I know that there are plenty of people nowadays who go to sports bars and get into discussions on topics including “Who was the greatest baseball player ever?” Or “Who was the greatest football player ever?” Or “Which Super Bowl or World Series Winner was the best team of all time?” The questions asked never run out and the arguments that ensue are so subjective that there are no real right answers.
I wonder if there is someplace where passionate gardeners and lawn care hobbyists go to discuss their lawns and gardens? If so, much of the talk would be about successes each have had as they toil on their lawn, plants, shrubs and trees. Obvious questions that could come up include how one improved the pH level of his or her garden soil. Or how one was able to diagnose a disease a plant had and how he or she treated it. As is the case with sports fans, gardening and lawn care fans have a never ending list of questions and plenty to say concerning answers.
But what about fun facts concerning lawn care? Does anyone ever bet a friend on how many acres of grass there is in the U.S.? Or how many pounds or pesticides and chemical fertilizers are applied to lawns in the U.S. each year?
If you ever do encounter lawn care fans that like to discuss these things, but you are not up with such facts, then here are some facts you can use to impress the gatherers.
Real Lawn Care Facts
Fact One: The average homeowner spends about 4 hours per week caring for their lawn. Depending on where you live that is about 150 hours (in the cooler climates) to 208 hours (in the warmer climates) a year. Do a little bit of math and you’ll discover that comes out to 5 to 8.5 days working on the lawn per year.
Fact Two: According to a National Gardening Association Survey, Americans spend about $363 per year on their lawn and gardening activities. Add it all up and it comes to a total of $30 million a year.
Fact Three: 85 million households in the United States have a private lawn.
Fact Four: According to a National Gardening Association survey, 22 million homeowners hire a lawn care professional to care for their lawn and landscaping.
Fact Five: There are about 50 million acres of grass in the United States and about 21 million of those acres are front and back yards.
Are there places like sports bars where lawn care enthusiasts can go to argue about their lawns?
(Courtesy: Sloppy Pelican Sports Bar in Coco Beach Hotel on flickr.com)
Fact Six: The average lawn size for a home is one-fifth of an acre.
Fact Seven: 80 million pounds of pesticides and 70 million pounds of chemical fertilizer are spread onto lawns in the United States per year.
So there you have it. Now you are armed with facts concerning lawns and lawn care in the United States so you can contribute in the discussion or win a bet the next time you find yourself arguing about grass.
