Sensible care for our own landscape

We have learned so much during the past fifty years. Can you remember when it was cool to smoke?How about not wearing seatbelts or not protecting yourself from the sun?We have learned a lot about a lot of things, but why haven’t we learned more about taking care of our own property?

The idea of the lawn goes back to Britain when the sign of affluence was sheep; the more you had, the richer you were.All those sheep cropped pastures close to the ground, and the large grazed pastures became symbols of ownership and wealth.When settlers came to America, most of them poor, they brought with them the notion of the close cropped property as a mark of status.

Fast forward to World War II. The USA and the Allies were waging war in jungles, where the enemy could easily hide.The brand new Pentagon was searching for a way to expose the enemy.The answer was defoliants, known today as herbicides.Luckily, the war ended before these chemical concoctions were used en masse, although Agent Orange was sprayed profusely in Viet Nam. But after the wars, the big chemical companies had a product with no market.What to do?Make the lowly dandelion the new enemy! TV commercials depicted the dandelion flower as a lion with bared teeth. The residential use of herbicides was popularized and sold to the newly affluent middle class. Those fierce, yellow flowers spoiled the look of the lush green sward we call the American Lawn.

Today, the number one irrigated crop in America is lawn: 60 million acres of it, by some estimates.Per year, over 2.5 million tons of fertilizer, 80 million pounds of pesticides – that’s 10 times more than farmers use – and 8 billion gallons of water per day is used to maintain those acres of grass we call lawns.That doesn’t count what is used for tree and shrub maintenance. No wonder the backroom joke about lawns among pesticide companies is “rugs on drugs”.

Think of it: we water and fertilize the lawn so we can mow it more often!We apply insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides to create a monoculture.But nature tends toward maximum diversity. Are the dandelion and its “weed” companions really worth all that trouble and expense?And we haven’t even discussed the health implications of these chemicals for our kids, pets, butterflies, squirrels, not to mention on our water supply..

There are alternatives to the hubristic “landcare as usual” model.It starts with the same question very young minds ask: why?Why is a dandelion “bad”?Why does my lawn have grubs?Why is my lawn so boring?If we ask ourselves questions like these, we find that most, if not all, of the toxic products marketed to us are unnecessary.A dandelion is known as a “biodynamic accumulator” – a plant with a tap root that solubilizes minerals from deep down in the soil and deposits them on top via their leaves that die back each fall.Grubs love bluegrass roots.Plant fescue grasses instead.The term “lawn weed” is a pejorative name for anything that is not lawn grass. But those of us over 60 grew up in yards containing numerous species of plants. Today we have a biodiversity crisis. One of the major causes is the campaign we have waged against weeds in our lawns. So now, Homegrown National Park, Audubon, Pollinator Pathway, No-Mow May, Xerces Society, and so many other organizations beg you to reconsider using toxic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Our kids, pets, animals, birds, bees, and other life forms are depend on an ecologically healthy and toxic free environment.

I have a simple ask: think for yourself when your landcare company solicits you with their Four-Step program or asks you to renew your contract for pesticide and herbicide application. There is an alternative world of landcare professionals eager to help you get your property off drugs.They offer a more natural aesthetic that is healthier for you and better for all of us.A good place to start is www.organiclandcare.net.Type in your zip code to find a professional in your area.Join with environmental organizations in and around the northwest corner that are staging workshops during March, April and May to explain the alternatives.Ask your landscaper to attend these workshops and sign up for the 4-day Course in Organic Land Care on the website above.Together, we can make the “rugs on drugs” lawn a thing of the past.

Mike Nadeau, chairperson of the Sharon Energy & Environment Commission,has been involved in natural landcare for over 50 years.An educator and fervent student of Nature, Mike offers consultation services at Wholistic Land Care Consulting, LLC.



The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Lakeville Journal and The Journal does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Geer Village announces ‘strategic partnership’ with Integritus Healthcare

Geer Village Senior Community in North Canaan announced its partnership with the Mass.-based Integritus Healthcare on Aug. 7. Geer will remain the operator of the facility’s programs and services but joins the umbrella of 19 entities at Integritus Healthcare.

Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas

NORTH CANAAN — For the first time in its more than 95-year history, the nonprofit Geer Village Senior Community will soon operate under a new management contract, although it will remain an independent organization.

A joint announcement of a “strategic partnership” between Geer Village and Integritus Healthcare, a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization and post-acute healthcare industry leader based out of Pittsfield, Mass., was made on Aug. 7.

Keep ReadingShow less
Deputies respond to political dispute at Fountain Square

AMENIA — Dutchess County Sheriff’s Deputies broke up a political dispute between two Amenia residents at Fountain Square in downtown Amenia on Tuesday, July 15.

Kimberly Travis of Amenia was conducting her daily “No Kings” anti-Trump administration protest at Fountain Square at 1:15 p.m. when Jamie Deines, of Amenia and candidate for Town Board in the Nov. 4 election, approached her.

Keep ReadingShow less
East Twin Lake
finds new hope 
as hydrilla fades

Gregory Bugbee, associate scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), where he heads the Office of Aquatic Invasive Species (OAIS), was a guest speaker at the Aug. 2 annual meeting of the Twin Lakes Association.

Debra A. Aleksinas

SALISBURY— A fierce and costly battle to halt the spread of hydrilla in East Twin Lake may have finally paid off.

All but three remaining small patches, one near the shoreline at O’Hara’s Landing Marina and two others in deeper water as boats exit the marina and head out, have been destroyed by this summer’s treatment with the aquatic herbicide fluridone, which began on May 20. None of the remaining plants are thriving.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lisa Mae Keller

LIME ROCK — Lisa Mae Keller of Lime Rock, Connecticut, passed away peacefully at her home on July 26, 2025, following a yearlong battle with cancer. Lisa remained at home between lengthy stays at Smilow Cancer Hospital – Yale New Haven. Throughout Lisa’s ordeal, the family home was a constant hub of love and support, with friends and relatives regularly dropping by. Their presence lifted Lisa’s spirits and helped her stay positive during even the toughest moments. The family remains deeply grateful to the community for their unwavering kindness and encouragement.

Born on June 2, 1958, in Bridgeport to Mae and Robert Schmidle, Lisa graduated from Newtown High School in 1976. Lisa first attended Ithica College to pursue a degree in fine arts concentrating on opera. Drawn to a more robust and challenging curriculum, Lisa transferred to Whittier College, Whittier, California earning a Bachelor of Science degree. It was in 1988 that Lisa met and married Robert (Rob) Keller in Newtown, Connecticut. Together, they embarked on a remarkable journey. The couple started small businesses, developed land in Litchfield County and welcomed in quick succession their sons Baxter and Clayton. The growing family discovered the long-abandoned historic Lime Rock Casino in 1993, while attending a race at Lime Rock Park. The couple found it difficult to commute for work while raising a family and restoring a vintage home. Lisa persuaded her husband that chimney sweeping was a noble profession, leading them to purchase the established business, Sultans of Soot Chimney Sweeps. She later leveraged her role into ownership of the largest U.S. importer of vintage Italian reproduction gun parts. Even as her entrepreneurial ventures expanded, Lisa continued managing the pick, pack, and ship operation for Kirst Konverter, though she sold the remainder of the business prior to her illness. Lisa will be remembered for her business acumen, community service, and being a trained vocalist with the Crescendo Coral Group of Lime Rock. Lisa tended the extensive gardens around the home and curated an art collection that adorns the walls within. Baking cookies was a passion. Countless cookie packages were sent world wide to each son and their military friends while deployed. It is still undetermined in the Keller house whether the Army or Marines leave less crumbs. At Christmas, the Lakeville Post Office staff would post over 80 packages of cookies to lucky recipients, while receiving a tray for their effort. Unable to bake cookies in her last year, Lisa selflessly compiled and self-published “ Pot Luck at The Casino”, a 160 page book of all of her favorite recipes, sent to everyone on her cookie list. It was a true labor of love.

Keep ReadingShow less