Rottenchester

Little yellow pesticide signs are an unfortunate fact of life out here in the 'burbs. Of course, I don't like the notion that my neighbors are spraying poison on their lawns. Nevertheless, I always thought that at least the poison they're spraying results in a nicer lawn.

Boy, was I wrong.

The recent warm, dry spell we've been having has turned my neighbors' lawns brown and crispy. Yes, the poison that they've been spraying, including the extra load of fertilizer that it contains, has overstimulated their lawns.

That smack was good for a while, but now it is time for those lawns to curl up in a ball and moan for the pusherman. And the lawn services just make it worse by cutting lawns way too short. Short grass just doesn't have any reserve to recover from dry weather.

My lawn doesn't look like a fairway, but it is still green. That's because we fertilize it sparingly and cut it high.

So, burb-dwellers, take a lesson home from this hot summer. Chemlawn is the suburban equivalent of a crack dealer for your yard.