Living in the suburbs in the summer reminds me of that David Byrne/John Goodman film, True Stories, from the 80s. In the film, all of the houses look alike; they have the same driveways, the same cars, the same lawns. Every Saturday, the men/husbands mow their lawns with the same lawnmowers. The women/wives compete in a beauty pageant at the local mall, and they’re actually wearing dresses made from their lawns.
Yard competition is big in the suburbs. The first lawnmower starts about 9:00 Saturday morning, and then, sure enough, one by one, there’s a tractor in every yard. Then there’s the planting, edging, weeding, etc. Everyone knows which families don’t maintain their yards, and the lack of yard maintaining is often a topic of conversation, along with taxes, the schools, and the price of gasoline.
It’s so predictable. Jim and I have developed this knack for blending with the neighbors, and I actually enjoy some gardening, so we manage. It’s funny, though, to observe how human behavior spreads like a virus. One home gets a pool and then the next and so on. I buy a tree, my neighbor buys a tree, the neighbor two doors down gets a new spirea bush, and before you know it, every house on the block has added to the landscaping. All of the backyards look the same: pool, swingset, umbrella table.
There have been times that I’ve actually felt nervous about the length of our grass or the amount of clover in our yard. This year though, Jim and I have decided to embrace our artsier side. Right now, we’re planning a piece for the backyard. We’re putting up a couple of sections of stockade fence on which we plan to paint or have someone paint a mural. This is kind of a bold move for us, but fitting in and convention matter less and less to me with each passing year.
My first stop in the planning process was Boardman Township’s website so that I could make sure that our plans didn’t violate any township regulations. Boardman is more liberal that many of the suburbs, and most of what the township recommends is in the interest of being neighbor-friendly and considerate and safe. There weren’t any restrictions on the kind of fencing, the color of house, etc. I was surprised to discover that all of the lawn conformity is self, rather than municipally, imposed. If we’re not being governed, why are all of our choices so similar? I’m sure trends account for some of the sameness, but certainly there is room for more difference even within the trends.
Just a thought on a Sunday morning.
