For many people, their only contact with nature or being outside is their yard. Now they're not even getting that. I think it's a sad sign of our society's disconnection with nature that they don't see the value of gardens or even grass. What are their kids going to do? Play on concrete? They will miss out on many special moments of childhood if they have nothing green to play with.

and what about nature? The butterflies, the bee's, the hummers, the birds, even the rabbits and ground squirrels. What about the air we breathe? What would filter it?

People like that are to busy right? Playing x box or going to cocktail parties? Grrr....

I can understand the getting tired, aging, too little time, etc., but there are certainly better ways to ease up than concrete and fake greenery!!!! How about Buffalo grass for the lawn, trees and shrubs that do not require constant shaping and pruning and spraying. They need to check with the local extension horticulturists for ways to Go Native (Missouri's term for it). I am ready to head in that direction .

I have to admit, we've graveled several areas in my garden to get rid of the grass but I still plant things in these areas. If everyone paved over their gardens imagine what the air quality would be like, it's bad enough now.

Annette

I agree with gldno 1.

I can certainly understand the concept of "garden fatique" but I also think the more natives you incorporate into the landscape, the better. They are already adapted to your growing conditions and don't need a lot of coddling.

Also, it could be that he simply has more than he can comfortably handle in the time he has allocated for garden work. IMO it's no sin to pare down your garden to the point where it becomes an enjoyable past time, rather than a dreaded chore.

Paving over everything seems like a really drastic step to take considering how important trees, flowers and grass are to our ecology.

Marilyn

What I don't get is that the person referenced above has $90K to spend on this "project". How many years of hiring a weekly gardener would that cover?? All I can think about is how HOT HOT HOT it will be sitting in that backyard. My guess is, he'll be too busy to use the hot tub and the gazebo and the grill. Paved terraces??!! Instead he'll probably take a hot shower then sit in the AC watching TV....BORING! Ha! remember that song that goes..."they tore down a house and they put a parking lot"? How far have we come since then?

MeMo

how very sad to see this type of mentality. I agree with many of you. Go Native, hire a gardener, do ANYTHING except concrete which will only contribute to the pavement jungles which leads to more flash flooding. Gravel would be a better choice because at least rain water would perculate down into the ground. I think it is so sad that people no longer have time to stop and enjoy nature. As bad as my gardens are this year I still can enjoy seeing the butterflies, hummingbirds and finches play around amongst the struggling flowers - they need that little sliver of paradise and so do I....

Lynne

Why don't these people just live in APARTMENTS?
If people didn't insist on growing things (like golf course lawns) where they don't belong (in the shade), then the backyard wouldn't be a war zone.

Maybe instead of a hot tub to soak his lazy butt he needs to take a few gardening courses to learn how to work WITH nature, rather than remove it from his life. (Or he could come and read a few threads here!)

Sheesh, for 90k, I'll come over and cut his grass! There's probably more to the story, like he's seen one picture-perfect garden magazine too many and now wants a stylin' look for his own patch, except he can't figure out how to grow a rose under an Oak tree. Pity the fool.

I would go as far as saying that, if your garden is a war zone, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG! But paving it over is hardly the answer.

We've made our 1 acre yard pretty managable .. well, once we finish tackling the back jungle of overgrowth (we moved into my childhood home after my parents passed and it hadn't been maintained in 5-6 years). We have a little (maybe 20'x50' grass area in the front ... the rest is trees, mulched flowerbeds and woods. The back we have a LARGE gravel area ... 140'x15-40' depending which area ... that we have our shed and my propogation bed and kid's pool and gazebo and fire pit and grill and what not ... then below that is all mulch/straw plantings down to the woods and lake. No grass to mow. Just take a weed whacker every now and again :)

Of course ... I'm of the mind that in the fall, you just let your grass go to seed, then mow it after all of the seed has matured ... no need to buy more grass seed and spread it around ... it's already done :) Of course, not sure that my neighbors fully appreciate that .. .but hey. :)

-Bonnie

And where will the water go? Surprised local government didn't make them put in a "holding pond".!!!!

Pretty disheartening as this seems to be, I partly sympathize with this homeowner. Maybe he doesn't really have an inclination to garden - not every people do, you know? - and his busy life schedule doesn't allow him a lot of time. Maybe he's tired of spending his spare time doing a chore he doesn't enjoy. I can understand that. I went back to work full time a few months ago, after a series of years in which I worked as a freelance from home. The amount of time I now have to devote to the garden is minimal and centred around the weekend, when I have a zillion other things to do as well. So whatever I can do to simplify my work in the garden is welcome - despite my love of gardening. I simply do not have the time anymore - or the energy sometimes, after a hard week of work.

On the other hand, grass is not a mandatory item for a garden. In many countries grass is a no-no. If you go to a Moroccan or Tunisian garden you will hardly see grass anywhere. It would be a tremendous waste of water in a land with a scarcity of that precious liquid. It doesn't mean you can't cultivate a garden, you just have to work with Nature and not against it. In a North African garden you will see huge amounts of paving, be it stone, marble or tile. You will also see fountains to cool the air. What you won't see is grass. The ancients knew how do to things, you know, and paid attention to the natural cycles. Plus the lawn mower was only invented in the 19th century and in Britain - the perfect climate for grass and lawns. You don't have to sow a lawn in Scotland - all you have to do is let Nature take its course and voilá, hey presto, a lawn is born.

I think people need a lot of education on what's appropriate to cultivate in their climate or not. As some posters mentioned, going with native plants or with plants from places which are similar to the ones we garden in, may be an answer. Hiring a gardener may not be the answer in many cases: we may not have the money for that, or simply maybe there isn't anyone available around that could do it to your satisfaction (that's my case).

Personally, I see nothing wrong with getting rid of lawns and other thirsty plants in climates which do not suit them. Water is a scarce commodity and soon will be more valuable than oil. This doesn't mean we'll have to pave our entire plots, though. It simply means we'll have to get smarter and more in tune with Nature. Isn't that what a gardener is supposed to be, anyway?

Just my 2 cents.
Eduarda

Here is a link that might be useful: The Majorelle garden in Marrakesh, Morocco

for me..this article was not about keeping "lawn" or about "gardening". I think to garden or not is a very personal choice as many things in life are. I would much rather a homeowner who doesn't have the time to garden does not, rather than let his property become a overgrown weed patch. It is not for everyone...nor should it be. I think Eduarda was right about on about native plants and watering needs. I would feel much better about this article or new view if homeowners were replacing high maintaince green with low maintaince green..but personally I am not comfortable with a trend of homeowners becoming developers in a sense...paving over things with pavers or concrete completely to eleminate work, not to save watering. Water is precious...as is time, but so are birds, and butterflies and bees and clean filtered air. We al make choices about where we live, and how we live, and careers and lifestyles. I think it would be much more responsible for "busy people" who don't want to be slaves to maintaince..to live in places that don't demand that....apartments, condos, ect...and to instead donate the 90,000 they would spend on paving to a local park or wildlife refuge for improvements or expenses. A much more responsible answer to wanting no maintaince but still respecting the earth and the planet. I personally feel it is irresponsible and selfish to purchase a home with land and pave it over because you dont want to be bothered caring for it. Water is precious and so is green, whether is be native or manicured...life is precious...concrete and pavers are not....they are "mans" answer to less responsibility.....I would rather see people evaluate the lifestyle they live and choose a home that reflects that but still respects the earth and nature and life. Money can buy concrete or stone but what if we ALL did that or the majority of us did.........not a pretty thought...

Life is about priority and responsiblities..not only to yourself......but to the earth and life...the people you share this planet with.

I apologize if I offend anyone with these views, I respect yours and ask you respect mine. It is a good thing we all think and believe different..and I especially feel that way after reading about this trend.

By the way, I suspect, this new trend, is a mostly american trend....as acres and acres of manicured lawn is also a largely american trend...

Absolutely right, Eduarda. Our garden was designed with our dry-summer climate in mind and uses very little water compared to most. There's also no lawn - I appreciate beautiful expanses of green, but they don't really belong here. It makes me flinch to see aerial shots of places like Palm Springs, where millions of gallons go to waste on keeping acres of green lawn going in the desert heat.

As for paving it over, around our neighborhood in the early '60's, that was actually a popular solution for many homeowners to deal with drainage problems and the "I don't like to garden but I want a big lot" mentality. We saw one open house where the PO had done at least three different concrete pours and completely eliminated any greenery at all. It was a warm sunny day and the backyard was like being inside an oven. Not even a patio umbrella in sight! I can't even remember what the house was like inside, all I remember is the solar grill--I mean, the backyard, LOL.

I've never actually understood why people want a lot of land if they don't like to garden...it's always seemed quite odd to me. Why not buy a nice airy loft with a fabulous city view instead? It'll cost the same, and be easier to maintain.

Well, the article sounds like it was written by someone who is clueless. Azaleas and hollies are relatively slow-growing plants, there is no way their maintenance would require them to be clipped every week or hours of labor. I can understand that some people don't have the time or interest in gardening, and hardscaping is very much "in" and trendy, but this is misinformative and one-sided. Yes, others have already pointed out there are lower maintenance alternatives and someone with that kind of money could afford to pay a gardener...

Lol at the hours of work trimming the azaleas each week, but I can certainly understand not wanting to spend all of my free time on yardwork. I love my garden, but there are times I get frustrated that I don't have time to do other outdoor stuff in the spring because if it is nice out, I need to be in my garden, and I only have so much time intersecting with good weather.

And I will admit, it was a little less mosquito-y on my patio this past week than in the swamp that used to be my backyard lawn. Ok, so I exaggerate about the swampiness, but not the mosquitos!

Otoh, around here, there's this little thing called a maximum Impervious Surface Ratio...

It takes an article like this to reintroduce us to situations that, to a greater or lesser degree, have been going on around us for ages. Would there have been the same hue and cry if the article was on excavating one's back yard for a large in ground pool, complete with the appropriate amount of decking, security fencing, maybe a cabana,and a few brightly planted containers scattered around? Likewise, don't we somehow find it odd that many of the world's most beautiful resorts eschew the natural beauty of their surroundings and spend multimillions creating fake pools, lagoons, waterfalls, scenery etc? Closer to home, aren't we all pretty blase about developers clear cutting wooded acreage to build suburban tract housing so owners can flock to the nearest garden center to make an attempt at replacing what was taken away - all the while hoping that the displaced natural habitats of the birds and butterflies and other woodland creatures can somehow be made right again by scatterings of posies?

I love gardening and cannot imagine not wanting to garden or being unable to do it. That being said, I can't regard someone who does not share my passion as an unworthy steward of the earth. I can't dismiss out of hand as being eco-unfriendly anyone who wishes to spend his tree, shrub, and flower budget on hardscaping to create an environment in which he is no longer a slave to its maintenance. I lived in Maryland for 30 some years; with the heat and humidity and long growing season, I remember the grass already looking raggedy within three days of having been cut, flowers bloomed out and crispy by the 4th. of July, and the list goes on. Sure, there are the ubiquitous azaleas, rhododendron, camellias, boxwood, dogwood, hollies, Japanese Maples, flowering crabs, plums, cherries - many periodic care/no care plants to choose from. And maybe the subject of the article will choose something beautiful to soften the hardscape and will also have carefully considered any water runoff issues.

As eduarda reminded us, it's the availabilty of water that will become a real determinant of what we might be able to do even in our private spaces. This is the second season of severe drought here (global warming? a protracted stretch of "weather"?) and I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that eventually my plant choices are going to have to be more in tune with survival with little or no supplemental water. I'm not getting younger and my two old city parcel realm isn't getting any smaller. Now when I walk through my gardens, or look at the expanses of lawn going dormant earler and earlier in the season, more often than not I think there has to be a way of downsizing without going to extremes.

Perhaps mine is a minority view, but there are worse things one could do to a quarter acre backyard than install some nice stonework. Even in the Metro DC area, 90k should get you a pretty good looking space.

I think there have been some excellent points made in this thread and in particular the fact that in some climates gardening is a year round endeavor. Certainly garden fatigue is going to be more of a factor for warm climate gardeners than for those who's growing season is far more limited.

After 2 straight years of the most severe drought stage (D4) I have been dealing with flooding this year. It's demoralizing at times to watch all my drought resistant plants suffer from powdery mildew and rot. I also don't think it's a short coming on anyone's part to just pack it in.

If the gentleman in question prefers to spend his leisure time on the golf course, the tennis court, quietly reading, playing with his kids or anything other than yard work, that's certainly his perogative. There are plenty of viable alternatives to just paving over, but ultimately it's up to him and what works the best in his personal situation.

I am also a weekend gardener and it was a deliberate decision on my part to limit the size of my beds to something that I am easily able to maintain. I know how much time I am able to comfortably devote to this hobby, which is one of many past times that I enjoy.

It's all a matter of balance and keeping one's life as stress free as possible.

Marilyn

Good discussion and lots of good points here...

The way I see it: A person who owns property does have a lot of leeway about how he/she chooses to arrange it. But NOT unlimited leeway. If you decide to just let it go (and grow) you will probably provide habitat for vermin who will not distinguish your house from your neighbor's when the weather turns cold. When you pave large areas you ARE changing the patterns of water run-off (having worked for airport design engineers I became very aware of what an impact large paved areas can have). If you are not very careful you will be making a problem for your neighbors, not to mention the microclimate you will be creating by installing that much hardscape. As I see it, our freedom to do as we please with our property ends at the point where it begins to negatively impact the people (and animals) around us. But, if the man wants to spend THAT much money to create what sounds to me like a pretty uncomfortable space, well...as long as he's not scaring the horses.

However, I have an idea this is not really just about maintenance. As Lori mentioned, hollies and azaleas do NOT require weekly pruning. And if you have that kind of money you could certainly afford to hire someone to do the heavy lifting. No...I think this fellow is probably a bit of a show-off and the whole $90,000 paving thing is probably the sign of another new conspicuous consumption trend. After all, kitchens have gone that way - so upscale that they are practically social markers. (I even saw a grill with granite countertops!!) Expensive remodeling has become a badge of wealth and status. This sounds to me like that kind of project. Hot tub? Gazebo? Outdoor kitchen? If he is really planning to spend that much time out there why fuss about a bit of yardwork?

I picked up a copy of Fine Gardening yesterday and was somewhat distressed to find an article about the "new trend" in modern gardens - minimal use of plants! That's the main reason I decided to post here. Trends, in my opinion, are just artificial ways of ranking people - "I have the newest thing so I'm ahead of you." That is NOT why I garden. If the gentleman in question is really that tired of "competing with the neighbors for the showiest rose" then maybe this is not really a big loss to gardening.