The great gardener Christopher Lloyd once commented “there are few greater garden pleasures than the the contemplation of a perfectly kept lawn”and then went on to mischievously state as long as it was “. not your own”. The proper upkeep of a lawn takes more time energy and labour than even the most labour intensive herbaceous border. Yet the lawn as a favourite garden feature is not threatened because there are no willing obsessives to keep manicuring their swards with mowers but it is soon that a man or woman operating a petrol mower will be looked upon with the same derision as someone burning rubbish in their back garden. A lawn mower is as heavy a polluter as the largest motor bike . Those “petrol heads” careering over the landscape are akin to an almost criminal way of life in most peoples minds . Wasting energy ,polluting our atmosphere is fast becoming a major sin  as we contribute to global warming and glaciers melting away , polar bears disappear and the poor of developing countries swelter in droughts  or drown in floods so even the  seemingly innocent mowing of a lawn brings with it a heavy consequence . I can see a time not far away when the manicured lawn will become an expensive luxury. Because of the cost of oil only the wealthy will have an extensive sward and the ordinary public will go to golf courses to see the smooth greens as much as to play golf.  Carbon Taxes will , like as happening with the car now , pile onto the humble lawn mower . This will have an effect on the size of our lawns and how we manage them . What will the typical suburban garden look like. ?If there is a lawn it will be much smaller ,mown by hand mowers or battery run mower.The manicured could become a kind of trophy garden feature. In Ireland with its heavy rain maybe our lawns will even become a tourist attraction! This is obvious in the great grass slopes of Powerscourt in Wicklow. Even famous smaller gardens are dispensing wth the lawn as central feature . Helen Dillon has gone hard with limestone pavement. With hard features dominant in a garden the occupier spends all his carbon currency in one go whereas the traditional lawn keeper spends it in increments. This demise of the lawn is being consciously promoted by garden designers. In a recent article in THE GARDEN DESIGN journal garden designer Louise Zass-Bangham argues that “with every expanse of manicured lawn and length of formal hedge, we drive the client’s desire for chemicals,petrol mowers and electric trimmers.”Much of this debate is ongoing and one can see that professional gardeners will be urging their clients to become more sustainable. Out of personal experience the client can be quite coservative hankering after traditional garden features and in an inflated sense of energy can see themselves dedicating long weekends to lawn maintenance. The debate will develop a strong sense of concentration when oil becomes more expensive and the cost of mowing the lawn will become financially prohibitive.