I loved this quote from Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand:
Garden gates and driveways gave glimpses of well-stocked gardens and thick lawns studded with clover clumps and dandelions. He liked the clover, evidence of the country always pressing in close, quietly sabotaging anyone who tried to manicure nature into suburban submission.
When I first moved to Cleveland I inwardly gawked at those who owned leaf blowers- Really? Can’t you just rake your leaves? Slowly over time I realized, yes you can rake your leaves, but you will never completely rid your lawn of them the way a leaf blower does. And you certainly won’t rid your driveway and sidewalks of that unsightly dirt. I’ve found myself wishing I had an edger- so my lawn looked as pristine as my neighbors (who hire landscapers). Ah, suburbia. This quote reminded me, that I’m a country girl- I ought to delight in the dirt on my sidewalks and the overwhelming presence of broad leaf intruders in my grass.
One response to “Suburban Submission”
Ah, suburbia…the place where they cut down all the trees and name the streets after them.
Not my quote, but I don’t remember where I read it.