Lawn Reform Coalition Update (Part 2)

A picture of Shirley Bovshow's front yard garden from a recent Lawn Reform Coalition blog post.She doesn't miss her lawn!

Has it really been six months since I announced the addition of new coalition member Saxon Holt and let you all know about our Facebook fan page?  I’m happy to report the fan page has been a big success, with over 1000 likes and a place to find the latest links on lawn reform throughout the country.  Not to mention the occasional sassy debate in the comments section.

We’ve also added a new category of advisory (nonvoting) members, which is a fancy way of saying companies that share our goals.  Learn more about Neil Diboll of Prarie Nursery and David and Ava Salman of High Country Gardens here.  These additions were particularly thrilling for me as I already use David and Ava’s fabulous site as a resource when I’m working on a garden design.

And now for this 2011’s big news:  To usher in the new year, we’ve morphed our website into a blog!  Our baby’s only a week old, and the plan is to feature educational articles, how-tos and success stories.  Consider this my official invitation to participate as a guest blogger. Posts don’t have to be long and they don’t have to be first run.  If you’ve covered a topic related to lawn reform on your own blog in the past and have something relevant to share, just let me know.  As I like to think my blog attracts the educated crowd, I’m confident at least a few of you will answer the call.

I’m also in the process of creating a Zazzle store with pins, mugs and t-shirts featuring the logo.  Sounds simple, but it’s turned out to be a bit more complicated than I expected so stay tuned.  The LRC isn’t an official non-profit and isn’t interested in making money, so the original plan was to sell the merchandise with no mark-up, but it turns out the minimum mark-up allowed is 10%.  I’ve been pondering the logic of this.  Maybe because they don’t want everyone else’s prices to be too high?  Fortuntately, the pins sell for the bargain price of $1.45.  If you’re one of those people who didn’t snag a freebee when they were handed out in 2009, now is your chance to own this very affordable piece of lawn reform history. 

In its first week, blog posts have ranged from a photo-driven piece from Shirley Bovshow on the beauty of no-lawn landscapes (see photo at the top of this post) to a thorough explanation of why 4-times a year lawn fertilizing is a myth, to a shocking article from Paul Tukey about bees and pesticides - this one you really need to read for yourself. 

Please stop by and join the conversation!

Comments

[Susan Harris]

Terrific wrap-up of Lawn Coalition news, and thanks for all your contributions to the cause.

[Rob(ourfrenchgarden)]

I just checked Amazon.co.uk for 'Garden Up', they have it flagged for publication date 22nd Feb, so I'll stick one in my basket when I next order.

cheers

Wow, I didn't even know it was on Amazon UK! Love the idea of you sitting in your romantic garden, sipping a glass of burgundy and reading Garden Up! But I think the date has slipped a little. Hopefully it will be shipping by the end of the month.