or three where all I have to think about is driving in a straight line. Quite meditative, really.
Yes, I like to mow. Just like vacuumning, mowing creates a tidy, clear space with almost no work. A nicely mown lawn is a calm restful counterpoint to my wild meadow garden.
I like to mow, especially with the push mower -not so much with the riding mower. All the men in my life like the riding mower! I like to mow, but I don’t like the string trimmer at all. I do like how everything looks after its been mowed and trimmed. I like to leave a bit of the lawn to go wild, too…I gues I like surprises.
I just mowed my parents lawn and in contrast to their beds, which give me caniptions every time I gaze at them and see something newly chewed by the resident groundhog or see something not growing the way it should, I heave a satisfied sigh that all is right with the world when the grass is newly mowed and looks deceptively perfect amid the surrounding ‘imperfections’.
A number of years ago I bought a house on an acre. The people were moving to Tucson and offered to sell me their John Deere rider. I felt I was already spending plenty of money, thank you, but asked some guys I worked with what they thought. “It’s a JOHN DEERE? Buy it!!!” Thereafter, when I had a summertime party the guys would hang around the garage looking at the JD.
I never got that starry-eyed gazing at my mower, but on a warm day if I can mow fast, creating my own breeze, I don’t mind it at all!
Welcome, Justin (who favors the rider), and welcome, Ariel (who favors the push mower). I agree on the meditative part….and also on the “just say no” to string trimmers. See you both soon, I hope.
@MSS and Ailsa: Yes, the sense of calming counterpoint. Exactly. Happy weekend.
I hate mowing, always felt it was a waste of gardening time. Finally hired it out. I am gradually replacing it all with stepable groundcover. BUT there is nothing like the scent of newly mowed grass.
Never mowed, ever. Someone else has always had that delightful duty and I’ve never begrudged the pleasure. Currently shrinking the size of my suburban lawn with plantings and allowing the invasion of clover, thyme, yarrow, etc. Don’t like the din and stink of most mowers.
I never thought I would say it, but I love to mow now that we have finally cleared all the tree debris from our 2009 ice storm.
Limb by limb, branch by branch and even twig by twig we have finally found the grass and oh! how I am loving being able to mow it now…!!
I am a single woman past 50 (let’s keep it at that, shall we?), who lives on a 1/3 acre corner lot filled with trees and shrubs. I edge by hand (so glad you guys talked me out of buying one of those whackers!), so at least several hours are devoted at first to picking up limbs and branches (lots of pecan trees which are self-pruning). I wish I could use a push mower, but too many trees. I consider my summer mowing to be my best exercise – all that yanking the mower around the shrubs, and back and forth on the four surrounding sides, and I’m really pooped! But, if it weren’t for pushing myself to finish it, I have never exercised in a gym to the point of exhaustion like I do mowing my yard. I just swallow a couple extra glucosamine tablets, and admire how pretty it looks when I’m through. I love, love your site!
From never mowed a blade of grass (Lolo) to total determination against all odds (DD)…lots of thoughts on mowing (which I have avoided today so far…getting shaggy out there).
Welcome to Iris. A few years after I got my house 20-plus years ago, just when I had cleared it from past neglect and started gardening a little, there was a Biblical storm like the one you describe. And I started all over again. It is a relief when you get down to the grass…something mowable…under all that debris. See you again soon.
I used to hate mowing until we got a push mower. The noise and gas smell seemed to be the antithesis of what time in the garden should be about. Now I listen to the gentle whir of the blades, hear the birds singing, get a pleasant workout and have a wonderful trimmed lawn at the end of it.
Welcome, Ninidee. You make it sound poetic. I have a couple of acres on a steep hillside and I wonder what parts of it I could do w/a reel mower. Tempted. I remember that sound from my youth. :)
I like mowing too. I have a push, rotary mower and it is such great exercise. It makes me feel less guilty about not going running on the weekends. Plus I love cutting “designs” into the grass, working in patterns so that the yard almost looks like a topo-map. Probably kind of sick, but very satisfying! That said, I haven’t put in my tomato stakes yet, and I’m feeling guilty about it…
I mow two yards each week. It takes about 4 hours for the 5 acres. I love it. With two small kids so I rarely get time to myself. It’s my time to think with only the hum of the mower. Gardening, in general, is my form of therapy. Mowing is a big part of that.
I LOVE mowing just like I love weeding…it’s fun when I don’t *have* to do it!
It can be tough when mowing opportunity doesn’t coordinate with a dry day and the grass is getting higher and higher and I know there’s a small window of getting it cut before it’s too long for the reel mower. But once I’m out there listening to the ‘whir, whir’ of the mower and watching that little dancing cloud of tiny flying lawn clippings…it’s almost blissful. Each year there’s a little less lawn as the beds expand and “the plan” fills out, so the reel mower is ideal for my little yards. Still addicted to the string trimmer…I’m working on it.
Margaret…ask us all how we feel about it again in August ;-)
I’m taking a break from mowing right now. I came inside for a glass of water and your blog was up on the screen, my partner was reading up on your edging techniques. The thought of mowing is worse than the actual mowing for me. Once I get into it I find it very theraputic. I’ve worked out quite a few problems pushing that machine.
Happy Memorial Day, Ann and Bobster; nice to see you both again.
Welcome to Amy, a happy veteran of two yards’ worth of mowing escapism weekly, and also welcome to J.R. Craigmile, who works things out behind the machine.
I definitely understand both points of view, and I’m just in from mowing, too (and weeding, and repotting, and watering, and edging, and…).
I hope to see both of you again, and thanks for visiting.
Hi Margaret. Love this site. I have a summer house in the Berkshires and since we’re college teachers we have a long summer, but I’ve had to hand over mowing to a crew so that in the spring and fall my neighbors don’t have to look at a mess. I actually miss mowing it. I like being in control. One of the problems is that the crew have their own schedule. Sometimes to my way of thinking they mow too often, sometimes not often enough. Most people in the neighborhood do their own mowing. I just wish we could figure out a way to all mow on the same day!! I’ve been getting rid of grass in by inch , but putting in larger and larger beds means more and more weeding. That’s one thing about lawn – unless you’re a perfectionist – keep it mowed and it looks nice and green.The weeds aren’t usually obvious. How fussy are you about your lawn? Did you see the recent article in the New York Times about bees dying and not to be so quick to mow down your dandelions? The bees will be attracted to them and pollinate your plants. (That’s the short version of the article; I think I got it more or less right.)
Welcome, Toby. I am not fussy about my lawn (which is simply made up of whatever grasses and weeds grow that I then mow). Hardly a real “lawn” as in grassy. I would need to use chemicals to make it a real lawn, herbicides in particular, and I just cannot. I did not see the article but will go look, thank you. See you soon again, I hope.
Here’s the April 30 NYTimes article about dying bees and backyard gardens:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/garden/30GARDEN.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=bees%20dandelions&st=cse
I hope the link works.
I have to admit to finding mowing fairly cathartic as long as it is in small doses – less than an hour or so. However if I have to mow the front & back lawns + the paddocks in one go then I’m pretty bored by the end of it!
The finished result can be very rewarding though, there is nothing that finishes a garden off like a nicely striped lawn.
Welcome, Nemaslug. Yes, a nicely “striped” lawn from the even passes of the mower is a nice sight. Very satisfying. I hope we see you soon again, maybe between rounds of mowing? :)
No, i don’t like to mow. On the 1 hand, it’s forced exercise, but until i mow front and back, i don’t feel free to do any other yard chores, and so i often run out of weekend time for the fun stuff.
Welcome, Rose. One more “nay” vote duly recorded. :) I always feel like I am out of time, too, and you are right: having mowed and not “gardened” can be frustrating. Like nothing really got done, and no fun was had. Hope to see you again soon.
I have gotten rid of about 25% of the lawn, so far. Next year, the rest of the front lawn gets replaced with planting beds. I’m going to leave a small (and, I mean small) section of lawn in the back until the kids are older, then it’s being turned into a courtyard. I think that sufficiently shows my hate of mowing (and watering).
It took me 20 years, but I have eradicated all of the grass on my lot. Now I have raised stone beds, gravel paths, flagstone terraces and NO GRASS. Gave away the mower, the trimmer, etc. Free from fumes. Still maintenance, but so much more pleasant.
I was wondering how fussy you are about your grassy areas, you never talk about it. Mine has lots of weeds and clover. I recently went on a garden tour and every garden that had a lawn had weedless, beautiful grass which really made me evious, but like you I don’t want to use pesticides and chemicals.
Welcome, Angela. My “lawn” theory: Mow whatever grows on the ground that’s green, dig out dandelions in the most prominent spots, hope for the best. I don’t weed, spread herbicides, fertilize, or water. I have lots of weeds and lots of clover; sometimes I think that I should just buy a ton of clover and turn the whole thing into that. What a cooperative little plant.
I am currently infested with “ground ivy” (Glechoma) because some key areas are getting shady as the trees grow, and also because the soil is compacted. I have tried a few rounds of core aeration and so on, but may have to strip what’s there and start over (again, not with chemicals). And then I get distracted and move on to something else. :)
Love to mow! I am in total control and mow which direction I want, how high or low I want, mow how often I want, dump the grass clippings where I want,(I live in the country) think about what I want, sing if I want, use the push mower or the tractor which ever I want. I think you get the drift!
Welcome, Bonna. Now let me be sure I understand: You *like* to mow? :) Yes, I think I like it for all those reasons, many weeks, but when it rains a lot (like this year) and the choice of when to mow gets eliminated and one has to run out between storms…no matter what else is on the agenda…well, that has been a little irritating. Maybe I will try singing, next time. Good idea. See you again soon.
Mowing is a great thing for free-flow garden planning. Crack a cold Budweiser, put it in the screwed on peanut can, and off we go. The smell is wonderful, the yard looks neat and tidy, and I get great new ideas for my beds as I cruise by them several times, often seeing things in whole new ways.
My answer to “Mow or no?” is the same as you feel about it. I enjoy the after effect much more than the before one. What with the new anti-lawn movement appearing to gain momentum, I’m almost afraid to mention that I actually get some enjoyment from the chore. My feet like it when their bareness touches that stuff, so, I keep a lawn – a safe one too – no chemicals, no fertilizers, nothing but grass and/or grass clippings.
I, too, have a love/hate relationship with mowing. I tried wild for a season but the mosquitoes and other insects were just a bit too close to the house for comfort, so I mow a lawn to keep the place civilized and the septic field free of tree roots. I love to bike. I would rather ride my bicycle than smell and hear the lawn mower. Often I ride the “country” roads near my house, my home for nearly 60 years. I get so sad when I see land that was once beautiful farmland, woodland and even successional fields given over to lawn. Worst is the Chem Lawn, aka Tru Green. All that chemical soup absorbing into the feet of dogs, cats, kids. I mourn the loss of wild places for the beleaguered wildlife. It breaks my heart when another wet place is drained and filled an housed. Fewer frogs and red winged blackbirds.
Weeds? Mow high and cut their heads off before they set seed!!!
In fairness, I do love the smell of freshly mowed grass and the evening’s green calm that it brings. And the satisfaction of a job done.
Welcome, Fran. A great answer…covers all the dimensions beautifully. And yes, the lawn services that use all those products are the WORST. Not sure how people can even allow that knowing what we know today about the environment. Ugh. Hope to see you soon again; enjoy the bike rides!
I hate mowing. SO much that I let the grass grow really long before i cut it and then the mower dies struggling to cut through it. I probably have to start it up 6 or 7 times so the entire process takes that much longer. I have been accused of having a hay field which is a bit of an exageration but the point was made. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I could have a pristine weedless lawn but where I live we have a ban on lawn herbicides so it’s a bit of a challenge keeping up with it. I moved to a new house about 3 years ago and my focus is making new garden beds and rejuvenating the older shrubs of a very neglected garden.
I previously had no lawn in my other house, it was all garden and I loved it! Unfortunately, it took a long time to sell the house because people just weren’t used to no lawn and weren’t ready to embrace a mower free existance. So I will begrudgingly keep my existing lawn and intend on eating up parts of it with more interesting shrubs and perennials.
Welcome, Angela. I love the “eating up parts of it with more interesting shrubs and perennials” part the best. :) Hope to see you soon again.
Margaret, I’m a mowing addict. At least that’s what my husband says…he chides me about being afraid of the lawn police should the grass get over half an inch high. Of course, that’s a wild exaggeration.
For me, mowing is meditative. I love the views I get from my mower, going where I’m not always walking and watching. I love the smells of wild chamomile and many other wild herbs and grasses that share their essence with me as i buzz by but only in 1st gear now due to an injury. Going slowly makes it better because I watch the toads hop out of the way and have been known to stop for a butterfly just to be sure s/he wasn’t clipped. Admittedly, this year, I’ve had plenty of practice; I could mow every day and I will atop my 14yo John Deere in a day or two.
Welcome, June. Me, too. I love it at the moment. Makes me feel like I’m a good girl who ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING. :)
LOVE to garden. Hate to mow.
Hi, ZT. I have come to love mowing lately. I love seeing the tangible, instant results (though I must say I hate the noise and the heat exhaustion in high summer — yikes, hard to push that thing on this hillside about now!).