[GroundKprs]

What 7 letter word describes the historical reason for using turfgrasses around structures in our society?

Clue: This also gives the reason for mowing.

(If you know answer for sure, hold back a while so we can have some fun!)

[leadarrows]

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[dan deutekom]

I think I know the answer

[Green4Me]

I also have another answer. Maybe a primal answer rather than a historical answer.

MKK

[Nebraska]

wetdirt






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give me an 'e' ? or may I purchase an 'e'?

[GroundKprs]

Well, the answer has more than one "e" in it.

NE is thinking of erosion control, which is a terrific function of turf. Maybe cave moms liked grass so the kids didn't track mud into the cave?

But I'm looking for the historical reason we use turfgrass around structures, not functional reasons.

[leadarrows]

I think it had something to do with defending a castle. They needed to keep the archers with there long bows at a distance.
At least the clearing that lead to the space for the grass. Why grass ...not sure and I can't find out with Google either....at least not yet.

[Lanelle]

So it looks like leadarrows' answer is defense. I was going to point out that George Washington had mown grass for bowling so that would be for leisure. How's that for dual purpose?

[GLAN]

Compost

[GroundKprs]

Well, leadarrows spilled the beans: DEFENSE is the word. The historical reason for using grasses around structures in our culture is defense, and the historical reason for mowing these grasses is also defense.

Man's association with grasses goes way back in history. When people first lived in communities, the agricultural grasses surrounded the villages, for easy access to tending and defending them.

The actual direct historical influence on our culture was the open field of fire around the Middle Ages castles of Europe. The agricultural grasses could provide cover for attackers, so lower growing grasses were used for a clear view around a defensive structure. And in any temperate area of the world, a grass field would start to turn into a woods in 20-25 years, so hewing down the grassy fields was necessary for long term security - the introduction of mowing.

More later.............

[NC Lawnscapes]

Round des parts some folks only mow the grass when they need to get a part off of the ole monte carlo that is grown over to fix the one that just broke down in the bakc yard

[dan deutekom]

I was right

[GroundKprs]

So European Dark Ages and early Middle Ages gave us the beginnings of what we know as lawns of turfgrass.

Ever notice how many sports are played on grass? In a museum visit a few weeks ago, I learned that an early predecessor of ball kicking sports - like football, rugby, soccer - was actually played by kicking the skull of a vanquished enemy around. After successful battles, and in scattered times of tranquility, those inside the fortifications would venture just outside the walls for some entertainment. And grass became the base for many sports.

As Europe became more civilized in the Middle Ages, fortified castles gave way to estates. The idea of grass around the structure was continued from habit, and the affluence of the landowner was expressed by the intensive manicure of this surrounding grass. (And here comes golf in Scotland.)

This country began as an extension of European colonization. The customs of European cultures were transplanted here. Do you know that Kentucky blue grass was brought here from Europe? Lost my links, must be in another computer, but there is record of active trading in turfgrass seed in New England in {late 1700s to early 1800s}.

So our modern idea of turf actually was taking root many hundreds of years ago.

[GLAN]

Hmmm

Not so sure that grass is a defense or just an end product of having cleared the land around said Castle.

And in doing so allowed a meadow to develope........Cause outside the castle was the land workers, cattle, sheep etc needed to eat.

I think more the open space and clear sight of view is the purpose of defense.......not grass.

[Nebraska]

Found this on the web this winter:

Source: The Lawn by Virginia Scott Jenkins

"The History of Lawns in America

We didn't always have a love affair with our lawns. In fact it wasn't until the industrial revolution that lawns became practical for most Americans. Lawns were seen as a luxury expense for only the wealthy who could afford grounds keepers to maintain the fine bladed plants using scythes. Not everyone wanted cattle or sheep grazing in the front yard to keep the green stuff at a manageable height as did Woodrow Wilson while occupying the White House.

Sheep on the White House lawn?
Actually, it was an effort to draw attention to what could be done to free up men to fight and help with shortages of wool during World War I. The wool was auctioned off for $100,000 and given to the Red Cross. Speaking of presidents, early Presidents Washington and Jefferson both used sheep to keep their home lawns at manageable heights.

Green, weed-free lawns so common today didn't exist in America until the late 18th century. Instead, the area just outside the front door of a typical rural home was typically packed dirt or perhaps a cottage garden that contained a mix of flowers, herbs, and vegetables.

In England, however, many of the wealthy had sweeping green lawns across their estates. Americans with enough money to travel overseas returned to the U.S. with images of the English lawn firmly planted in their imaginations. Try as we might, it wasn't as easy to reproduce a beautiful English lawn. After all, they couldn't just run down to their local hardware store and pick up a bag of grass seed. Grasses native to America proved unsuitable for a tidy and well-controlled lawn, and our extreme climate was less than hospitable to the English grass seeds.

By 1915, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was collaborating with the U.S. Golf Association to find the right grass—or combination of grasses—that would create a durable, attractive lawn suitable to the variety of climates found in America. Included in the testing were Bermuda grass from Africa, blue grass from Europe, and a mix of fescues and bent grass. Fifteen years later, the USDA had discovered several grass combinations that would work in our climate. We were off and running, to find the most suitable pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that would protect and serve newly blended mix of grasses. After all, now that we had a good grass blend, we couldn't let it starve or be eaten alive by some hungry pest, or succumb to some nasty disease.

The right grass and the right treatments weren't the only problems facing homeowners wanting the perfect lawn, however. There was also the challenge of providing sufficient water to keep the grass green in summer. It wasn't easy hauling a bucket of water out to the yard during the summer droughts. Cutting the grass was a challenge, as well. English lawns were trimmed with scythes, an expensive process that required a certain amount of finesse, or by grazing livestock on the greens.

Mechanical mowing came about early in the 19th century and there is a general agreement that an Englishman, Edwin Budding, an engineer at a textile mill, developed a cylinder, or reel-type mower. It was a series of blades arranged around a cylinder with a push handle patterned after a machine used in a cloth factory for shearing the nap on velvet. In 1870, Elwood McGuire of Richmond, Indiana designed a machine that basically brought push mowing to the masses. By 1885, America was building 50,000 lawnmowers a year and shipping them to every country on the globe.

For the average American, the invention of the garden hose and the rotary mower made the lawn a more realistic option. Until then, lawns were just too much bother for most families. When most of the necessary tools and types of grass seeds became readily available, the average homeowner was now able to grow a lawn of their own if they wanted. As of yet, there wasn't a real big demand for green lawns in the front yard. It wasn't until The American Garden Club stepped in. Through contests and other forms of publicity, they convinced home owners that it was their civic duty to maintain a beautiful and healthy lawn. So effective was the club's campaign that lawns were soon the accepted form of landscaping. The garden club further stipulated that the appropriate type of lawn was "a plot with a single type of grass with no intruding weeds, kept mown at a height of an inch and a half, uniformly green, and neatly edged." America thus entered the age of lawn care.

Today, U.S. homeowners spend over $17 billion on outdoor home improvements. More than 26 million households hired a green professional, according to a 2000 Gallup survey and this number is expected to grow. Your little patch of green has become a big business and for good reason.