I've been to many small towns where they insist that residents cut their grass. It's believed that Meadows are unsightly. If you fail to cut the grass a city crew will be sent out to do it and you receive a hefty bill. For some reason this is common in farming areas. The herbicide crowd believe that grass over 4 inches long will cause uncontrollable weed problems for the neighbors. That's the excuse but I believe it's more about conformity.
Niagara Falls Ontario used to try to control what people grow but we had a large Italian population many of whom suffered food shortages during World War II. Front yard gardens became so rampant that the city gave up on trying to control these folks who were bent on self-sufficiency. When I lived there it was easy to tell which homes contained Italians since there were always lots of Roma tomatoes, eggplant and figs. Many would
sell their surplus and that's how we got most of our vegetables.It was a very vibrant community and visually interesting as well.
My friend Franco DeAcio who lives in Nanaimo BC boasts that he has the largest fig
trees in Western Canada. They are adjacent to his metalworking shop right up against the dark metal siding on a south facing slope only 5 feet from very hot asphalt." Hot just like in Italy" he told me."The best place for figs this far north". The cultivation of Mediterranean crops is a highly competitive sport amongst first-generation Italian immigrants throughout Canada and many have become experts at creating warm microclimates. Franco claims to have beaten them all.
In almost every other part of the world, North American lawn culture is considered a laughable waste of time,
energy,
water and
gardening space
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