# Why More and More Americans Are Painting Their Lawns  ## Metadata - Author:: [[Ted Steinberg]] - Full Title:: Why More and More Americans Are Painting Their Lawns - Category: #articles - URL: https://theconversation.com/why-more-and-more-americans-are-painting-their-lawns-202586/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter ## Highlights > It turns out that the ideal of perfect turf – a weed-free, supergreen monoculture – is a recent phenomenon. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsn1bcxxn16a1c5emddbhb)) #### The not-so-perfect lawns of Levittown > Clover was, to him, “just as nice” as grass ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsq2nhmj8je8f9ze5r9hkp)) #### Engineering perfection > the Scotts Co. of Marysville, Ohio, which took agricultural chemicals and created concoctions that homeowners could spread over their yards. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsr27dcbf6kpbnrg4248m6)) > A [blurring of indoor and outdoor space](https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_American_House_Today/NNKqzgEACAAJ?hl=en) occurred in the postwar era as patios and eventually sliding glass doors invited homeowners to treat the yard as an extension of their family room ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtssn4e5d3rk276gdn86r3v)) > In 1948, the perfect lawn took a giant step forward when the Scotts Co. began selling its “Weed and Feed” lawn care product, which allowed homeowners to eliminate weeds and fertilize simultaneously. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtst11jjw6c0230e2vraxms)) > Clover and bluegrass, a desirable turf species, [evolved together](https://www.google.com/books/edition/American_Green_The_Obsessive_Quest_for_t/C3wEEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=clover%20and%20bluegrass%20evolved%20together), with the former capturing nitrogen from the air and adding it to the soil as fertilizer ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsv30pbqq73jn7srx367mp)) #### The meaning of grass painting > A 1964 article in Newsweek pointed out that green grass paint was being sold in 35 states ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsw1hzqexxdfae1cbspjm8)) > Together, the return of grass painting with the resurgent interest in clover lawns suggests that the ideal of the resource-intensive perfect lawn is an ecological conceit that the country may no longer be able to afford. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsxt44trqgskvsf77ezse7)) # Why More and More Americans Are Painting Their Lawns  ## Metadata - Author:: [[Ted Steinberg]] - Full Title:: Why More and More Americans Are Painting Their Lawns - Category: #articles - URL: https://theconversation.com/why-more-and-more-americans-are-painting-their-lawns-202586/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter ## Highlights > It turns out that the ideal of perfect turf – a weed-free, supergreen monoculture – is a recent phenomenon. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsn1bcxxn16a1c5emddbhb)) #### The not-so-perfect lawns of Levittown > Clover was, to him, “just as nice” as grass ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsq2nhmj8je8f9ze5r9hkp)) #### Engineering perfection > the Scotts Co. of Marysville, Ohio, which took agricultural chemicals and created concoctions that homeowners could spread over their yards. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsr27dcbf6kpbnrg4248m6)) > A [blurring of indoor and outdoor space](https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_American_House_Today/NNKqzgEACAAJ?hl=en) occurred in the postwar era as patios and eventually sliding glass doors invited homeowners to treat the yard as an extension of their family room ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtssn4e5d3rk276gdn86r3v)) > In 1948, the perfect lawn took a giant step forward when the Scotts Co. began selling its “Weed and Feed” lawn care product, which allowed homeowners to eliminate weeds and fertilize simultaneously. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtst11jjw6c0230e2vraxms)) > Clover and bluegrass, a desirable turf species, [evolved together](https://www.google.com/books/edition/American_Green_The_Obsessive_Quest_for_t/C3wEEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=clover%20and%20bluegrass%20evolved%20together), with the former capturing nitrogen from the air and adding it to the soil as fertilizer ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsv30pbqq73jn7srx367mp)) #### The meaning of grass painting > A 1964 article in Newsweek pointed out that green grass paint was being sold in 35 states ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsw1hzqexxdfae1cbspjm8)) > Together, the return of grass painting with the resurgent interest in clover lawns suggests that the ideal of the resource-intensive perfect lawn is an ecological conceit that the country may no longer be able to afford. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gxtsxt44trqgskvsf77ezse7))