Aggregate lawn-care practices in the United States contribute heavily to environmental damage.
Lawn grass occupies more land than any single agricultural crop in the United States.
Exhaust from mowers and leaf blowers and applications of lawn chemicals aggravate air and water pollution problems. Landscaping alternatives such as groundcovers, perennials, or drought-resistant grass mixtures, if chosen, could confer benefits to both consumers and the natural environment. I used social research techniques to explore this topic in order to yield a deeper understanding of subtle dynamics than a quantitative study would allow. Tools employed for the research were eight intercept interviews, one focus group, and ten in-depth individual interviews. A lawn may be for show, a place to play, an area in which to garden, a nuisance or simply something that was there when someone moved in to their house.