Interesting Lawns and Landscaping Around the World
Owning a lawn is certainly an American tradition. It is one that stems from upper-class European history and is an interesting subject to explore. However, that does not mean that different techniques, accessories, and ideas did not spring from it. Each country, after all, has its own cultural roots, tools, terrain, and weather patterns. All of these factors are the reason why lawncare in Decatur, Alabama would differ to lawn care in Austin, Tx. So, we are going to look at the interesting lawncare and gardening techniques around the world.
Scandinavian Landscaping and Gardening
The term “lawns” did not really appear until the middle ages. However, landscaping or terraforming in someone’s personal property has always been a thing prior to the change in terminology. It was just “gardening” to most of the population. There were a variety of gardens, some more practical than others. However, in the case of Scandinavian landscaping, it erred on the more practical side of things. In fact, this type of landscaping is so useful, that it is a practice that survived from prehistory.
Landscaping your Roof
According to Gardenista, who wrote about Scandinavian gardening techniques, “In the northernmost parts of Scandinavia, the growing season is 60 days long. The rest of the year is basically a prelude to or a recovery from winter”. That is a small window of time to get anything to grow. It also meant that shelters needed to be hardy and resistant to the cold or at least a consistent onslaught of rain. The solution for the problems of that environment was to literally grow sod on the roof of a birchwood shelter.
The “green roof” or “living roof” is a flat, sloped rooftop supporting vegetation through systems of irrigation, drainage, and waterproofing. This unique choice of landscaping came from a time before people wrote anything down, and lasted as a primary landscaping choice up until the 18th century when towns were starting to get more clustered.
They have been long associated with the Vikings and are a huge sign of Scandinavian culture.
The sod on the roof was dense enough to provide natural insulation against the cold winters and a natural irrigation system for heavy rain. It even creates its own self-sustaining habitat for the local wildlife. And thanks to modern environmental movements, it is coming back in vogue.
The clustering of cities combined with the carbon emissions along with the increased need for food in a large population made the idea of roof landscaping more appealing. It has even gained recognition and support by governments of Scandinavian, European, and even North American countries. But was that all there was to Scandinavian landscaping?
A Minimalistic Form of Landscaping
If one could compare the gardening and landscaping style to that of another country, it would be England. Both their style of gardening is minimalistic at best, letting things like grass, wildflowers, and all other forms of plant life grow wherever they please, as long as they don’t interrupt roads. This may be due to the limitation of resources since land is often scarce on island nations, and with the limited growth of vegetation due to cold weather, high maintenance gardening would not be sustainable. So, it makes sense not to overhaul much of the landscape.
There is also a spiritual origin of this low maintenance gardening approach, based on cultural superstition. Before the introduction of Christianity, most of the Scandinavian countries were practitioners of Norse Mythology, with various local deities and types of worship which varied from nature to ancestral. Most of the rituals these pagan religions had in common either involves a house of worship for the village, private offerings of food and drink to various spirits and not invading said spirits territory.
That last part is very relevant to the naturalistic landscaping techniques of the far north. Just like Ireland, and their policy on messing with fairy lines, there is a healthy respect for the natural landscape. Messing with the territory of the trolls, spirits, or fairies, means that you are bringing doom to your entire town. That sort of attitude means that people would outright avoid restructuring the landscape if they can help it.
This results in leaving much of the land unmanicured. Also, because this sort of reverence to natural territory is a strongly held tradition, it will probably stay that unmanicured for a long time.
Conclusion
There is certainly a “Less is More” approach to Scandinavian and English type gardening and landscaping. One that leaves things as close to their natural state as possible. However, that does not mean that it is useless, or that there is no intervention at all. Instead, it is a very symbiotic approach to withstanding while preserving natural elements. Something that we can all stand to learn a little more about.