What is the purpose of lawns?

Grass is for more than just an appearance. Maintaining a healthy, thick lawn also benefits the environment. Unlike hard surfaces such as concrete, asphalt and wood, grass helps to clean the air, trap carbon dioxide, reduce stormwater runoff erosion, improve soil, reduce noise pollution and reduce temperatures. Heavily cut lawns first appeared in 17th century England in the homes of large and wealthy landowners.

While sheep continued to graze in many of these parks, landowners were increasingly dependent on human labor to care for the pasture closest to their homes. Before lawnmowers, only the wealthy could afford to hire the many hands needed to cut and remove weeds from lawns, making grass a mark of wealth and status.