Lawns take up more land in the US than any individual crop.

在美國，草坪佔用的土地比任何一種作物都多。

All told, they account for about 1.3% of the surface area in the continental US, which is an area larger than the state of Louisiana.

總的來說，它們的面積約佔美國大陸表面積的 1.3%，比路易斯安那州的面積還要大。

But the fact is, lawns are anything but natural.

但事實上，草坪並不自然。

It takes a lot of hard work, resources, and money to make a lawn and keep it green.

鋪設草坪並保持其綠色需要大量的辛勤工作、資源和資金。

And it's not even a plant that's native to North America.

它甚至不是一種原產於北美的植物。

Even Kentucky bluegrass is actually from overseas.

就連肯塔基州的藍草其實也來自海外。

So I can't help but wonder why it's all you see up and down virtually every street in America.

是以，我不禁要問，為什麼在美國幾乎每條街道上都能看到它的身影。

And are there other options than the quintessential green lawn?

除了典型的綠色草坪，還有其他選擇嗎？

Originally manicured turfgrass lawns came about in 18th century England and France.

草坪最初出現於 18 世紀的英國和法國。

They were the domain of the ultra-privileged members of society, since you were growing something that couldn't be eaten or made into clothes.

因為你種的東西不能吃，也不能做成衣服，所以它們是社會極端特權成員的領地。

In America, lawns were popularized by influential figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who both styled their estates after the fashionable British lawns.

在美國，喬治-華盛頓和托馬斯-傑斐遜等有影響力的人物將草坪推廣開來，他們都將自己的莊園設計成英國時髦草坪的風格。

The ideal of turfgrass lawns was furthered by people like landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, who designed massive public parks projects.

景觀設計師弗雷德裡克-勞-奧姆斯特德（Frederick Law Olmstead）等人設計了大規模的公共公園項目，進一步推動了草坪的理想。

Central Park, Boston's Fens, as well as parks in Buffalo, Milwaukee, and Chicago.

中央公園、波士頓芬斯公園以及布法羅、密爾沃基和芝加哥的公園。

But green, well-manicured lawns remained in the sphere of public parks and the homes of the wealthy, because so many people didn't own a house of their own.

但是，修剪整齊的綠色草坪仍然屬於公共公園和富人住宅的範疇，因為很多人都沒有自己的房子。

But that was all about to change.

但這一切即將改變。

Starting in the 1930s, US government loan programs provided mortgages for over 11 million new homes.

從 20 世紀 30 年代開始，美國政府的貸款計劃為超過 1100 萬套新房提供了抵押貸款。

The federal government also built 48,000 miles of interstate highways, which enabled Americans to access these shiny new suburban housing developments.

聯邦政府還修建了 4.8 萬英里長的州際公路，使美國人能夠到達這些閃亮的郊區新住宅區。

Developments like Lakewood, California, a suburban bedroom community where over 17,000 brand new single-family homes sprang up.

加利福尼亞州的萊克伍德（Lakewood）是一個郊區臥室社區，在這裡湧現出 17,000 多座全新的獨戶住宅。

To many, Lakewood was paradise.

對許多人來說，湖心島就是天堂。

Lawns were heavily marketed to this new middle class of suburbanites as luxurious reflections of status.

草坪作為身份的奢華體現，被大力推銷給郊區的新中產階級。

They told you that if you had a beautiful lawn, it meant that you were a smart, modern American.

他們告訴你，如果你有一塊漂亮的草坪，就意味著你是一個聰明、現代的美國人。

One magazine article at the time said it was quote, the biggest lawn boom of all time.

當時的一篇雜誌文章稱，這是有史以來最大的草坪繁榮。

It is literally spreading all over and has become, in fact, much more than a ground cover.

事實上，它已不僅僅是一種地面覆蓋物，而是遍佈各地。

It is an emotion that has blossomed into a status symbol.

這種情感已經成為一種身份的象徵。

I'll be totally honest, I've never owned a lawn.

老實說，我從未擁有過草坪。

So I don't even know where you would start to make a lawn that looks like this.

是以，我甚至不知道從哪裡開始製作這樣的草坪。

I called Dr. Nick Christians.

我給尼克-克里斯蒂安斯醫生打了電話。

He literally wrote the book on growing turf grass.

他真的寫了一本關於種植草皮的書。

Hold that up again.

再舉一次。

If you've got your timing right and you know a little bit about what you're doing, you can do it with very little effort.

如果你掌握了正確的時機，並對自己正在做的事情略知一二，你就可以不費吹灰之力地做到這一點。

Digging through his book, let's see.

翻翻他的書，讓我們看看。

You should start by testing your soil.

您應該從檢測土壤開始。

It says to do it every three to five years or when your lawn is not up to snuff.

書上說，每隔三到五年，或者當你的草坪沒有達到要求時，就要做一次。

Then you gotta fertilize.

然後再施肥。

He says the ideal is three to five times annually.

他說，理想的情況是每年三到五次。

Then you gotta water the lawn.

然後你得給草坪澆水。

He suggests twice a week.

他建議每週兩次。

You can also take a soil course.

您還可以參加土壤課程。

Fescue.

羊茅

Light drop spreader.

光降吊具。

Pre-emergence herbicides.

萌芽前除草劑。

Point being, it's a lot.

重點是，它很多。

The average American spends about 65 hours a year on lawn and garden care.

美國人平均每年在草坪和花園養護上花費約 65 個小時。

And all this lawn care uses up lots and lots of resources.

而所有這些草坪護理都會耗費大量資源。

Lawnmowers in the U.S. use 1.2 billion gallons of gasoline every single year.

美國割草機每年使用 12 億加侖汽油。

And it takes one to two inches of water a week to keep your lawn lush and green.

而且每週需要一到兩英寸的水量才能保持草坪鬱鬱蔥蔥。

Which for a thousand square foot lawn, that's over 10,000 gallons a summer.

對於一塊一千平方英尺的草坪來說，一個夏天就需要一萬多加侖。

In a more arid region like here in California, a single family can use up to 87,000 gallons a year just to water their lawn and garden.

在加利福尼亞這樣較為乾旱的地區，一個家庭每年僅澆灌草坪和花園的用水量就高達 87,000 加侖。

That's the same amount of water as four home swimming pools.

這相當於四個家庭游泳池的水量。

And all this lawn and garden equipment emits tens of millions of tons of pollutants into the environment every year.

所有這些草坪和花園設備每年向環境排放數千萬噸汙染物。

So turf grass is by far the most common lawn covering, but it seems like it's maybe not the most environmentally friendly option.

是以，草皮是迄今為止最常見的草坪覆蓋物，但它似乎並不是最環保的選擇。

So I had to wonder, if you don't want a turf grass lawn, but you also don't want an overgrown meadow like this, what should you do?

所以我想知道，如果你不想要草皮草坪，但也不想要像這樣雜草叢生的草地，你該怎麼辦？

I would not say that I'm anti-lawn, but I'm anti-lack of a better idea and thinking about what you want your space to actually do and serve you and your community.

我不會說我反對草坪，但我反對缺乏一個更好的想法，以及思考你想讓你的空間做什麼，為你和你的社區服務。

Sarah is one of the people trying to figure that out.

莎拉就是試圖弄明白這一點的人之一。

She's a landscape designer in San Diego, and I decided to drive down to talk to her.

她是聖地亞哥的一名景觀設計師，我決定開車去找她談談。

She showed me some of the projects she's worked on where she converted grass yards to more useful, ecologically minded gardens.

她向我展示了她參與的一些項目，在這些項目中，她把草地庭院改造成了更有用、更生態的花園。

And she showed me a few of their key benefits.

她還向我展示了它們的一些主要優點。

Pretty much 99% of my clients want low maintenance and low water.

我 99% 的客戶都希望低維護、低用水量。

So picking those plants isn't really hard.

是以，採摘這些植物並不難。

There's a lot of California friendly plants, California native plants that do well with that.

有很多加州友好型植物、加州在地植物都能很好地適應這種環境。

Treating your front yard, maybe even more like a backyard where you have places to sit, you have things to interact with, you have a variety of things can actually really be great for a community.

把前院當成後院，甚至更像後院，有地方坐，有東西可以互動，有各種各樣的東西，這對一個社區來說確實很好。

A space like this offers a lot more interaction for kids.

這樣的空間為孩子們提供了更多的互動機會。

There's so many things that are tangible here that if a kid kicks this around, they're not ruining your yard.

這裡有很多有形的東西，即使孩子把它踢來踢去，也不會毀了你的院子。

You just push it back.

你只需把它推回去。

Cities across the US are actually paying people to convert their lawns from turf grass to more sustainable, low water use landscapes.

美國各地的城市實際上都在付錢給人們，讓他們把草坪從草皮草改成更可持續、用水量更低的景觀。

Here in LA, you can get up to $25,000.

在洛杉磯，你最多可以拿到 25000 美元。

Sometimes I think we try to stick to these perfect yards and, you know, we're like, don't touch it, don't interact.

有時候，我覺得我們試圖堅持這些完美的準則，你知道，我們就像，不要碰它，不要互動。

But isn't that the opposite of the point?

但這不正相反嗎？

For so long, this is what people envisioned when they thought of the American Dream.

長期以來，這就是人們心目中的 "美國夢"。

And for some, maybe it is.

對某些人來說，也許確實如此。

It's a satisfaction of how it looks when you're doing it right.

當你做得正確時，你會對它的外觀感到滿意。

When you get it right, it really looks great.

當你把它做好時，它看起來真的很棒。

Everybody comes by and wants to know what you did and how you did it.

每個人都會過來，想知道你做了什麼，怎麼做的。

But for others, the American Dream might be a yard that requires less work, comprised of plants that are actually native and that's better for the environment.

但對其他人來說，"美國夢 "可能是一個不需要太多工作的院子，院子裡種植的都是在地植物，對環境也更好。

Maybe it's time we reimagine what the American Dream can look like.

也許是時候讓我們重新想象 "美國夢 "的模樣了。