Do you hate mowing the lawn? Holy cow, I used to. We had a lawn that was half the size of a football field, and I spent many hours doing it. It’s not a hobby. And loads of gasoline spilled, actually. It kills the grass, but the grass comes back after a week or two.
When I first published this post (in June, 2017), a friend just turned me on to the Freakonomics podcast episode about America’s “stupid” obsession with lawns. It has a lot of different points of view and recommendations on what to do differently. Native species, alternative lawn care, and urban agriculture are some of the topics. Listen at the link.
If you prefer to read an article instead, there’s 2013’s Outgrowing the Traditional Grass Lawn on the Scientific American Blog Network. (Comment with any others you’ve found useful!)
If you’ve been to this blog at least once before, you’ve probably seen photos of my green driveway. And yet every year, just like before I put it in, some contractor dude who’s thinking “that ain’t right!” drops by with a card to “fix” it. (I can’t blame him for pounding the pavement looking for clients, but still…).
Sometimes he even jots a quote on the back as to how much it would cost me to rip out my green driveway and put down some blacktop asphalt driveway. You know, my green driveway cost a little more than what he’s quoting, because it was kinda fancy underneath, but I won’t have to “repair” the crack every five years like he wants me to. No, thank you.
I used to have an asphalt driveway. About the only thing you can do on an asphalt or concrete driveway that you can’t do on mine is play basketball. And maybe make chalk drawings, but you know, the sidewalk’s right there, so that’s no biggie.
See, for a long time I had cracks in the driveway where plants would grow. That’s why they’d wanna repair it. But why would I let that crack bother me? Water percolating into the soil and being taken up by plants actually cools the air through transpiration.
“But frost heaves!” – it’s a driveway, not a highway; a little bump from a crack is not a problem.
“But bigger cracks!” More plants!
Why would I want black top + hot sun make my driveway and home hotter, rather than something cooling it down?
Besides, when the plants were growing in the cracks in my driveway, guess what the bunnies’ favourite outdoor snacks were? That’s right – CRACK SALAD!
Six weeks before the frost sets in (traditionally, Canadian Thanksgiving is the first-frost date, but it actually comes later), gardeners can often get an early start on the next year’s garden and crops. The six-week mark is perfect for doing transplants because roots are not likely to experience drought or heat stress. It gives them a chance to establish themselves before the coming winter.
I decided it was time for an event that I then publicized on EventBrite and Facebook: a fall-oriented gardening session to prepare a garden for next year and plant native species. This hands-on event for the avid or casual gardener was to be a collaborative learning opportunity about native and cultivated plants for biodiverse wildlife gardens. Attendees were also welcome to bring plants from their garden, for swapping with other gardeners.
So, Saturday morning, I got up early to make it up to Pepinière Jasmin – where you can always find some native/indigenous plants even at the end of the planting season. One of the native plant suppliers was Aiglon Indigo.
In 2015, I posted about converting a standard residential parking spot into a green driveway. It’s a pictorial, part of our Project portfolio. Three months later (from mid-May to August), I’d gotten used to the results and I was quite happy!
I’m still pleased, having seen the results over seven seasons (spring through winter, then next spring through to now). It’s like an extra yard with cobblestone wheel paths, and after I got rid of my car, a space for my Adirondack chair.
The snowbank plowed on the other side of the streetThe walk I shovel when we have a major snow
Now the driveway is under a foot and a half of snow. With no car, I have little need to shovel it out. But if I did, the effort of shovelling a green driveway is different than that of a standard one. For example, you cannot use salt, but neither do you have to clear it right down to the pavement. You shovel out the right-of-way on the street, the wheel tracks, and access to the car doors. When the snow packs and turns to ice, you put down sand, crushed cinders/grit (which I actually collect in the spring from leftovers on the sidewalk and street gutter), or sawdust.
There are two problems I have to mention: If one parks for too long on the green driveway, without sun, the plants under the car die back. As soon as you move the car elsewhere for a day or two and water the driveway, the green comes back. So, if you use the car several times a week during the day: no problem!
The other issue I had was when someone else parked in my driveway and they had an oil leak (which would be a problem anyway). It kills the plants. But oil does biodegrade, so the vegetation came back only a little worse for wear in about two weeks. It still beats seeing an oil stain on your driveway! And if this occurs: just like with winter ice, throw down some sand and/or wood shavings on the oil. That will help get it gone.
Green driveways do the birds good
Last summer when I came home from a run, I had the satisfaction of more proof that this was a great thing to do. As I walked past the driveway on the way in, I startled a small flock of chipping sparrows who were foraging near the garage door. Success! They wouldn’t have been there if the driveway was asphalt or pavers. They felt at home.
Since 2012, when I really started paying attention to the birds here in Little Burgundy, the Chipping Sparrow seems to be increasing in numbers. It will fluctuate, but increases are good. At first I was confused about whether the birds were Chipping or American Tree Sparrows. I haven’t heard the distinct call of the Tree Sparrow, but I often hear the distinct call of the Chipping Sparrow in spring. This persuaded me which one it was. (You can easily see different photos and hear calls the birds make at the All About Birds links here, above and in the photo caption below).
So it’s not just that the driveway provides me all these physical and psychological benefits, from a cooler property with more leisure space, to retaining rainwater and helping prevent flood surges at the municipal level. The green space adds to green space. Cities need and homeowners can provide native habitat for the birds and animals that use it. More birds will then benefit from cities. There’s already ecological census data indicating that cities are beginning to be beneficial environments for many species, and not just skunks and raccoons!
If you have a driveway that could stand converting over from hot and ugly old asphalt to something a little more cool and welcoming, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m here to help!
This is a long-running “lifestyle” blog about the pleasures of living like a farm kid in an urban context. There’s a big focus on ecology and wildlife because this has brought me joy – and this is also the greatest potential we have of restoring some balance to nature where we live.
I write practical content for people to do little projects that basically make things beautiful, but also support climate readiness (energy efficiency, heat reduction, drought tolerance, flood prevention, and more). I’m a relentlless promoter of having a live-and-let-live attitude towards biodiversity.
Comments and questions are welcome! And if you’re anywhere near the Montreal region, you can also use my “Rewilding” service to landscape your property using native plants, convert to a green driveway, and prevent your windows from killing birds.
