Crazy paving, gravel and most recently decking have all threatened it, but no enemy has ever been greater than that currently facing the English lawn. This morning environment minister Ian Pearson warned that "the quintessential English garden and lawn" was in danger, threatened by climate change and drought. As the country got hotter, he said, gardeners would have to consider using new plants more suited to the new conditions.
The traditional English lawn has certainly suffered from this year's hot weather and two winters of low rainfall, with many once green patches turned to straw. If, as Mr Pearson suggests, the average temperature rises by 2.5-3C by 2080, and summer rainfall decreases by 50%, even the Wimbledon groundstaff will be struggling to keep their lawns healthy.
It could be the end of one of the longest running fashions of all time. Lawns have provided a lush, green centerpiece to English gardens for hundreds of years. So long in fact that there is joke about achieving the perfect lawn which says all you need to do is "weed and mow carefully for 500 years". In Tudor times rich people were able to afford to set aside areas of grass on which to play games, as well as stroll and sit; now lawns are a cheap and low maintenance option that appeal to everyone.
The setting for the lawn has changed over the years - some periods have preferred strict boundaries to their patches of grass, while others have favoured a more free-flowing approach. In the 18th century when Capability Brown was looking after the gardens of the rich and famous he used lawns to join their houses with the countryside around them. Grass ran from the buildings to adjacent fields without formal walkways and hedges separating them.
In Victorian times, a more formal look was introduced. Gardeners added borders around the grass, and this style is still seen in many English gardens today. Despite occasional dabbles with decking, we Brits still like to look out on a nice bit of turf.
Fortunately all is not yet lost. Although in the long term we may need to investigate new grass types that will be more at home in the warmer weather, our existing lawns could go on for some time if we look after them properly.
Not cutting the grass too short and avoiding walking on it too much during drought will both reduce the damage done in the summer months and should ensure that when it starts to rain again your lawn will be back to its old, green self.
