Great Grasses

In these long days of Indian summer, we're often found lying on the lawn.  But I don't like grass.  I like thyme and clover.  I like tall stands of these zebra grasses.  I also like chamomile, a beautiful herb the Romans used to pave their own famous roads with.  Hence the name--chamo-mele, which derives from "walking on apples," a nod to the flower's delicious sweet scent as you crush it underfoot.

 Planting a diverse, alternative lawn helps pollinators and aids in weed control.  If you have kids or pets who spent a lot of time near the earth, playing barefoot soccer, it's worth investigating how deadly the neurotoxins are that you or your lawn company are spraying around.  Rachel Carlson wrote about this in the 1970s, and now more than ever they're a health risk.