Monday, July 20, 2009

Fayetteville, When is Weed Not a Weed?

Mayor Jordan got the authority to grant exceptions to Fayetteville citizens who opt to have the their lawns deemed as "naturalistic landscapes." It's all part of the sustainability fad that many residents of Fayetteville are following. While there may be a few who seriously cultivate their yard to be "natural" I fear most residents see this as way to skip the upkeep of a yard. Tired of cleaning out the weeds, mowing and trimming the lawn? Get the city to designate your yard as natural. VoilĂ , no more work! I really hope the City designates those yards that are real true "naturalistic landscapes". These yards do take some work to upkeep and while they don't have the same look as regular lawns they do maintain some order.

2 comments:

Hardtack said...

Several years back, on Crossover Road, where the new fire station is located, was a "natural park." There was a sign stating that this small park showed the native grasses of Northwest Arkansas.

When growing up on my Aunt's 20 acres, we had the same type of growth on our land, however at that time we called them "weeds."

Anonymous said...

A "weed" is any plant a person doesn't like. Some whose common name includes the word "weed," such as milkweed, are incredibly important to the survival of a species. In the case of the milkweed, the species is the monarch butterfly. Its caterpillars must have milkweed leaves in September and October in order to turn into butterflies and migrate to Mexico and return to the U.S. in the spring. Otherwise, the species will not survive.
A few plants in every yard in Fayetteville could make a big difference.