Common Nature

I define "lawn" as "whatever low-growing vegetation survives mowing and foot traffic." This includes probably at least a dozen types of grass, a few sedges in the prairie garden, two different plantains, several clovers, several violets, and of course dandelions. We don't fertilize, use broad herbicides, or do anything other than mow it. I spot-spray for noxious weeds like poison ivy.

As a result, even the "lawn" has a pretty decent ecosystem going. It has worms and other creepy-crawlers. It has insects on the flowers. The birds have grasped that the lawnmower does a bison's job, and after mowing they descend in flocks to pick through the short grass and clippings for exposed insects.