With the post-Second World War arrival of suburbia, a lawn similar to those seen in Europe became a matter of pride to returning soldiers and the competition for the best lawn in the neighbourhood was in full swing. Moss, clover and other garden alternatives require less maintenance and expense. In a nutshell, they followed the European evolution of lawns as status symbols when having a lawn showed that you could afford not to grow food on your land and that you could afford the resources (such as gardeners) to maintain it. Look up the history of lawns in North America. The problem is that we’ve been conditioned to think that lush green lawns are the holy grail of outdoor home enhancement.

On the downside, they don’t like being walked on much, so wouldn’t work well with kids or large pets.

Moss lawns don’t require mowing, fertilizing, or other amendments, grow at any soil pH and light level and are very drought tolerant. I like the look of it and the fact that it is nature’s natural carpet. I’m hoping the moss will completely take over the front. We pretty much have a moss lawn in the front and a goutweed lawn in the back with just enough grasses and weeds to ensure that it still needs mowing. Moss brightens up the garden in early spring, though it doesn’t work well for heavy traffic areas. Google moss lawn and you’ll get a bunch of sites telling you how to get rid of moss in your lawn and then a scattered one telling you how to get a moss lawn instead of a turf (i.e. Moss lawn seems like a contradiction in terms, but that is precisely what many naturalists are promoting. Some people are responding that they envy people with moss and would love to have a moss lawn. People are posting questions on Facebook about how to get rid of moss on your lawn.

Download moss lawn