Rethinking the traditional American lawn: Perspectives of U.S. households in a nationwide survey

Abstract

As households are increasingly aware that traditional lawns of a grass monoculture have environmental and biodiversity drawbacks, a movement has formed to advocate for alternative lawns. An example is the No Mow May movement, where households do not mow their lawns in May and allow dicots to grow and flower. The purpose of this study is to assess the willingness of U.S. households to join the No Mow May movement, and the extent to which they desire an alternative to the traditional lawn. A total of 908 U.S. households who actively maintain a lawn completed an online survey in May of 2023. When presented with information about the No Mow May movement, 56 % indicated they would participate if some of their neighbors did also. A variety of traditional and alternative lawn illustrations were then provided, where subjects were asked to rate the desirability of each. Most respondents preferred the traditional lawn, even if they looked upon alternatives favorably, while 15–20 percent favored an alternative lawn. These results suggest conventional lawns are still the preferred lawn, but alternatives lawns may become increasingly popular over time.