Grass
One of my favorite readings about planting grass for a lawn turned up as I was trying to decide what I could write about for my Keep Wimberley Beautiful Wimberley View column. The title of the reading is God & St. Francis. Because it is longer than my column allows, I will edit it to suit the paper’s requirements. Here goes my summary of the delightful original.
God is talking to St. Francis and asks him what in the world is happening in the USA to the perfect, no maintenance garden plan he had installed with an abundance of dandelions, violets, thistles and many other native, naturally growing plants that needed no maintenance, plants that could go grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon? God’s colorful plants attracted butterflies, bees and flocks of birds. God said that all he sees now is green rectangles. St. Francis replied: “It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites removed your plants and now they go to great pains to mow, weed, fertilize, water and keep their grass green. When it flourishes, they go to great lengths to cut, rake, and re move all the clippings and leaves which would normally have been left on the ground to create a natural mulch. Often, they even pay to have their native mulch removed. “When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow and to get rid of it.”
At least they kept some of the trees, God said. The natural blanket keeps moisture in the soil and protects the trees and bushes. When the leaves fall, they form compost to enhance the soil. St. Francis has to explain that the homeowner then rakes and bags them and often either burns them or pays to have them hauled away. After that, the homeowner might buy new mulch and spread it around. When God asks where they get this new mulch, He learns that trees in other places have been cut down and ground into mulch. That’s when God says, “That’s enough, St. Francis. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?” “Dumb and Dumber, Lord. It’s a real stupid movie about….” “Never mind,” God says. “ I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.”
Written by Martha Knies