How did the plain green lawn become the central landscaping feature in America?
I actually enjoy a well kept lawn. I feel it helps the house appears tidy from the outside. It strokes my pride of home vibe. But, I pay for it all and it probably averages me $400&#x2F;month all said (water, seasonal stuff, mowing, etc). It&#x27;s stupid, sure. But I&#x27;ve never installed a lawn. I&#x27;ve bought houses with lawns. I couldn&#x27;t justify ripping it out for some zeroscaping style landscape that is aesthetically worse (to me), has less functionality (kids+pets like grass), and comes with a price tag of $30k or more AND it still grows weeds.  Most zeroscaping I&#x27;ve seen in my area appears to get zero attention and is completely overgrown in year 2.  Also, tree care won&#x27;t go away so best case I reduce my monthly spend by 50%.  I don&#x27;t really know what is best. I think if I were building a new home, I&#x27;d look into artificial turf. So, while interesting, what is the actionable now that we all have these horrible money pit lawns? Is there an alternative?