Lawn Care, or Lack There of

I would like to introduce Europe to proper lawn care—if only for the next three weeks. Lawns in the Czech Republic often resemble something similar to a cattle grazing pasture—but without the cattle and with some of the most beautiful tulips a person could ever imagine. Sadly, instead of proudly displaying his or her beautiful tulips, people often let them become hidden behind a foot and a half of overgrown grass and dandelions. To me (the American), it is like Europeans are lost to the beauty that is proper lawn care. To them (probably the rest of the world), proper lawn care does not make sense.
An old episode of This American Life made me mildly aware of the sort of distain many Europeans have for lawn mowers and hedge trimmers before coming to the Czech Republic. According to the European interviewed in the episode, mowing one’s lawn regularly is a sign of conformity that reminds many people in Europe of communism and totalitarian regimes—especially in Central and Eastern Europe. While this makes sense—because nothing says conformity quite like the suburban image of “little boxes on the hillside”—I still cannot help wanting to show them (the Europeans who do not mow their lawns) that a little bit of conformity can be good—you know, like driving on the right side of the road or liking the Goonies. Then, perhaps. I could escape the mutant mosquitoes that have taken over my residence. Sadly, I do not see the tides turning—or the grass trimming—any time soon.