Gazing out the window, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
The sea of brown that was my backyard looked like a moonscape. Holes dug by bandicoots poked out from between scruffy yellow tufts of grass.
My husband took the mower when we split in 2016 and I’ve since let the lawn do its own thing.
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“Buy yourself a mower,” my mates would plead. But as a solo mum of four — Aiden, 15, Heath, 12, Kyle, 10, and Neve, eight — I didn’t have time for gardening.
“It’s a nature reserve!” I’d joke to my guests.
Then, in December 2023, I came across a competition accepting entries for the world’s ugliest lawn. Are they having a laugh? I thought.
But the comp, originating in Gotland, Sweden, was intended to raise awareness about water conservation.
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Luckily, I haven’t watered it in years, I grinned.
Snapping pics for my entry, I captured the bandicoots, as well as the remains of a poor brushtail possum that had made the garden its final resting place.
“You’ll win hands down!” my neighbour, Kris, teased.
After I sent off my entry, I didn’t hear anything for a couple of weeks. I figured that with entries coming in from all around the world, competition would be stiff.
But one morning, in January this year, an email from the organisers popped into my inbox.
“With great pleasure we would like to inform you that you have the world’s ugliest lawn,” the email read.
Laughing with joy, I hugged the kids. “We won!” I cheered.
My prize was a recycled brown T-shirt with the words ‘World’s Ugliest Lawn’ written across the front. It was posted to me from the previous year’s winner.
My sisters, with their picture-perfect lawns, couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about.
“It means you’re the world’s worst gardener,” they all laughed.
Having my lawn declared the world’s ugliest was a fun way to raise awareness about the environment. Whenever I was asked about the win, I hammed it up.
“All the glory goes to the bandicoots for their tireless efforts!” I’d declare.
I wanted to show people that sustainability doesn’t have to be boring. I’ve let my lawn return to its natural state, and now it’s a habitat for wildlife.
My lawn may hold the title of world’s ugliest, but to me, it’s beautiful!
Is your lawn a contender? Visit gotland.com/worlds-ugliest-lawn
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