apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Oh, but once you've signed on for the individual, weed-free, perfectly tidy swath of Kentucky bluegrass (or whatever's hot in lawns these days), you've already jumped off the "green" wagon in most regions.

If a yard were forced on me, I'd go with a drought-resistant groundcover that needed mowing (a) not at all or (b) with a push mower. But if you don't have children, large dogs, or yard-requiring hobbies, there's a lot to be said for getting the grass between your toes from a common green space supported by HOA fees or taxes and maintained with some professionalism.

I use a reel mower. The are cheap and get the job done - although if I miss a week it's a lot more difficult. I have a fairly large lot with a small house, with an unruly dandelion-filled lawn (although I'm slowly eliminating it for gardens and shrubs), and it only take me a little over an hour to mow the lawn.

I grew up on a farm and we had a home quarter that was about half lawn. That's really the only scenario I can imagine you'd need a riding mower. Too many lazy people these days.

If you have a big enough lawn that you can't use a push mower, you have too much lawn.

If you have the energy, a reel mower does a great job!

I always think of the old Spankies episodes or old cartoons but then I used one and it was fun. There's something cool about the way it turns and watching the grass fly. Ima geek.

We don't have a yard any more, but when we did we used a reel mower for a few years. Our yard was largish -- over 1/4 acre -- and with lots of trees and not-nice grass so it took a long time, but it was great exercise! Then we splurged on a battery power electric mower. We had stayed away from electric for a long time because of the trees, but the battery solved that problem. It worked brilliantly and it's still going strong for my mom's small yard.

In our current apartment, I have to admit I miss the garden but I don't miss cutting the grass!

If we ever end up staying in one place long enough to own a home, my husband and I are going to zero scape our yard. Grass is a waste of resources in most cases, not only in regards to mowing, but also in regards to water usage.

On a small lawn, it's often less work to use a reel mower since it's much easier to turn, reverse or reposition a reel mower than a heavy gas mower. While I don't think that massive lawns are aesthetically or environmentally pleasing, there is something to be said for walking in nice soft grass in your bare feet. Of course a few dandelions or some nice clover don't take away from that feeling at all.

I admit I use a gas/oil mix mower. I wanted to get a reel mower (cheap!), but our shaggy dog brings in tons of grass if I don't bag the the grass clippings in the back yard.

I'm slowly turning the yard (front and back) into landscaping (mostly drought-resistant and native). It was virtually 100% grass when we moved in.