In the past a lawn was a status symbol. It showed that you have enough disposable wealth to maintain something that is purely decorative and serves no practical purpose. (And by the way, keeping a lawn is actually quite resource intensive, it takes a lot of water compared to other vegetation.)
Whereas traditionally, growing fruits, vegetables and useful herbs was seen as something that poor people did out of necessity. This is an attitude that originates with the British aristocracy and was then passed on to the culture of the American upper and upper-middle classes.
Nowadays this has somewhat reversed, and as more middle class people have adopted lawns, the wealthy needed to have new status symbols to differentiate themselves from the masses, and so they have started owning orchards, vineyards and like.
19
knfrmity - 9mon
Depending on the area, they may not be allowed to have anything but grass on their yard.
Most people sadly also have no idea how to grow their own food anymore.
16
footfaults - 9mon
The tyranny of the HOA. Your options for what to do with your property is very limited
11
pcalau12i - 9mon
Over 90% of homes are under an HOA and often the HOA dictates what you can have in your yard, and sometimes at least the front yard the HOA will maintain it themselves. My parents got in trouble with their HOA for planting a tree and fought with them for awhile for they finally let them keep it.
10
Max - 9mon
As someone who spent several years working at an arboretum (ie someone who frequently tended to gardens and lawns), I’m gonna challenge the folks claiming it’s because lawns are easier to care for. Keeping grass looking nice and uniform is difficult and resource intensive any place in the world, whereas a thoughtfully planted garden of local flora can require relatively little intervention. It’s all about how intensely you want to stick a middle finger up to Mother Nature and try to grow plants that don’t belong in the environment. Lawn grass doesn’t belong anywhere so it’s always a challenge.
9
小莱卡 - 9mon
It's hard and messy so it requires a lot of energy compared to a lawn. Still i think having a fruit tree is worth it, people with the space should definitely have one it's awesome looking forward for that harvest season.
7
Finiteacorn - 9mon
They like it, they actually (and im not fucking with u here) think it looks nice, someone else already mentioned why they like it but when it comes down to it they just like grass. Which imma be honest i think is fine, problem is they force people who dont like it to also have grass and double problem they are completely unreasonable about their love for grass just no moderation at all they put it everywhere in unreasonable quantities.
6
jayemar @lemm.ee - 9mon
Trending a garden is a lot more work than a lawn. And there are a lot more critters that want to come reap what I've sown.
5
Commiejones - 9mon
Pruning and harvesting takes a bit more time and energy than maintaining a lawn but not much. Who cares if critters get a share? A single berry is more than you get from a lawn.
7
Soviet Pigeon - 9mon
Caring for it also means additional work. People have jobs, so there is not always time. Also if I remember right there are some weird laws regarding having a garden in the USA, so you actually don't have the freedom to do everything you want with it.
The Soviet Union had datschas and the were great. I have great memories about the datscha of my grandparents. There was a vast amount of cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries and and and. The taste was something to remember for eternity. But it took so much work time to care for this all. In the 90s having a datscha was a good key to survive those times. But you had still your work to do every day and sometimes after work or on the weekends you worked on the datscha.
Even if you have your petite bourgeoisie middle-class household in the USA with a garden, it still takes a lot of time. And you also need knowledge. Additionally you also have normal workers which saved enough money for a credit to buy a house and they have to work their ass off to pay it all off.
The question is simple, why don't they "just" do it? But the more you think about it, the more reasons you find, why the answer is a longer one.
Also I would rather save money and advise to leave this country, buy a house somewhere else and then plant there your trees and bushes. Even in some Siberian city with a low population you will get at least treated for free if you are sick and don't have to think about planting something eadible, because you are now indebted for 20 generations for having an illness.
5
GreatSquare - 9mon
Real talk: a lot of Americans don't know how to farm...
Confidant6198 in asklemmygrad
Why don't Americans plant trees and bushes of stuff that they can eat in their houses instead of having useless grass?
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26888238
In the past a lawn was a status symbol. It showed that you have enough disposable wealth to maintain something that is purely decorative and serves no practical purpose. (And by the way, keeping a lawn is actually quite resource intensive, it takes a lot of water compared to other vegetation.)
Whereas traditionally, growing fruits, vegetables and useful herbs was seen as something that poor people did out of necessity. This is an attitude that originates with the British aristocracy and was then passed on to the culture of the American upper and upper-middle classes.
Nowadays this has somewhat reversed, and as more middle class people have adopted lawns, the wealthy needed to have new status symbols to differentiate themselves from the masses, and so they have started owning orchards, vineyards and like.
Depending on the area, they may not be allowed to have anything but grass on their yard.
Most people sadly also have no idea how to grow their own food anymore.
The tyranny of the HOA. Your options for what to do with your property is very limited
Over 90% of homes are under an HOA and often the HOA dictates what you can have in your yard, and sometimes at least the front yard the HOA will maintain it themselves. My parents got in trouble with their HOA for planting a tree and fought with them for awhile for they finally let them keep it.
As someone who spent several years working at an arboretum (ie someone who frequently tended to gardens and lawns), I’m gonna challenge the folks claiming it’s because lawns are easier to care for. Keeping grass looking nice and uniform is difficult and resource intensive any place in the world, whereas a thoughtfully planted garden of local flora can require relatively little intervention. It’s all about how intensely you want to stick a middle finger up to Mother Nature and try to grow plants that don’t belong in the environment. Lawn grass doesn’t belong anywhere so it’s always a challenge.
It's hard and messy so it requires a lot of energy compared to a lawn. Still i think having a fruit tree is worth it, people with the space should definitely have one it's awesome looking forward for that harvest season.
They like it, they actually (and im not fucking with u here) think it looks nice, someone else already mentioned why they like it but when it comes down to it they just like grass. Which imma be honest i think is fine, problem is they force people who dont like it to also have grass and double problem they are completely unreasonable about their love for grass just no moderation at all they put it everywhere in unreasonable quantities.
Trending a garden is a lot more work than a lawn. And there are a lot more critters that want to come reap what I've sown.
Pruning and harvesting takes a bit more time and energy than maintaining a lawn but not much. Who cares if critters get a share? A single berry is more than you get from a lawn.
Caring for it also means additional work. People have jobs, so there is not always time. Also if I remember right there are some weird laws regarding having a garden in the USA, so you actually don't have the freedom to do everything you want with it.
The Soviet Union had datschas and the were great. I have great memories about the datscha of my grandparents. There was a vast amount of cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries and and and. The taste was something to remember for eternity. But it took so much work time to care for this all. In the 90s having a datscha was a good key to survive those times. But you had still your work to do every day and sometimes after work or on the weekends you worked on the datscha.
Even if you have your petite bourgeoisie middle-class household in the USA with a garden, it still takes a lot of time. And you also need knowledge. Additionally you also have normal workers which saved enough money for a credit to buy a house and they have to work their ass off to pay it all off.
The question is simple, why don't they "just" do it? But the more you think about it, the more reasons you find, why the answer is a longer one.
Also I would rather save money and advise to leave this country, buy a house somewhere else and then plant there your trees and bushes. Even in some Siberian city with a low population you will get at least treated for free if you are sick and don't have to think about planting something eadible, because you are now indebted for 20 generations for having an illness.
Real talk: a lot of Americans don't know how to farm...
Mold and wall fungus on lead painted walls count?