Why Lawns Suck (And A Few Alternatives That Don't)

[@KaritKtana]

The American obsession with pristine lawns is a disease that has to defeated

[@marcellop3163]

Lawns are great, wtf is wrong with you weirdo?

[@honeybear6647]

I had a huge yard as a child and I hated that they killed the clover flowers I loved to pick. I’ve never understood why people want huge empty lawns unless they use it for sports.

[@lorrainedragun2516]

Sports are overrated.

[@Sharkdog11b]

I’m 33 and building my dream home in five acres and the first thing I was dead set on befire I broke ground was I will absolutely have no lawn and I stand by it. Garden plants, herbs, mosses, and ground cover for me folks. I used to be in the military I’ve had my time of conformity (and I’m grateful for that experience) but I’m ready to be a little rebel 😎

[@karepainting4929]

THE LAWN REBELLION HAS COME!

[@lorrainedragun2516]

Sharkdog, I was expediting a migraine and reading your post actually eased it. Thank you. If you ever want some gardening tips... you got friends.

[@lorrainedragun2516]

*experiencing.

[@EvanBoyar]

I find it absolutely mind-boggling how excellent your videos are by nearly every metric, yet you don't yet have many views. In any case, thanks for continuing to create.

[@mannurse7421]

Ditto but I was hoping they wouldn't notice they weren't getting as many views as they deserve and just keep posting.

[@Insteading]

We’re getting there! Thanks for spreading the word!

[@patricialanasa3926]

​@@Insteading Wren Everett is the best.

[@PaulSmithm]

Agreed. Outstanding, thank you so much for the inspiration

[@farmerinthedells]

Too much talk and not enough useful information.

[@chefe2152]

Since I moved to north America from Europe 15 years ago I can't understand the stupidity of having lawns! Waste of money ,instead gtow edible plants to be more self sustainable!!

[@noname-mu6kn]

What the move have to do with it

[@chefe2152]

@no name the fact that in Europe almost nobody does that,so moving here and seeing people sweating over their " beautiful useless grass was and still is perplexing to me.

[@Sharkdog11b]

Yeah I could t imagine how much water it would take to keep a lush lawn where you live that would be atrocious

[@davidschmidt270]

As Geoff Lawton says a lawn is such a waste of water... Especially here in the desert!

[@MrBee-cp9pt]

Absolutely

[@MrFooqair]

My wife and I bought a home in a neighborhood where folks walk their dogs and wave. Kids play outside and we love it. We made sure the neighborhood had NO HOA! On our block, there are 3 houses with older homeowners who have immaculate lawns and they're the oddballs! The rest of us have bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and bunnies! You drive slow at night because the bunnies run across the road and they're everywhere.

[@davidschmidt270]

Sooo coooool...I want to live in your neighborhood! 😁☺️☺️

[@adhdandme2023]

Love this.

[@benda777nba]

OOOH where is this?!??

[@BonnieBlue2A]

I have a yard full of henbit, dandelions and violets right now. They make great snacks. I do cut it short in the summer to reduce ticks and snakes. However, it hasn’t been fertilized or watered to the best of my knowledge in at least 80 years. It is drought tolerant and comes right back every year. Edible landscaping is the smart way to go.

[@ZsOtherBrother]

I've never thought of henbit as food, thanks :)

[@CUBETechie]

mawn the lawn just Keep it long and natural. It make a pufferzone and in summer it doesn't heat up the ground up and by evaporation of water it reduce the local microclimate

[@wanjuchien4208]

Get rid of that background noise will make the quality of video BETTER.

[@busterbuster8193]

For the love of God eliminate the unnecessary distracting annoying music that does not add anything of value and only serves as a detriment. ALSO for the love of God slow the rapid fire pace of speech to an understandable rate.

[@Uhldaschreurgfcooking]

The music is way too much..I couldn’t finish this which makes me sad because this lady obviously has some wonderful knowledge and insight. :(

[@JeepTJWheelin]

I hate cutting grass with a passion. Our home has 100% unused, useless grass 360° around the house. We get absolutely no benefit from having it. It's just built in labor I despise! Time for a much needed change.

[@drakonor1]

Excellent video. One thing though, your background music is a bit too loud compared to your narration.

[@BryceGarling]

Some people argue I don't have a lawn because it is not turf grass, but either way it's a lawn to me. It's mainly native ground covers and has a little perennial peanut mixed in. We don't water or fertilize and have deer grazing all the time. Most of the original lawn is replaced by habitat we restored and food that we eat. We have more birds and reptiles as a result.

[@-flanders-8975]

Subservient scythe-wielding serfs. Well said.

[@breahnalawrence6725]

Love this take on it. In fire ridden areas, lawns do offer the advantage of a small fire break for houses, and your solution could maintain this benefit.

[@edwaggoner7403]

I have a very small lot. Neighbors ask what I do to keep it green. Seen from across the street it appears smooth green and nice. My reply, I do not kill the clover, crab grass or other growth. I also do not water, if it gores dormant in summer heat it will return when rains return. I do mow, not short.

[@ludicer122]

Lawns aren't all bad, I have a small one and the clippings are great for compost and mulching garden beds.

[@lW9497]

I totally agree. Unfortunately, I have an HOA. So, I need an ornamental solution to replace the lawn.

[@magz321]

My neighbor mows his little grass strip twice a week. I haven’t mowed our yard yet, I try to wait until first week of May, but unfortunately living within city limits there are actually grass height limits and we can be fined for not keeping the grass short!! So stupid. All spring our yard is the yard full of bees, butterflies, birds, rabbits, squirrels, probably snakes, which can be a little sketch but we don’t actually use the yard, so why not let the creatures enjoy some refuge? Also the long grass deters dog walkers from leaving poop in my yard.

[@Eli-9]

Oh, your that neighbor that doesn’t maintain their property. Your front yard is also a harbor for rats, ticks, fleas & other diseases spreading vermin.

[@danielcreatd872]

Those animals have a large negative impact on other people.

[@TheAlison1456]

I love the name of your channel and what you do. There are so many people who make video essays and critiques that are a collection of ideas and facts which they then say are bad and in the end they turn their pockets over saying, 'there's nothing we can do about it, the world sucks, we collectively suck, and you should feel bad!". In artist circles, there's the buzzword of "constructive criticism", that's supposed to encapsulate that criticism should be helpful and not destructive through offering alternatives. But you capture the whole thing with just... "Insteading".

[@MichaelBronnerLMHC]

I am digging up my grass for edible treats and flowers for bees.

[@justaperson4656]

Me and my mother are both chronically ill, so we're replacing the lawn with clover and thyme sections out front, clover, thyme, and flowers in my section, and a clover/grass mix in her section

[@heideknight9122]

I've thought this way since I was quite young. Any plant could be grown there so why the unused itchy grass?

[@mannurse7421]

I have a lawn but I don't do anything but occasionally mow. If there is a bare spot something will move in. They point is to have a place to walk and play right? All you have to do for that is mow sometimes. (I live in PA if you don't mow it will become a forest [which is tempting])

[@tiwowo1234]

CANADA OTTAWA, IS A LAW TO MOWING FRONT YARD!!!I GOT WARNING FROM CITY OF OTTAWA

[@ZsOtherBrother]

I like the idea of dropping the herbicide "habit", and allowing native plants to grow, (04:55). I also wonder from time to time... aside from botanical definitions, which most people aren't even aware of, what makes one plant "grass" and the other "weed" in a person's mind? Why do people prefer that itching grass over some other (better) plant? Or worse, what makes someone choose a plastic fake "grass" which gets extremely hot in the summer, and starts to break down into small plastic pieces after a few years? In our area, low growing clover (sprawling), which is considered a weed by most lawn owners, (and gardeners), grows well even where the grass has dried up due to lack of sufficient irrigation, and is no less pleasant to sit or walk on. Clover is also a nitrogen fixating plant which improves soil quality. Other local plants are sometimes edible, and most of them have beautiful flowers. Is it time to make the switch, what do you think?

[@forthehonorforge4840]

I'll take a stab at what is and is not a weed. A weed is a plant that actively impedes a desire use for a section of land. Some plants grow tall and impede vision of kids playing in the yard, some plants induce allergy symptoms. Some plants choke out my potatoes and melons. It would be great if these often invasive plants were edible but the best use I've found for some is to use petals or leaves as a smear paste for kids craft projects.

[@deborah2768]

I no longer have a front lawn...it died but the weeds are hanging on. This fall....it's going and drought tolerant plants and some other choice is taking it's place. Still researching.

[@NP7_16]

Well i have chickweed, moss, dandelions, clover, plantain and much more and i see birds forage in my yard everyday it is such a blessing to have a fertile little garden "ecosystem" And well, when i dont feel like going foraging to forest i take a nibble from wild edible garden plants I highly encurage to let the nature do its thing and plant bee-friendly and bird-friendly plants. Great video btw (I collect rain water too)

[@ludwigvanbubthoven5692]

Repairing and renting lawn care equipment has made not want a lawn. Subtle irony.

[@TheCompleteMental]

4:30 In that backyard. You ever existed on trimmed turf grass? If it looks good, youre not allowed to step on it anyway. If you are, it *feels* barren and lifeless. Not every native plant is a towering several foot tall flowering behemoth. Plenty of them are mow-tolerant low growing groundcovers. Tapestry lawns are a great example of what you can do in well-trodden areas. People and animals alike love vibrant and biodiverse spaces. Theyre more inherently interesting and inviting places to be. Just as a room where everything painted white would be mindnumbing, turf grass alone doesnt cut it.

[@megangrant105]

please turn down the music in your video. It's really distracting.

[@ravingcyclist624]

I totally agree, but where were the "alternatives" you promised?

[@alterego3734]

5:26 "just use grasses native to your area" How?! Where do I find them? How do I plant them?

[@innerbliss108]

What an amazing video! Shared! Thank you.

[@yakk13]

What is your opinion of organic, pet friendly, non chemical fertilizer alternatives, like Sundays?

[@forthehonorforge4840]

I've been advocating for edible lawns for a while but some of most adversarial people against it or any self sustainablilty practice have been academics who are also discouraged simple food preservation tech like root cellars. When I asked them why they were against it one said "do the math" meaning he was more concerned with "curbing overpopulation" than solving food shortages. If you ever wonder why edible lawns aren't popular, it's not that they weren't thought of before, it's that there are individuals who don't want their neighbors to succeed.

[@BackyardFlorida]

I never put fertilizer or pesticides on my lawn. It all ends up in our waterways.

[@KimmoJaskari]

I literally don't do anything to my lawn. Came with the house. A robot mower keeps it short and as long as it's green-ish and not a complete eyesore, it can do its own thing. This far north watering isn't really necessary, even. For me, the lawn is by far the least maintenance option. It's all the other rampant growth everywhere that's driving me mad and growing and I can't even sic a robot at it.

[@joshwilliams7692]

I want to turn my yard into a place that supports wildlife, but I live in an upscale neighborhood and I don't know anything about gardening. Where does a person even start to learn?

[@tommyheel2536]

Lose the music

[@xbaker3868]

I’d never heard of a rain garden before now! Excellent video, you definitely got my subscription.

[@christiandharma4116]

Good video content! Background music volume is way too loud, cut it in half

[@ArdentLion]

*Hank Hill has entered the chat*

[@bennythepenny5831]

7:17 What plant was that?

[@BonnieBlue2A]

If I heard her correctly, those are Korean Cucumbers.

[@DangerDave-e7u]

Shout out to my chronic pain colleagues!

[@tiwowo1234]

LAWS TO HAVE SHOULD BE ILLEGAL,,,,,LET WILDFLOWERS GROW

[@cavemancavemanog]

My kids and my dogs love our lawn. Some of best memories as a kid were on the backyard lawn. It's clean, it's tidy. I have never used herbicides nor pesticides. I have dandelions, clover and other weeds in my lawn that the bees and other insects adore. In parts of California the government will pay you to remove your lawn (due to the mismanagement of the state's water) and replace it with hardscape. The hardscape heats up the house, does nothing to help the air quality, and with the increase AC usage there is more strain on the already limited state electric grid. The lawn keeps the house cooler, helps with air quality, and provides a habitat for insects. I love the idea of growing fruits and veggies in the yards. I have 14 citrus trees, a cherry tree, 2 apple trees, and a plum tree. I love it. I think if lawns work for some families then they should have a lawn. I personally don't like too many low lying bushes / flowers. I don't like having areas where snakes, rats, ticks, etc. can seek cover. I don't understand why some people have what seems like a feeling of superiority because they don't have / want a lawn. To each their own. Lawns aren't the devil.

[@anap2544]

Ma'am this video was awesome 👌 👏 👍 😊

[@Moscato_Moscato]

Fucking mowing lawns All my homies hate mowing lawns

[@dragonrider9051]

I love mowing my lawn, the beer n bong afterwards while you enjoy looking at your hard work.

[@Moscato_Moscato]

@@dragonrider9051 I tend to my lawns but at the end of the day, we’re contributing to climate change for what? A temporary convenience…Ive learned to appreciate taller grass with wild flowers growing and not to mention, mowing lawns in my area has contributed to localized flooding and poor water retention

[@dragonrider9051]

@@Moscato_Moscato lol, what a climate cuck thing to say. You bought into Scam Gore's climate sale? No need, have a good day.

[@Sharkdog11b]

This is random but right when you said “Monticello” I was looking at where a truck was for sale on ksl and it said “Monticello” I mean EXACT SAME TIME… 😳😳😳 it’s a sign… 😂

[@nicolejirtle7706]

I love you so much for making this! 💚

[@michaelochman1953]

Plant More Prairie.

[@a2.squirrellette]

I always thought lawns were tasteless. Neurotic and soulless like the people who like them

[@careybowden4864]

Not a fan of suburbs, nor lawns. Our rural house is surrounded by lawn, but I'd love to fill it with happy ducks and chickens, and let grow clover, parsley and whatever else instead of non-native pain-in-the-grass 😆

[@MD-xw7pz]

it is time to change .great idea.

[@MusikCassette]

there is some value, in robust grass as a playground.

[@monicareid8858]

Music Too Loud Aaaaaaaaaaaagh!!!

[@vivalaleta]

Is Insteading aware and in touch with Not Only Bikes and Strong Towns?

[@aptkeyboard3173]

I don’t understand why anyone would want to live under an HOA. It’s so boring for every house to look nearly identical

[@pongop]

Great video! I love the Simpsons and Monty Python clips!

[@tlxreed]

I've been looking at my grass filled suburban lawn for years and run up against the same type of problems. We have a number of fruit trees and other plantings we love....then there's the grass. We don't want to use pesticides to remove it, so then there's labor to do so. We have an invasive long grass that's brutal in in it's ability to spread thanksto an aborted experiment using sheep poop as a permaculture type fertilizer. So, all in all, to get from a yard full of grass to a yard of 'not grass' is a black box filled with WTF questions about how to get there. And do this in spare time on weekends or evenings without hiring a landscaper.

[@newearth1912]

EXCELLENT! Great production. What do you use for editing?

[@fenrirgg]

Yes everyone loves nature: until snakes, rats and scorpions start to appear (also many other animals like parisitic flies and ticks). Then everyone will go back to lawns or pave 😒

[@bellofthedesert1595]

I wish you would have given way more examples of actual plants.

[@wiegraf9009]

Native plants vary from area to area so yeah checking out the department of conservation in your area is better than a "one size fits all" approach

[@BManStan1991]

Food forests > lawns 👍

[@normanormie]

Love it!

[@markm1514]

Average conservationist native landscape fan v. Lawn enjoyer

[@annemilligan5169]

Great video!!! Thank you!!!

[@mickmiah7605]

I loved this vid. TYVM.

[@trisha7162]

The "music" is too distracting plus why you in such a rush?

[@onlyscience7120]

Planting trees and shrub beds is way more expensive, now we only see lawns in poor neighborhoods.

[@JasonLeVega]

Thank you so much..

[@Southend_Savage]

Unkept lawns make a house look like shit having pride in your property isn’t a sin.

[@peoplesperson4132]

I love lawns. They control erosion and dust

[@vivalaleta]

I've innately known this since child. Also golf courses are bullshit.

[@RLDenham]

A front yard garden should be an offense to get you kicked out of your neighborhood

[@cherrypopscile3385]

This comment is what happens when fat white women don't have real problems.

[@hatetheantichrist]

@@cherrypopscile3385 This is what happens to any urban or suburbanite that refuses to get in touch with natural living. You should visit Appalachia though, White definitely shouldnt be the first thing you think of when you see this BS. Real White women are out here in the sticks, working hard to feed and clothe their families.

[@JoseValencia-gg7yy]

I think that people need to start doing the same thing about their obsession about pets. It's getting out of control.

[@cziegle3794]

Speak slower and use less dictionary terms! By 7 minutes and 44 seconds my head was spinning

[@BenjaminGillespie-uk2wm]

lawns are such a waste of water and unsustainable.

[@hydroaegis6658]

I personally enjoy the looking of my KBG lawn

[@MaQuGo119]

Low diversity suburbia and car dependancy needs to disapear

[@hatetheantichrist]

diversity? that's why I want to live in the woods, I've had enough of that sht.

[@jorgesanchez5097]

I hate my lawn i want moss. or vegetable garden

[@TheRealDonLayton]

What gets me is the people who hate being in an HOA because they don't want anyone dictating to them what they can put in their front yards. Then they turn around and chide people who want lawns. Talk about being hypocritical! You say there's no good reason to have a lawn? There are actually several good reasons, including lowering the ambient temperature. But the biggest reason for me is the beauty. There are drought-tolerant varieties that require less maintenance too. To each their own, but beautiful lawns are part of my healthy and gorgeous landscape. So you do you and I'll do me and we can both be happy.

[@yelwing]

Nothing beats a well cared for lawn. It’s inviting to play on, looks fantastic, and all those clippings are captured carbon.

[@VoyagerD]

caring for a lawn is much more environmentally damaging than whatever benefits they provide.

[@yelwing]

@@VoyagerD The squirrels, rabbits, birds, insects, pets, and kids, disagree with you

[@VoyagerD]

@@yelwing I'm sure the local fauna and flora would much appreciate more natural space with native plant species. Also, unless you never water your lawn, use chemical treatments, or mow with a machine that uses electricity and produces harmful gases, then you cannot claim it is environmentally beneficial.

[@yelwing]

@@VoyagerD sure I can. It’s now an oasis of green, where there was almost nothing. There are now 6 massive carbon collecting trees bordering my lawn, and because I water the hell out of it, I also have a hillside of ivy that was just bare rock. It all gets watered via my own well and I’m looking into powering it with solar energy.

[@VoyagerD]

@@yelwing That's cool, but like I said, I doubt it is environmentally friendly unless it is self sustaining.

[@Heirphoria13]

In Philadelphia, there are row homes. Each family has a 10 x 12 plot out front. Most have that patch as lawn. But Asians dig up the lawns and plant veggies. Fine. EXCEPT they use trash as supports for vines. Old cribs, head/footboards, pipes, ladders, ANYTHING they find. Sorry... No one wants to live next door to a junk yard. So if you're growing vegetables in the city, don't trash the yard up while doing it. Nice video! Great job!

[@robertabell7114]

it's the National Wildlife Federation, not fund.

[@thepaintpad9817]

"what do we do without yards?" just play inside.

[@DCUPtoejuice]

Well kept lawns are amazingly wonderful to use.

[@mezomohamed2353]

Did you hard abot islam thar is only one GOD and it is Allh and mohmd is the broft of Allh

[@eternalypissed]

This is a much better version. Thank you.

[@azra3234]

Doesn't lawn create oxygen which we need to live

[@xonor13]

So does every other plant

[@ashleynoble2880]

Most of the world's oxygen is made by fresh water and ocean plants. Guess what damages them? Fertilizers and herbicides and pesticides.

[@Eli-9]

Yay! Let the kids play in the tick infested weeds. Here in California they are sure to find a rattlesnake and rats in that overgrown vegetation.

[@cherrypopscile3385]

Oh my god you suburb people are so soft its unfunny. I spent my entire childhood in the county, and you know how I never got bit by a snake in my entire life? I just didn't mess with the snakes, because my family didn't raise me to be stupid. I'm sorry your kids are so weak to handle some weeds and stupid that they can't figure out how to avoid a snake that will make as much noise as humanly possible to get you to leave it alone, but I assure you: Most people can handle explaining this to kids. And rats? Really? You are scared of rats? You Californians are so pathetic that a rat scares you? Rats run away from you before you even see them. I know you suburbs people see any animal that isn't a dog or cat and instantly assume its poisonous and will come right for your precious baby boy unless hes wrapped in bubble wrap, but I assure you: Most of them leave you alone if you leave them alone

[@Light-Shift]

Lawns are beautiful especially rolling lawns. Weeds are gross

[@ashleynoble2880]

Weeds are only weeds when people call them that. Dandelion are edible and pretty.