Suburban blues

Where is it written that houses have to float on a green shag carpet of grass? Aside from homeowners' covenants, that is?

I live in an old neighborhood with lots of big, shady oak trees. They're impressive, dignified -- and dark.  Grass won't grow underneath them. On the other hand, violets and moss love it there. Being a path-of-least-resistance sort of gardener, I tend to make peace with whatever actually wants to live in my yard and call it a day. So I have a back-yard "lawn" that blooms blue in the spring. What is the big deal? 

To hear my neighbors talk, you'd think I was harboring terrorists back there instead of  wildflowers. OK, the little rascals do tend to be a bit ... exuberant. But how far can they get, really, considering their borders are manned night and day by poison-wielding, hoe-toting Defenders of the Turf?

I think the world would be a better place all around if it had more shade, more violets and less poison. But apparently, that's just me.