Having a beautiful and healthy lawn isn’t just a way to make your yard look nice and tidy. There are actually way, WAY more benefits to having fresh grass—ones that are critical to your family’s health and the well-being of your surrounding environment. For example, did you know that just by gazing at beautiful grass, sick patients can recover more quickly? More on that below.
These perks of having a quality lawn offer environmental, health, and social advantages; yet these bonuses would probably be lost in a yard filled with weeds and crabgrass. After all, you don’t want your front lawn to look like the back parking lot of the Bates Motel. To enjoy all the potential benefits of a well-kept lawn, check out these amazing bonuses of having great green:
Environmental Benefits
- Pollution and Erosion Control: Quality grass will cause soil to erode at a much slower rate[i], so you won’t have to worry about cleaning the dirt from your pants the next time you dive for a line drive during your next backyard baseball ball game. And since turfgrass traps roughly 12 million tons of dust and debris released into the atmosphere each year[ii], you can keep your yard free of that Pigpen dust cloud.
- Oxygen Production and Carbon Retention: Your lawn stores more carbon than a squirrel stores nuts. By keeping this carbon underground, and since 55 square feet of turfgrass releases enough oxygen for one person for a whole day[iii] (which is really small), your yard does its part to keep the circle of life in balance.
- Water Runoff Reduction: Ever feel like you’re falling in a sinkhole when you walk on your lawn after a heavy summer rain shower? Healthy turfgrass prevents this spongy sensation by allowing runoff to drain and infiltrate through the soil, allowing your roots—and not your feet— to get the water they need[iv].
- Cooling Effect and Heat Dissipation: Through the process of photosynthesis, which you’ll recall from Mrs. Johnson’s fourth grade science class, abundant grass absorbs much of the sun’s solar radiation and cools much of the surrounding area. Consider this: The rays absorbed by the yards of just eight homes will have the same cooling effect as about 70 tons of air conditioning[v]. That’s enough A/C to cool a medium-sized home for two and a half weeks!
Improved Wildlife Habitat: Don’t worry, we only mean the good kinds of wildlife. While many unwanted creepy crawlers will flee from your lawn, the nutrients and inviting atmosphere of robust turfgrass is good for birds and beneficial insects in addition to the well being of your own pets[vi].
Health Benefits
- Improved Physical Health: According to a research program conducted by the University of California, hospital patients who had an outdoor view of nature typically recovered faster than patients who only had a view of another part of the hospital[vii]. You don’t even have to eat your greens to be healthy—all you have to do is look at them!
- Improved Mental Health: If you are pressured by a big project for the boss or are worried about your favorite football team’s 0-10 start, the calming effects of gazing in to the crisp grass will solve your problem (we mean the stressful side of things, your team should probably get a new head coach). Likewise, several surveys have indicated that activities in the soothing nature of a green lawn can limit the symptoms of AD/HD[viii].
- Reduced Pests and Allergies: Keeping a healthy yard will drive out unwanted insects by offering a less favorable environment to pests while simultaneously reducing the amount of pollen in the air[ix]. It’s good for your senses, and it’s good for your tissue budget!
Social Benefits
- Visual Appeal and Comfortable Living Space: Not only will a picturesque lawn look nice, but it will make your neighborhood look better and provide a more enticing place for your family to hang out. With a beautiful lawn, you can show your kids that their great video game is based on a real-life sport.
- Improved Property Value: Potential buyers know it, lawn and landscaping services know it, and real estate
agents know it; curb appeal can drastically affect the impression a visitor gets of your home. Some estimates claim that attractive and lush turfgrass can increase a property’s value by up to 15%, leaving a nice chunk of change for that gorgeous beach home you’ve always wanted to buy. Just take it from an expert:
“It’s the ones with lush green lawns that get the highest resale value. When we see a lawn as a realtor, we’re happy because that’s what we like. The more lush, the easier it is to sell. On the high end, landscaping can make or break your deal. It’s important here. If it doesn’t have grass, don’t show it to me.” –Dave Tina, Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors President
Having a terrific lawn can pay great dividends, both literally and figuratively. With virtually no drawbacks and a near-limitless number of benefits for you and your surroundings, proper lawn care will provide positive results in a whole number of ways. Your family, the neighbors, and the environment will all thank you for making life just a little bit better for everybody.
[i] Dr. James B. Beard
Professor Emeritus
Texas A&M University
Council of Agricultural Science and Technology
January 2006
[ii] Dr. Thomas L. Watschke
Pennsylvania State University
[iii] Dr. Thomas L. Watschke
Pennsylvania State University
[iv] Dr. James B. Beard
Professor Emeritus
Texas A&M University
Council of Agricultural Science and Technology
January 2006
[v] Maryland Turfgrass Survey
1996 – An Economic Value Study
[vi] Dr. Robert L. Green
University of California – Riverside
“The Role of Turfgrasses in Environmental Protection and Their Benefits to Humans”
[vii] University of California
Riverside Turfgrass
Research Program
[viii] Faber Taylor, A., Kuo, F.E. & Sullivan, W.C. (2001).
“Coping with ADD: The Surprising Connection to Green Play Settings” Environment and Behavior, 33 (1), 54-77.
[ix] “Reduced Pest & Allergy Problems”
Benefits of Turfgrass
The Lawn Institute
