Our daffodils are not only up and blooming, they are about to wilt back into the soil. I don’t recall them showing their sunny yellow faces this early in the past, but my memory is not what it once was. I’m not even sure when “once was,” was. I’ll attribute both the early arrival and my lack of memory to climate change.
Seeing them reminds me each and every year that the Battle of the Yard is about to commence. We live in a neighborhood where some people have “show yards.” You know the ones. The greenest grass with edging in perfect lines, bushes trimmed with pinking shears, flowers that bloom all summer long and trees from Home and Garden magazine. These people set the bar way too high for the rest of us. God forbid you actually live next to one.
Late winter in this part of the country means the overachieving trees that bloom earliest can get their buds frozen right off by a late winter blast. Forsythia is one such overachiever. Blooming Bradford Pear trees can also be casualties of the cold, but they are so pretty I always hope they survive.
In November and December, we put what is called “winterizer” on our no-longer-green carpets with the hope that our lawn gets greener earlier than our neighbors. Of course, our neighbors also put it on. We follow that up with crabgrass preventer, which is an oxymoron if ever I’ve heard one. Is there actually scientific proof this stuff works? As I write this, I can tell you my already appearing crabgrass is looking very healthy. Some people will be dethatching and others will be aerating their exterior emerald carpets in hopes of “better than last year” performance. You go for it.
This all comes at a cost. Part of that is human capital in terms of manual labor, usually on weekends when we are supposed to relax. Americans spend over $100 billion dollars on lawn care every year and the average American spends 70 hours a year on said lawn just to look average. Best in the Neighborhood takes way more than 70 hours and a lot more money.
Home Depot, Lowe’s and local nurseries are already loading up waiting for our hopes and dollars to arrive. Half of what they sell us dies in a few months, so we come back and buy more. What a business model!
People don’t just downsize because the kids are gone. They move into townhomes, condos and 55 and over communities to escape landscaping. Let the younger generation enjoy droughts, bugs, blight and “why is my Japanese Maple looking so bad?” They deserve their shot at lawn of the month even though the odds are similar to Power Ball.
Oh, and remember that fire ant season starts soon. Happy early spring …
P.S. … and I hope your lawnmower starts when you pull it out of storage.
