Lawns in landscape design: the best is not the enemy of the good!
Our daily life is multifaceted and unpredictable. And do not be surprised if you wake up in the morning, you will understand: today is ideally suited to do something special. Why not start with the improvement of your personal plot - a small piece of land next to the building, which can give an idea of its owners long before visiting the house itself? So, if the weather outside the window does not cause cause for concern, we will start creating landscape design in the neighborhood with our home.
An integral part of any greening project is a lawn. This green coating, being a neutral background, allows you to visually expand the existing territory and give the site a stylistic completeness. As a rule, the lawn has the appearance of a site near a house or in a garden sown with undersized and creeping plant varieties. Many associate the emergence of this element of landscape design with the progress and development of modern technology, however, the history of the appearance of the first lawns should be sought in the depths of centuries.
Let's turn to the story ...
Descriptions of the oldest lawns can be found in chronicles created over three thousand years ago. The first green carpets grew exclusively at the palaces of the emperors of Ancient China and Persia - for ordinary people this option of transforming the site in front of the house was too expensive. After some time, emerald lawns with an even coating began to decorate the territory of courtyards and gardens belonging to the ancient Greeks and Romans. And only after the XIV century, the lawn fashion swept all the states of Europe, and then the rest of the world. It is curious that until a lawn mower was invented (references to this event date back to the 19th century), the growth rate of grass on the lawns was regulated by grazing sheep that trampled a significant green cover. Around the end of the 19th century, the first lawns appeared in Russia.
Why exactly the lawn?
This direction of landscape design performs not only a decorative function. Thanks to the lawn, a wonderful place for children’s games and family vacations appears in the yard. Grass cover contributes to the regulation of the microclimate in the household plot - the temperature difference between the air layer and the earth's surface does not become so sharp. In addition, the grass has phytoncide and filtration properties, which helps to clean the airspace from the accumulation of dust, gas impurities and heavy metals. For example, a lawn with an area of 1 hectare is able to absorb up to 60 tons of dust. The structure of the soil improves, more moisture is stored in it. Lawn coverings muffle excessive noise and reduce surface vibration. In addition, the lawn grass forms oxygen, saturated with negative ions, which has a beneficial effect on the well-being of people living nearby.
They are so different ...
Due to the fact that the lawn is usually laid for more than one season, you should immediately think about its main purpose, shape and appearance. Selecting a configuration is easy. Depending on your preferences, you can break the lawn into a classical shape - in the form of a rectangle, square, circle, or go on a more difficult path, giving the green cover an original shape, devoid of clear boundaries.
Given the operating conditions, the lawn to be laid can be ordinary, sports or decorative.
Ordinary grass coverings are easy to meet on any personal plot. Such lawns are distinguished by a uniform texture and monophonic coloring, as well as a sufficiently high resistance to stress - it is quite possible to walk on them.
Sports lawns are characterized by a dense turf cover, consisting of various cereal crops that are not afraid of trampling. Such a cover is able to withstand significant intense loads, therefore, most often, it is located in stadiums, playgrounds and in places of public recreation. Green coatings of this type should be provided with a good drainage system.
Decorative lawn, in comparison with other types, looks most impressive. It is located in those areas that attract attention: at the main entrance to the building, in park alleys and other significant places. Walking on such a lawn is not recommended - they can only be admired.
If you want to landscaping the site as soon as possible, then there is no better option than a rolled lawn. Such coatings are grown in special conditions and delivered to the customer in rolled up form. After laying on pre-prepared soil, the rolled lawn forms a dense grassy coating, characterized by a juicy green color. This cover easily takes root, and does not overgrow with weeds. The main disadvantage of a rolled lawn, without a doubt, is its cost.
Lawn or natural grass: there is always a choice
There are situations when it becomes very difficult to choose the option of landscaping a site. In this case, we should once again compare all the pros and cons of each of the proposed areas. The following important factors should be considered:
- the natural diversity of biological species on the site when breaking down the lawn will be significantly reduced. This is completely harmless for small lawns, but poses a significant threat to a large area of sown area in the countryside.
- the lawn is able to acquire a flowering appearance only in conditions of good watering. If there are difficulties with irrigation, achieving the desired result will not be easy.
- natural herbs lead in the amount of oxygen released into the atmosphere - lawn stands are significantly inferior to it in this regard.
- herbicides used in lawn areas for weed control negatively affect the ecological state of the soil layer.
Arrangement of a lawn is considered the most time-consuming and extremely costly stage of landscaping the territory of a suburban household. A lawn covering is the basis where all other elements of landscape design will be organically inscribed: decorative ponds, stone slides and ceramic vases made from antique. Without proper care, including procedures such as aeration, mulching, fertilizing, watering and mowing, the lawn instantly takes on an unsightly appearance. That is why a professional approach and knowledge of technology are so important in its operation.
Are you still in doubt? Do not leave them any chance! An excellent reward for decisiveness will be a positive attitude caused by the cardinal changes that will soon be possible to observe in your personal plot.