[Massplanners] mowing requirements

[Rebecca Bachand]

I love seeing so much interest from planners in more naturalized landscape
approaches! You might all be interested in following Ben Vogt, whose
efforts at growing and maintaining a prairie yard in a typical subdivision
got him a lot of experience in addressing these concerns. He even has tips
to avoid getting fined by the community/HOA: Monarch Gardens
<https://www.monarchgard.com/thedeepmiddle/simple-ways-to-avoid-fines>

"Cues to Care" are integral to the acceptance of these efforts, and as
noted by others can be hard to define.

Research from UMASS by Susannah Lerman and her team indicates mowing every
two weeks is ideal for maintaining lawns at a "respectable" (to your
neighbors) level while allowing growth of plants supporting birds, bees,
and other insects. Unfortunately, the links to her easy to share graphics,
etc seem to be broken, but maybe a hunt through her publications will offer
good info:: Susannah B. Lerman, Research Ecologist, USDA.gov
<https://research.fs.usda.gov/about/people/sblerman#products-tab>

An article from PENN cites Minnesota Extension/UMN Bee Labs
<https://www.pennlive.com/life/2022/08/bee-lawns-a-lazy-mower-way-to-help-pollinators.html>'
4-inch mowing height recommendation, but when I mow our lawn to 3" my
husband doesn't think I've cut it at all!
(The struggle is real, even for Landscape Architects!)

*Rebecca Bachand*, RLA, LEED AP®, ASLA

781-686-4486

*RBLA Design LLC*

rebecca at rbladesign.com

<rebecca at rbladesign.com>rbladesign.com

*Massachusetts WBE Certified*

*DBE Certified in Massachusetts, Rhode Island & New Hampshire*

Member of *CREW Boston*


On Thu, Jul 4, 2024 at 7:51 AM Harry LaCortiglia via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

> I would certainly hope that no government entity would infringe upon my
> right to grow the grass on my very own property, as tall as I need it to
> be, prior to my harvesting it for personal use.
>
> I cultivate my grass to a certain length to be as effective as possible in
> my garden bed as my primary mulch, thus preventing evaporation as much as
> possible. (So many communities are under to water conservation restrictions
> these days!)
>
> Although I guess I could bring my home grown vegetables to the ZBA Hearing
> when I ask for relief of any grass height zoning limitation.
>
> Does anyone have a Grass Height Setback Variance application I could use?
>
> Have a great day celebrating the Independence of our nation and our
> inalienable right to sarcasm!
> H. LaCortiglia
> Georgetown P.B.
>
>
> On 7/3/2024 3:40 PM, Jeff Lacy via MassPlanners wrote:
>
> Are we talking about private property? A homeowner’s little patch of the
> earth? I can’t see any legitimate role for government here, especially if
> the only complaint is appearance.
> Jeff Lacy
> Rural Planning Associates
> (413) 230-9693
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jul 3, 2024, at 3:18 PM, Nate Card via MassPlanners
> <massplanners at masscptc.org> <massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:
>
> 
> I don't know what it would look like, nor of any precedents (as far as
> regulations go) but I suspect you could establish an approved ratio of
> mowed to un-mowed lawn, essentially requiring some degree of cues-to-care,
> like mowed borders or pathways. Or perhaps waivers to the current
> regulations could be issued for households submitting a plan for some level
> of lawn conversion, to promote long-term pollinator support.
>
> *Nathanael Card *
> M.S. Ecological Design, 2024
> The Conway School, Northampton, MA
> --
> MassPlanners mailing list
> MassPlanners at masscptc.org
> http://masscptc.org/mailman/listinfo/massplanners_masscptc.org
>
>
> --
> MassPlanners mailing list
> MassPlanners at masscptc.org
> http://masscptc.org/mailman/listinfo/massplanners_masscptc.org
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://masscptc.org/pipermail/massplanners_masscptc.org/attachments/20240705/60a4bbcd/attachment.htm>