The lawn : a history of an American obsession / Virginia Scott Jenkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jenkins, Virginia Scott.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lawns--United States--History.

Lawns.

History.

United States.

Physical Description:

x, 246 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : Smithsonian Institution Press, [1994]

Summary:

Lawns now blanket thirty million acres of the United States, but until the late nineteenth century few Americans had any desire for a front lawn, much less access to seeds for growing one. In her comprehensive history of this uniquely American obsession, Virginia Scott Jenkins traces the origin of the front lawn aesthetic, the development of the lawn-care industry, its environmental impact, and modern as well as historic alternatives to lawn mania.

Contents:

Part 1 Americans Adopt the Front-Lawn Aesthetic

1. The Introduction of Lawns to America 9

2. Garden Clubs, Golf, and the USDA 35

3. Advertising the Front Lawn 63

Part 2 The Democratization of the Lawn

4. The Growth of the American Lawn-Care Industry 91

5. Men, Women, and Front Lawns 117

6. The War Between Man and Nature 133

7. The Age of High-Tech Horticulture 159.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-237) and index.

ISBN:

1560984066

OCLC:

28507030