I'm not sure how many here know this, but Ill put it out there as I was once told. Green lawns were a phenomenon of the rich prior to the early 1900s, only the rich could afford to forsake vegetable gardens for green grassy lawns. The average person would plant vegetables on any available land area in their yards to supplement the kitchen table. Post depression/WWII it became a status symbol for middle/lower class to have a lush green lawn, an implied status of wealth.