A BRIEF HISTORY OF LAWNS

September is the month when I re-seed my lawn and stock up on fall fertilizer. It's also my time to transplant a few cedar trees, get rid of that giant rogue plant at the back of the yard and spray my lawn with more nematodes.

Imagine my surprise when I read that tending for a lawn has a rich history to it.

Yuval Noah Harari in his book Homo Deus explains it as part of his theory that by studying the past, one can free oneself of its tyranny by conjuring up alternative destinies.

Here's his brief history of lawn care.

"Stone Age hunter-gatherers did not cultivate grass at the entrance to their caves. No green meadows welcomed the visitors to the Athenian Acropolis, the Roman Capitol, the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem or the Forbidden City in Beijing. The idea of nurturing a lawn at the entrance to private residences and public buildings was born in the castles of French and English aristocrats in the late Middle Ages. In the early modern age this habit struck deep roots, and became the trademark of nobility..

The precious lawn was often the setting for important celebrations and social events. Royal palaces and ducal chateaux turned the lawn into a symbol of authority. When in the late modern period kings were toppled and dukes guillotined, the new presidents and prime ministers kept the lawns.

Humans thereby identify lawns with political power, social status and economic wealth. No wonder that in the nineteenth century the rising bourgeoisie enthusiastically adopted the lawn. At first only bankers, lawyers and industrialists could afford such luxuries at their private residences. Yet when the Industrial Revolution broadened the middle class and gave rise to the lawnmower and then the automatic sprinkler, millions of families could suddenly afford a home turf. In American suburbia a sick-and-span lawn switched from being a rich person's luxury into a middle class necessity."

A few of my neighbours have broken the tyranny of the lawn by changing their front yards into rock gardens. I'm not sure if I can do that because after all is said and done, I really do enjoy working in the outdoors even if it's only on two 35 by 40 foot patches of green.