The Grass is Greener in Houston

I've lived in Houston, Texas, Fort Worth, Texas, and Portland, Oregon and I've never found grass that compared to the grass in Houston. I know. Grass. What a boring subject, but it's actually really important - if you think about it - grass is everywhere! Good grass is a vital backdrop to our world.

I hate thin, scraggly, itchy grass. I abhorred the grass in Fort Worth. Most of the time it was yellow and all of the time it was itchy. In Houston, the grass was always thick, green, and soft, with thick blades of a deeply green shade. When I was a child, I was intimately acquainted with the grass in my family's front and back yards. You know how when you're a kid, you will actually lay down in the grass, roll around in it, s

pend hours playing in it? At least that's what I did. I knew every inch of my childhood backyard. As adult I tend to think, who knows what's in that grass?! Bugs, worms, dog poop. Disgusting. At the very least I need a blanket before I will lay down on the grass.

Over the past several year I've come to realize that Houston grass is special, but I didn't know what kind of grass it was. Recently my mom told me she thought it was called St. Augustine grass. So, I did a little research (Google) and I discovered that's exactly what it's called. Apparently, St. Augustine grass is a tropical grass, most commonly found in the Southeast US (especially the Texas Gulf Coast) and tropical islands and it does best in

"hot, moist" environments. No wonder it's in Houston!

I know it sounds silly, but I just really love this kind of grass. I think I have an emotional attachment to it. To me, St. Augustine grass says childhood and gives me warm, cozy memories of playing in the backyard with my brother, family BBQs, and having fun.

If you don't live in an area that has St. Augustine grass, I'm sorry. Come visit Houston! If you do live in such a grass-blessed area, be thankful, I'm pretty sure St. Augustine grass is one of the good things in life.