taming a continent

PART 3

Since North America is made up of 15 ecological regions, further disaggregated into 182 more nuanced areas, landscaped lawns across the country make zero sense. 

Meaning, specific flora and fauna naturally thrive in certain areas based on unique geographical features. What flourishes in Alabama is different than in Arizona than in Albany than in…you get the picture.

Yet from coast to coast, every patch of green space we see looks the same: parks, schools, public buildings, restaurants, god-awful strip malls, place of worships, homes.

Why?

Remember, lawns originated in Europe as a sign of wealth and brought to America. Early settlers then asserted their agenda on the thriving ecosystems and cultures here. 

You know, to tame the continent.

As an immigrant this is baffling. It would never have occurred to my family, or any immigrants I know, to impose our customs, holidays or food on a prevailing culture. We expended time, energy and resources, assimilating to the cultural affectations of the dominant culture.

Instead, European immigrants concocted the notion of Manifest Destiny to justify their eradication of native cultures and take land. Knowing America’s growth is based on aggression and dominance helps us understand how landscaped lawns are historically seeded in the pursuit of a monoculture:

“Lawns became aesthetic extensions of Manifest Destiny, symbols of American entitlement and triumph, of the soft and verdant rewards that result when man’s ongoing battles against nature are finally won.”

The first two posts in this series touch on the psychological and environmental costs of lawns. But what are the sociological implications of bending nature to one aesthetic purpose?