Map of the Week: The English Lawn
With the start of Wimbledon fortnight, one of England's proudest boasts is once again showcased for the world - the perfect lawn.
The grass court exemplifies not just a horticultural phenomenon but a cultural one: within its striped symmetry is a display of power as emphatic as a column of North Korean tanks.
But is the lawn's appeal now in decline, its potency failing in straitened and troubled times?
The small, rectangular sward at the centre of the championships is as famous and influential as any of the sports stars who have graced it.
Here, embodied in London SW19, is the Englishman's claim to have authority over nature; not just the triumph of good (grass) over evil (weeds) but an exhibition of how order may defeat chaos.
The English lawn was invented in the early 17th Century as a way for the Jacobean gentry to assert their superiority. Hugely labour intensive, only the wealthiest and most powerful could afford to maintain the immaculate turf.
The traditional use of sheep or other livestock to graze pasture lacked the precision to create the closely-cut finish that amazed the rival gardeners of France and beyond. The perfect lawn was hand-produced by scything and shearing the grass.
So began an obsessive relationship between man and plant. And it does tend to be a man - there is something decidedly male about the botanic and geometric totalitarianism involved.
With the invention of the mowing machine in 1830, the lawn escaped the bonds of England's great estates and became a key component of the Victorian enthusiasm for games, sports and pastimes.
Croquet, cricket, bowls and lawn tennis required immaculate grass playing surfaces and the art of lawn-making was developed and exported around the world along with imperial expansion.
However, domestic dominance was largely retained because a key component of a soft lawn is soft weather - drizzly English rain.
In the 20th Century the United States, in keeping with its acquired super-power status, mobilised the masses to defy this metrological handicap and strive for global lawn domination.
The American Garden Club convinced its members that it was their civic duty to maintain a beautiful lawn: "a plot with a single type of grass with no intruding weeds, kept mown at a height of an inch and a half, uniformly green and neatly edged".
A battery of fungicides, insecticides and herbicides were deployed. Ten million sprinklers sprinkled.
In suburban Britain, no garden was complete without its square of striped green, tended to within an inch of its life. The lawn had become a ubiquitous part of the English landscape, as this map of Wimbledon from 1933 shows.
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club had only moved to its Church Road site 11 years before, but the courts were encircled by other examples of professional lawn construction - the bowling green, the cricket square, the golf greens on the Wimbledon Park course.
Gardens of homes to the south of the club would almost certainly have boasted lawns front and back - framed by a few roses, perhaps. This part of SW19 was lawn central.
Is the English love-affair with the lawn fading, though?
At the Chelsea Flower Show this year, not one of the show gardens featured a lawn. "I would advise someone with a small garden to use artificial grass if they insist on a lawn" presenter Alan Titchmarsh tells me.
This strikes me as cheating, missing the point.
"We like our stripes", he concedes. "There is something therapeutic about the repetition involved in caring for a lawn. We mow it today knowing that in a week we will have to mow it again. People like that."
But his fellow presenter Joe Swift articulates the anti-lawn argument. "Lawns are basically mono-cultural - they really are not that great for biodiversity." He could have added that they consume huge amounts of water and for most gardens are almost impossible to maintain without chemicals.
Joe tells me how he feared a lynching a few years ago when he advised the Islington Gardening Club to dig up their lawns in favour of something more interesting. But I wonder if the reaction would be as negative today.
With US First Lady Michelle Obama ploughing the White House lawn to plant organic vegetables, with climate change making lawn maintenance more problematic in Britain, with the fashion for the natural and with a global economic downturn, it may be that what was once a status-symbol is now a little bit naff.
The pampered lawn looks increasingly like an unsustainable relic from an era of excess.
The most pampered of all, of course, is the golf green. In an academic paper published in 1993, Professor Wolf Grossmann explained how a survey of 52 golf courses on Long island in New York had revealed that "collectively they applied 21 different herbicides, 20 fungicides, and eight insecticides annually, totalling around 50,000 pounds of active chemical ingredients".
He quoted the Chief of New York's Department of Environmental Conservation Joseph Okoniewski: "If you scraped a golf green and tested it, you'd have to cart it away to a hazardous waste facility".
That said, I was out with my mower this weekend, decapitating the daisies and skidding on the moss that approximates for turf in my postage-stamp garden. It is a pretty sorry excuse for an English lawn, but I did feel a slight sense of pride as I inhaled the summer-sweet smell of fresh-cut grass and sized up my stripes.
The image of Centre Court in 2009 is courtesy of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. You can see the full map in 2D and 3D format at the Wimbledon website. The image of Wimbledon in 1933 was provided by the London Borough of Merton.
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To me a lawn is a sign that you've got to much time or money on your hands.
At my parents house they have a front lawn, mainly due to building covenants meaning they can't build an extension or tarmac it for parking. Despite their best efforts it's a battle to what will take it over, weeds or the ant-hills.
At my house it got paved over long ago as having a parking space was a necessity.
As more people have higher time constraints (from work, family etc.) and society has high space restraints (parking) there will be less and less lawns. The only preserve of them might be from whats happened in parts of London where the council are banning people from removing front gardens as they blame this on flooding problems as there is not enough soil to soak up the rainfall.
Talking of the American golf courses reminded me of some program about the American presidential election of many years ago where the motor-cade was driving through some southern state so all the residents had been out the day before painting their lawns to turn them from the dustbowl brown into a luscious green.
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I'm sure you've come across http://www.fritzhaeg.com/garden/initiatives/edibleestates/main.html ... Very interesting that our notion of what makes an attractive garden might not include a lawn in the future.
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A lawn is more than grass; it is the soft refreshing rain and of course, the real answer lies in the soil as they used to say on Round the Horne. You have to lay a lawn properly: not just chuck cheap grass seed onto a patch of builders' rubble. It has to be set down in the right order for otpimum drainage so it does not puddle but with sufficient body to maximise moisture retention. It takes time and is a labour of love.
I am a practitioner of the cottage garden and interestingly the lawn does not fit into this picture where the farm labourer grew the sweet smelling plants used to make cottage and chapel feel pleasant, the vegetables to eke out the poor wages and the herbs to provide simple medicines to ease the aches and pains of a hard life. This is as much British as the lawn: just the other end of society.
A good lawn is a delight as is a cottage garden, but a bad lawn is a horror. Sadly, there are so many bad lawns out there that I prefer to dig them up when I take over the property. I love heathers and in my present garden they take up about a quarter of the old lawn. They always bring the bees in when they flower in the spring.
The pond takes up another chunk of what had been the lawn so that newts, frogs and dragon flies get to enjoy themselves.
Then there are the vegetable patches and soft fruit areas which are the real fun.
This all brings the wildlife into the garden and they in their turn add to the richness. I think this is how the domestic garden is developing; a place to be, a place to grow and a place to learn and understand.
As you say we will always have the great lawns to delight us, but they are necessarily professional things to be appreciated and respected. A garden needs love: you can love a lawn I expect but you might be a fairly dull fellow.
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The point about grass is: it is quiet to walk on, decking and people walking about on it are noisy; it is soft to fall on, try falling down on stone slabs; it binds the soil, so doesn't turn into dust and block drains; it might turn brown but is pretty drought resistant; it repairs itself.
The trouble with a lawn is that it is trying to make grass behave unnaturally and is very unfriendly to children and pets who just want to play around on it. When I get off my sun lounger (under a tree, of course) I want to walk barefoot on grass without fear of absorbing some chemical through my feet, and certainly not on some horrid hard surface.
Totally random thoughts, but keep grass please.
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The problem with the British Lawn is simply bad press and PR coverage and the BBC do not really help - note Alan Titchmarsh and Joe Swift's comments at The Chelsea Flower Show. Those who have studied Turf Culture as a profession are not boring people - they are in tune with the great outdoors. Often the largest part of the garden and still one major aspect of a garden that amateur garden owners struggle with.
You will probably edit this bit out but point readers to our excellant Lawn Blog that is written by a professional turf manager with a degree in the subject of turf culture and over 27 years of hands on, technical and commercial knowledge in turf culture. Find me on Expert Sources. www.grassclippings.co.uk received over 10,000 technical page views per month. The proof is in the knowledge gained during a visit to the web site. Our advice is free. I am also the Founder Member of The Lawn Society so I know a bit about lawns and turf.
Mike Seaton F.Inst.G(Dip)
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I think you are right to raise the spectre of the globalised 'environment' lobby.
In the US, particularly in places like las vegas, the massive use of water to sustain lawns/golf courses in the middle of the desert is a big issue for the 'environmentalists.' As a globalised organisation they spread that philosophy here.
In the UK you have to add in the issue of uncontrolled population growth, unmatched by new infrastructure, resulting in water supply inadequacies. Large numbers of people now have to pay for water on a meter and they may not be willing to do that to maintain a lawn.
The writing is on the wall for yet another small part of our culture.
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'It is a pretty sorry excuse for an English lawn, but I did feel a slight sense of pride as I inhaled the summer-sweet smell of fresh-cut grass and sized up my stripes. '
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Well said, Mark. Where would we be without the English lawn?
Just imagine Sir Francis Drake, standing forlornly above Plymouth, telling his companions: 'Alas, had there been a lawn, we would have had time enough to play a game of bowls, and still beat the enemy'.
It does not have the same ring to it, does it?! ;-)
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With US First Lady Michelle Obama ploughing the White House lawn to plant organic vegetables, with climate change making lawn maintenance more problematic in Britain, with the fashion for the natural and with a global economic downturn, it may be that what was once a status-symbol is now a little bit naff.
The pampered lawn looks increasingly like an unsustainable relic from an era of excess.
Gratuitous mention of the Obamas check. Climate change reference check. Bit of leftie ideology check. And all in the space of two sentences about English lawns. Good going, Mark. Of course, to be a perfect encapsulation of BBC journalism you needed a couple more items:
The pampered lawn looks increasingly like an unsustainable relic from an era of excess, a throwback to the dark days of George W. Bush, and as out of place in the landscape as a partition barrier in Israel.
There - a BBC full house.
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"with climate change making lawn maintenance more problematic..."
Pardon? Not on mine it isn't. Is it part of the standard BBC contract to shoehorn in a reference to climate change? Or do you really all go around talking about it endlessly in your cosy, licence fee fed bubble, whilst planning where you're going to jet off to next?
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A lawn, OK not a perfect lawn, is easy enough to maintain, offers us office wallers an opportunity to convince ourselves that we actually do get some exercise, driving the lawn mower up and down it weekly, and actually looks good.
I detest the trend of turning over lawns to make the front garden a miniature car park; somewhere to dump the family SUV, the wife's "super mini" and oldest son's "go-faster" pollution machine. Not only is it unsightly, it also makes a major contribution to the flash flooding problems that we experience every summer now in UK.
The water has to go somewhere, and a lawn soaks up thousands of litres. How often do you ever see a flooded lawn as a result of a short sharp shower? Hardly any. Same thing can't be said for tarmac or concrete carparks.
Lawn out of fashion? I hope not!
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I am amazed, until reading this article I would never have thought that the common garden was a "status symbol"!.
Reading dunbuhs comments, I have to admit that I also felt that your article strayed into the surreal with your climate change and Obama comments, although I feel that dunbuh went too far with his final sentence.
As one of the more informative and educational BBC bloggers, I feel it would be more beneficial if you refrain from your personal ideological viewpoint and stick to factual posts.
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Why do men love their lawns so much? Maybe it has to do with the fact that a man's house is his castle. It's one way his house will stand out in a neighborhood of ticky tacky other houses. Those perfest lawn men make good husbands because if they can care for their lawn, they probably care for their neighborhoods too.
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Reminds me of a conversation that I overheard at a National Trust garden a few years ago:-
American tourist: "How do you get your lawns looking so good?"
National Trust guide: "Oh, it's quite straightforward sir. You just cut it, roll it and water it (slight pause) for about 400 years."
Our lawns and gardens are definately part of our national heritage, and we should enjoy that differentiator. The last couple of Summers have been very conducive to lush growth, and hopefully that will continue this year. Would you really want your house to be surrounded by featureless scorched brown scrub?
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My small lawn was dull dry earth and moss until the neighbours cut down their towering cypress lawsonias. I have taken pleasure in watching nature return over the last few years - now there are clovers, stitchwort, self-heal, snowdrops, celandine, hawkbit, primroses, campion, plantain, bluebells, cowslips; and a variety of grasses. Mostly self-seeded or given to me by friends. This has brought a collection of insect life - ants, mason bees, butterflies.
I only need to strim it a couple of times a year - and no chemicals either.
Who needs stripes?
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The lawn is just about the only part of our garden the neighbour's cats don't use as a toilet.
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Our lawn is primarily there for our children. In fact, come to think of it, the whole reason spent a small fortune having our steeply sloping garden terraced was to create a flat lawn for the children to play on.
You don't need a shed full of chemicals for a good lawn, in fact you don't even need to water it, it's incredibly resilient stuff. All you need are a lawn mower, a set of edging shears and a bit of organic fertilizer.
For me, a lawn is a flat, slightly cushioned play area. If some of it isn't fescue or bent, so be it, the children love daisy chains!
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...a perfect lawn / Yawn.
The perfection depends very much on a level surface. Hence, golf enthusiasts will no doubt be aware of the superiorty of American golf courses.
Putt,putt.
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Can't stand our lawn and take great delight when it gets covered in dandelions, bluebells, forget-me-nots, clover etc. My wife (very British) has this compulsive urge to get out and mow it, in case the neighbours comment, I imagine and regards the aforementioned plants as weeds. I also don't see what right I have to wake up everybody else in the neighbourhood at 8am every Sunday because said lawn has the effrontery to grow half an inch. It's not as if we even use the clippings for anything useful as our compost heap would be far better off without. I do disagree with paving over, however.
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I have turned the grass at the front of my house (I couldn't grace it with the name 'lawn'), into a vegetable plot. I used to be thought of as slightly crazy, but now we are eating home grown veg and I get to chat to the neighbours. Much more fun than working alone in my small back garden
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I've this year decided to give up on the rear lawn....sort of, going for a meadow-esque look with longer grasses and wild flowers intermingled. One box of meadow grass seed, one bag of compost and you're on your way to mowing only when it gets above 5 inches - bliss! Certainly helps bring more wildlife into the garden, requires far less tending and provides a much more fragrant, romantic and relaxing place to be :)
And to pandatank - if your wife is mowing at 8am on a Sunday morning, tell her that's damaging the grass. It should be mown in the evening when the sun's harshness has died down to prevent it from browning...plus, you never know, she may be so tired by the evening that she gives it a miss :)
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We have lived overseas and travelled a lot and the first thing that always hits you when you come back to the UK is how green everything is - I mean eye popping, dazzling green compared with the arid desert look most countries have. Long live the English lawn and our wonderful climate that nourishes it.
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Can you imagine our homes, neighbors and cities without green lawns and flowery parks? People seem to start avoiding extra expenses like vacations, hobbies and sadly, even lawncare due to economic crisis. It is common to hold back household and outdoor projects due to budgeting. Also, the right care for landscape is now being forgotten by people just to save money. But these arent the right solutions to the problem, in fact, it would increase it.
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Coming late to this blog but just a note on golf courses. In the UK we give over 80 times as much space to golf courses as we do to children's play. This must mean that we value the play of middle aged white men 80 times more than we value children's play. One solution: reduce golf to a 17-hole game and give the 18th over for a children's playground. It won't go anywhere near redressing the balance but it will give children more space to play.
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Mark:
Excellent picture of the English Lawn...
=Dennis Junior=
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