More Anti-Lawn Sentiment

We pour water, chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides on our lawns to make them grow so we can mow the resulting growth and then bag up the clippings to be hauled to the landfill (“Whither the Lawn?” by Preston Lerner, May 4). Our children and pets play on these toxic sites, and the chemical runoff goes down the gutter to the ocean. Yet lawns continue to proliferate as water resources decline. Let’s hope that more gardeners will begin to appreciate plants that are adapted to our Mediterranean climate, especially those plants that have been here for thousands of years.

Tony Baker

Rancho Palos Verdes

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My wife and I recently bought a house that was built in 1955. The lawn (or what passes for it) had been hand watered by all of the previous owners. It is such an eyesore that any improvement would be welcome. The logistics and expense of installing, operating and maintaining an irrigation system as well as the time, labor and money that a lawn involves only furthered my resolve to install something a lot more reasonable. After rototilling the front yard, I’m going to seed it with native California wildflowers. An occasional spritz with a hose and trimming along the edges is all the maintenance it will need.

Peter Isaacson

Whittier

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Lawns, like SUVs, will persist because they are fashionable. I, unfortunately, agree. How utterly selfish. How completely American. “I want it all, and I want it now!” Trust me, there will be a reckoning.

Michael Miller

Sylmar