Microlawns
October 21, 2011 2:50 PM Subscribe
Microlawns. Very small patches of grass.
Hah! These were common where I grew up in SoCal, and it's fun to see them from a different perspective like this. It never occurred to me how deeply weird these can look.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:54 PM on October 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:54 PM on October 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
A lot of these look very pubic.
posted by villanelles at dawn at 2:54 PM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by villanelles at dawn at 2:54 PM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Also like Cool Papa Bell, I wouldn't have looked twice at a lot of these if they hadn't been presented this way. California is weird.
posted by villanelles at dawn at 2:58 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by villanelles at dawn at 2:58 PM on October 21, 2011
I like the stories to go with them, it makes them seem less lonely.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:00 PM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 3:00 PM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Knew a guy once who grew a lawn in his dorm room trash can. "Watered" it every morning.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:01 PM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 3:01 PM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Also: I like the tumblr for showing me Eyes for Christmas.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:02 PM on October 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 3:02 PM on October 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
You've seen them. Now get off them.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:07 PM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:07 PM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
I see I was beaten to the thought, "Aw man, not another FPP about pubic hair."
posted by supercres at 3:10 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by supercres at 3:10 PM on October 21, 2011
The other day I was testily informed by some neighbors from around the corner that I am not to allow my miniature poodle to poop on their microlawn, which used to be her very favorite spot on our walks.
I mean, I always pick up after her, and it's not as if there aren't packs of feral dogs that roam New Orleans crapping hither and thither wherever they please, and really I'm not even sure if it's "her" microlawn so much as the city's but she said that she still had to smell it and really I don't need to get in an argument about it so Dita will just have to do her business somewhere else I suppose...
posted by Scientist at 3:21 PM on October 21, 2011
I mean, I always pick up after her, and it's not as if there aren't packs of feral dogs that roam New Orleans crapping hither and thither wherever they please, and really I'm not even sure if it's "her" microlawn so much as the city's but she said that she still had to smell it and really I don't need to get in an argument about it so Dita will just have to do her business somewhere else I suppose...
posted by Scientist at 3:21 PM on October 21, 2011
There's an apartment building (simple 3 story walk up) here in Chicago, the top balcony of which is visible from (I think) the Orange Line. On this balcony is a small 3x6 area of lush, green grass surrounded by concrete. One sunny day, there was a dude in sunglasses and swim trunks lying down and reading on it. Awesome.
posted by phunniemee at 3:31 PM on October 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 3:31 PM on October 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
"Watered" it every morning.
Why is "watered" in quo...o...oh I get it.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 3:32 PM on October 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Why is "watered" in quo...o...oh I get it.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 3:32 PM on October 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'd like to comment, but there's not enough ro
posted by Xoebe at 3:38 PM on October 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Xoebe at 3:38 PM on October 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Man - this brought an image of "bonsai gardening" to my head. With little lawns to be manicured and maybe little tiny lawnmowers to show. Is there like bonsai grass? I want to see this. Little itty bitty baby grass in flowerpots landscaped into patches of lawn. Maybe tiny little gravel driveways with tiny little houses and sheds.
posted by symbioid at 3:42 PM on October 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by symbioid at 3:42 PM on October 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
There's a joke in here somewhere about micro-loans and a Southern accent but I am not clever enough to write it.
posted by nathancaswell at 3:54 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by nathancaswell at 3:54 PM on October 21, 2011
Picture of a microlawn with a "keep off the grass" sign, via Beeds blog
posted by ecco at 4:17 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by ecco at 4:17 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Great photos! Nice concept!
Reminds me of a moment fumbling with my keys about to lug my groceries into my apartment on Guerrero St. just off Market St. in San Francisco's Mission District, watching a car try to squeeze into a too-small parking space. He knocked over a tiny tree: the only tree on the block. The sad life of a nature-loving city dweller. Now I live in a smaller city with lots of big trees and I am happier.
posted by kozad at 4:24 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Reminds me of a moment fumbling with my keys about to lug my groceries into my apartment on Guerrero St. just off Market St. in San Francisco's Mission District, watching a car try to squeeze into a too-small parking space. He knocked over a tiny tree: the only tree on the block. The sad life of a nature-loving city dweller. Now I live in a smaller city with lots of big trees and I am happier.
posted by kozad at 4:24 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Me gusta.
posted by georg_cantor at 4:52 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by georg_cantor at 4:52 PM on October 21, 2011
Why does almost every photo on the first page there look like it's of the same patch of grass? They all have the same red stripe on it.
posted by bleep at 5:05 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by bleep at 5:05 PM on October 21, 2011
Keep off my micro-lawn!
posted by tumid dahlia at 5:45 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by tumid dahlia at 5:45 PM on October 21, 2011
There's a joke in here somewhere about micro-loans and a Southern accent but I am not clever enough to write it.
How about one with a New Yorker accent?
Jim: Have you ever heard of Kiva?
Joe: No, what's a Kiva?
Jim: It's a company that gives micro-loans to people living underdeveloped countries.
Joe: What the hell does someone from Ecuador need a tiny patch of grass for?
posted by jabberjaw at 6:02 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
How about one with a New Yorker accent?
Jim: Have you ever heard of Kiva?
Joe: No, what's a Kiva?
Jim: It's a company that gives micro-loans to people living underdeveloped countries.
Joe: What the hell does someone from Ecuador need a tiny patch of grass for?
posted by jabberjaw at 6:02 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here in Tokyo those are called front yards.
posted by dopaminer at 6:07 PM on October 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by dopaminer at 6:07 PM on October 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
These are pretty clearly SoCal, so I'll just take the matter a step further and show you SoCal Guerrilla Gardens— tiny succulent gardens built in medians and disused patches of dirt surrounded by concrete. Sort of like these microlawns, but more water-conservationalist.
posted by carsonb at 6:55 PM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by carsonb at 6:55 PM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
The comments are sort of a parody of Real Estate listings.
posted by stbalbach at 8:42 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by stbalbach at 8:42 PM on October 21, 2011
I'm personally disgusted by lawns in most parts of North America - the absolute waste of water, and my childhood chores that included mowing both the great big front- and back- yard lawns on a sprawling uneven mountain-top suburban family homestead with a manual mower - these whimsical little micro lawns are absolutely adoreable.
Also, they remind me of finding a tomato plant growing through a crack near the concrete tire-stop things on the parking lot at the BC Women's and Children's hospital when I was doing my MSc there. Hmm, swore I had a photo - couldn't find it.
posted by porpoise at 9:02 PM on October 21, 2011
Also, they remind me of finding a tomato plant growing through a crack near the concrete tire-stop things on the parking lot at the BC Women's and Children's hospital when I was doing my MSc there. Hmm, swore I had a photo - couldn't find it.
posted by porpoise at 9:02 PM on October 21, 2011
This reminds me of my friend Ray. A theater person, artist, designer and tinker by trade, a few years back he ended up working in the corporate offices of an insurance company. (And, incidentally, is responsible for the rule about piggyback rides not being appropriate in the office.) Wanting to bring some whimsey into his very boring job, he started growing pocket lawns. A little plastic insert, with a bit of dirt and a handful of grass blades, slipped into his breast pocket where a pocket square would live, and trimmed into a shape that fit his mood. He had a hard time keeping them alive in cube-land, but they brightened more than a few people's day.
posted by mollymayhem at 9:14 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by mollymayhem at 9:14 PM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
You trim these with a specially reserved pair of kitchen scissors.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 9:17 PM on October 21, 2011
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 9:17 PM on October 21, 2011
Something about the tone of the comments reminds me of one of my other favorite weird sites - Entrances 2 Hell
posted by kcds at 6:10 AM on October 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by kcds at 6:10 AM on October 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
One of the weirdest things about being from LA and living somewhere else is that the absolute silliest things make you homesick.
This was one of them.
posted by Thomas Tallis is my Homeboy at 8:25 PM on October 22, 2011
This was one of them.
posted by Thomas Tallis is my Homeboy at 8:25 PM on October 22, 2011
I love that this site was recently updated to reflect ecco's comment. Truly meta.
posted by Sfving at 10:15 AM on October 25, 2011
posted by Sfving at 10:15 AM on October 25, 2011
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posted by The otter lady at 2:54 PM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]