I was reading an article the other day at the lovely Rosalind Adam's Blog about one of the sounds that fill the air, particually throughout the summer months - the roar of the lawnmower!
I have to admit, it is a sound I have not heard in years and not because we don't cut our lawn, it is more that we don't have one - a lawn not a lawnmore, though we don't have one of those either!
Down here on the island, grass is very very rare, the two golf clubs do have grass, but for the rest of the island, it is not normal. For a start it is far too hot and secondly our rain fall is very low. Trying to keep a lawn green would be very expensive (our water is desalinated.) Instead our gardens, private and public are covered in pecon. Pecon is crushed volcanic matter and is used to dress all areas where plants and trees grow.The normal covering of pecon is black, though there is red pecon, but this is rare and expensive and tends to be used in special municipal areas.
Pecon keeps the intense heat from the sun from destroying the plants and the mositrue from watering from evaporating. It is perfect for our all year round sunny and dry climate.
So the only sound you will hear everyday, all year round, is the gentle rasp of rakes as gardeners keep their pecon looking immaculate.
15 comments:
I think I'd opt for the gentle rasp of rakes... if I had a choice that it! Does it crunch under foot when you walk on it?
Thanks for the mention :-)
I'd never heard of pecon. When I lived in Cyprus, I was always so envious of a certain football pitch that had real green grass. The rest of us had was dry, scrubby, cracked ground. :)
Hello Ros, Crunch underfoot, not really, it is very tiny crushed volcano, but the dogs flick it everywhere, so sweeping up is never ending!
Hi Shirley, the island is more or less covered in pecon. That is the name we know it has! And it does look lovely when raked!
I hate cutting the grass. A job that some how was given to me since my hubby stopped cutting it! So think I will be moving to a place I now know that is grass free! lol x
I can't help but to be terribly envious of your grasslessness! Here in Scotland it rains 90% of the time (this year it has anyway!)and we have a large garden and lots of grass. It is a nightmare to keep under control. Our mower is a petrol version but is ancient and hard work to operate. Most of the time the garden threatens to overtake the cottage. Help!
Having spent over an hour mowing our lawn last Saturday, the thought of no lawn appeals greatly.
Those pictures are so gorgeous, all that blue sea/sky, etc. Bliss.
I'm in Scotland too and it has been too wet to cut grass and it's now about 2ft high and the lawnmower is broken so I'd do without it anyday, and as for the noise from lawnmowers, my neighbour spends all day cutting his grass as soon as the sun comes out, drives me mad!
Hello Nikki, I don't envy you, cutting the grass all the time!
Hi Janice & Cassam, it has not rained her for nearly 6 months, hence why we don't have grass. Thugh the smell of newly mowered grass is still a lovely fragrance!
Hello Debs, glad you liked the pics. We walk along the seafront early morning and late at night every day and I dare not show the morning pics to often...!
That's a lovely sound to hear! Better than the drilling and dogs barking in my hood.
Hi Talli...laugh! xx
The island looks so lovely! I never heard of pecon before. It must be so nice not having to worry about weeds. Julie
Hello Julie, thanks for stopping by. As for the word pecon, that is what the ground cover is called on the island. And yes, it is rather nice not having to weed often!
That's so interesting. I never thought about the effect of climate on grass before.
I think the pecon looks beautiful with the plants' green.
:-)
Hi Misha, thanks for calling by. In our climate with so little rain and plenty of sunshine, grass is not really an option, but pecon is easy to maintain! Have a fab day!
Ooh, I've learnt something new :) I think we quickly adjust to the sounds around us in any environment (perhaps it's a throwback to the hunting days ha). A recent conversation I had about another of our senses is smell and the memories triggered. Now I'll be thinking about sounds :)
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