By Kerrie Kennedy

Contributing writer

Keeping up a lawn is no easy task. Forget lazy summer afternoons—maintenance is a seemingly endless cycle of weeding, fertilizing, watering and cutting.

And then there’s the expense.

According to the National Gardening Association, last year American consumers spent approximately $40 billion on their lawns and gardens. From gardening tools to landscape designers and lawn services; not to mention fencing and outdoor furniture; homeowners today practically have to take out a second mortgage just to maintain the lawn.

But many feel like it’s their civic duty. In her book, “Front Yard Gardens,” (Firefly Books), author Liz Primeau talks about her first experience as a homeowner.

“Neighbors with patchy or un-mown grass were frowned upon or worse,” Primeau says. “The unspoken threat of a call to the bylaw officer often hung in the air. The appearance of a single dandelion made us shudder and offer to loan the culprit a can of our most lethal herbicide—after all, we had standards to uphold.”

According to Primeau, those “standards” have resulted in a dirty little secret: American lawns, ironically a symbol of the good life, are bad for our environment.

“The smooth green lawn that so many North Americans aspire to is in fact an impoverished ecosystem,” Primeau says. If we left our lawns alone, she says, they would die and probably revert to what was there before—forest or prairie.

Besides being unnatural, lawns need a frightening amount of pesticides and chemicals just to stay weed-free and alive. Insecticides such as DDT, Lindane and Chlordane that were used in the U.S. until recently and are still widely used in other countries, are known to cause birth defects, brain damage and cancer. So it’s understandable that eventually Primeau came to the conclusion that a front lawn was something she could live without.

Instead, Primeau—and numerous homeowners featured in her book—have what are known as front yard gardens. A flower-filled Dutch garden seen on a tour of Holland inspired Primeau’s own garden, but the possibilities are endless. Running water and rocks are key components of minimalist gardens; wild prairie plantings create a natural-looking landscape; and in a city, a small front yard patch of grass can be transformed into an urban oasis.

According to Michael Calderon, general manager of City Escape Garden Center in the Garfield Park Conservatory, even a few flowers can make a big difference.

“I personally like to see a lot of annuals and perennials in a yard,” he says. “Colorful flowers definitely put on smile on your face,” says Calderon, who says he learned everything he knows about flowers from his partner.

Brightly colored petunnias, geraniums and daisies are all big sellers at City Escape, but Calderon encourages customers to try new things. And they do. According to a poll conducted at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, 88 percent of gardeners surveyed say they experiment every year with different types of foliage and flowers or by changing the entire look of their gardens.

While lawns can be conformist, monotonous and boring, gardening offers plenty of room for experimentation and self-expression. And unlike the chore of mowing the lawn, gardening, say enthusiasts, is a labor of love.

Tips to Make Your Garden Grow

—Buy the proper tools. A spade or a garden trowel is necessary for planting flowers and digging holes, and a claw-like cultivating tool works well for loosening soil. When planting shrubs or small trees, use a shovel with a round-point and long fiberglass handles.

—Prune at the right time. Pruning plants in the middle of leaf growth is damaging because there’s the risk of losing stored energy that will be used to push out new growth. It’s also an invitation for disease and damaging insects. Bottom line: save your shears for fall.

—Reseed. Reseeding should be done in early spring, once the temperatures have warmed up and the chance of frost has passed.

—Water properly. Obviously, lawns and plants need water, but too much of a good thing can be hazardous. Overwatering can actually destroy gress by encouraging fungi and weed growth. Recommended watering: two inches of water per week. Sandy soil will need more watering; clay soil, less. To avoid fungus problems, water during the morning hours.

—Know when to plant. Especially in Chicago, it’s important to consider current weather conditions. Trees and shrubs can be planted when the ground can be worked, although you should wait a few weeks after the snow melts when temperatures remain above freezing.