When was grass seed first imported specifically for aesthetic reasons?
Upvote:2
As noted on the Wiki page, grass seed was imported to the new world to improve pasturage for livestock. A kept lawn is, in its conception, a decorative pasture - a marker of status. So the best grass for pasture was the best grass for commons and household yards where a sheep or goat could graze... which became the standard for purely decorative lawns. As stated in the wiki article, Kentucky Blue Grass and Bermuda Grass are the most productive pasturage in their respective climates - and it's worth noting they're the most prized for lawns and landscaping in those same regions as well.
Upvote:4
"The grass family is one of the most widely distributed and abundant groups of plants on Earth. Grasses are found on every continent, and are absent only from central Greenland and much of Antarctica" Wikipedia page It seems unlikely that grass seed would ever have been really all the prized given it's natural abundance basically everywhere. Grass also includes all grains (wheat etc, even rice), which should show it's ubiquity.
You do get grass species far away from their natural habitat (invasive species, those imported to reclaim wetland for do some specific land management role, those in peoples gardens etc) but that's probably a result of hugely expanded trade in the last couple of centuries. I believe it was in the 19th century when people started acquiring exotic ornamental plants in any serious fashion.
The only documented historical movement of grass I can find is the expansion of grain types cultivated in the fertile crescent across Eurasia, but that wasn't aesthetic at all. Movement of the harvest from grass was common though, and rice was newly available and pretty highly prized in medieval Europe... but not aesthetic again.
More post
- 📝 Could Japan buy natural resources from European colonies before WW2?
- 📝 Was Reagan Disliked By Establishment Republicans?
- 📝 Identify the cover model from an issue of Life Magazine
- 📝 Who is this person depicted on a wall in Estonia?
- 📝 Why is the name "Tecumseh" used for US Navy ships?
- 📝 Did any commoners become prince-electors during the Holy Roman Empire?
- 📝 Did Martin Luther ever say "The prosperity of a country depends ... "?
- 📝 Was the earliest precursor of chess part of Indo-European culture?
- 📝 Was Lenin's 'Socialism and Religion' a reaction to something specific? What?
- 📝 Do we know any Roman debtor being cut to pieces in line with the 12 Tables?
- 📝 Gazan attitudes to Egyptian rule 1948-1967
- 📝 Why did Constantius Chlorus decide to become a Flavius?
- 📝 World War 2-era WD AGO Form 53-55
- 📝 Were alchemists respected in Europe?
- 📝 Military capacity of Turkey during the Cuban missile crisis (1962)?
- 📝 What prevented empires with territory in North Africa from expanding south of the Sahara? And vice versa
- 📝 Did the HEIC operate in the West Indies as well as the East Indies?
- 📝 How widely accepted are Tolstoy's views on history within the academic community?
- 📝 Have any historical pandemics actually originated in the United States?
- 📝 What nationality was "Egbert Van Kampen"?
- 📝 Why is Germany's history of colonialism and imperialism less prominent compared to other European nations?
- 📝 Why China was able to unify and not Europe?
- 📝 What are the earliest written accounts of Sub-Saharan Africa from the outside?
- 📝 Was Ashoka motivated more by economics rather than religion in giving up war?
- 📝 1972 textbook by Charles University professor on Thirty Years War
- 📝 Did the Sturmabteilung uniform look ridiculous in terms of German fashion in the 1920s?
- 📝 How did the development in education impact the curiosity and creativity in German society pre and post WWI?
- 📝 Why were Axis bombings deadlier than Allied ones?
- 📝 Is still Spain legally the Spanish State (apart from the Kingdom of Spain)?
- 📝 Why was IJN apparently inactive mid-war?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 When was grass seed first imported specifically for aesthetic reasons?
- 📝 When was tofu invented? Was it specifically for vegetarian consumption from the beginning?
- 📝 When was natural gas first used for cooking food?
- 📝 When was the term for WW2 first used and was it more popular in, say, US before Europe?
- 📝 Why was it "acceptable" for Prince Charles to marry a divorced woman, when Edward VIII had to abdicate for marrying divorcee Wallis Simpson?
- 📝 What / When was the first use of concentration camps in history?
- 📝 When was the American War of Independence first called a 'Revolution'?
- 📝 When was the concept of "weekly day off" first introduced in Indian Subcontinent?
- 📝 In the first half of 20th century, how was gold inspected for authenticity?
- 📝 When was the first electrical intra-battlefield communication?
- 📝 When was the first time Rome was mentioned in outside records (and specifically, in Greek ones)?
- 📝 When was "diablo" first used to refer to the Devil?
- 📝 When and where was the first time moveable bridge?
- 📝 When was the concept of the "border wall" between the United States and Mexico first proposed?
- 📝 When was the first usage of the slogan "Wer hat uns verraten..."?
- 📝 When was the testudo / tortoise formation first used by the Romans?
- 📝 Were children in Soviet Union commonly expected to thank Stalin for food, even when he was not present?
- 📝 When was King John of England given the name 'Dollheart', and who first used it?
- 📝 When was the first intentional ricochet fired from a naval artillery?
- 📝 When did we figure out that Venus was too hot for humans?
- 📝 When and where was rape first criminalised independently from adultery?
- 📝 What was the first recorded instance of sex or violence being inappropriate for children to see?
- 📝 When was the first known international call between two heads of state or government?
- 📝 When was it first noticed that airplane passengers really seemed to like tomato juice?
- 📝 When was the modern manuscript for the Torah agreed upon?
- 📝 Was there a time when it was easier for slaves than citizens to access state-sponsored medical facilities in Ancient Rome?
- 📝 When was the first recorded example of a race competition in human history?
- 📝 When the term "president" was used the first time?
- 📝 When and where was the first naval gunnery school/college established?
- 📝 When was the first airborne combat drop?