Tired of looking at that brown patch of lawn and trying to convince yourself it’s a badge of honor in these times of drought?
You tell yourself “It greens up in the winter, so I’ll water just enough to keep it from totally dying now.” But wouldn’t a beautiful, sustainable, low water use garden be a more inviting place to spend your free time?
Replacing a lawn that is not used anymore can be the first step in a whole new kind of landscaping — a landscape that looks like it belongs where you live. Here are some very good reasons to lose the lawn and benefit the planet at the same time.
Even in years where we have normal winter rainfall we always have a seasonal drought. It’s called summer. Without our usual winter and spring rains, though, even native trees and shrubs are struggling. All the more reason that plant selection now is even more critical than before.
You’ve seen pictures of some not-so-great looking lawn replacement projects. A drought tolerant plant here, another there, add an accent rock and that’s supposed to thrill you when you come home for the day? What’s missing is a garden designed to enhance our natural environment.
When you remove your lawn, it’s a wonderful opportunity to not only create a garden than conserves water, but also provides habitat for wildlife including birds and butterflies, and improves the soil.
A living landscape does as much for our own pleasure as it does for the environment. It increases biodiversity of plant, animal, and insect populations. It fosters healthy soil, which can hold more moisture by supporting microbes and insects. Healthy soil can filter pollutants and improve water quality.
Think of using native and well-adapted, non-natives that connect with the natural landscape. Use tough plants on the edges and group greener, low water use plants closer to the house. Here are some good plants to use in a lawn-less landscape that won’t break your water budget.
When planting time rolls around this fall, consider a green carpet of blue drama grass. This native sedge can provide a green carpet on much less water and can be mowed or not. It’s on the list of approved water-wise grasses eligible for rebates from our local water districts.
Another ground cover eligible for lawn replacement rebate is Dymondia. I love the grey foliage of this low ground cover. It fills in nicely between stepping-stones, or can take light foot traffic in larger areas.
For a taller look that you don’t need to be able to walk on, the ground cover forms of ceanothus, manzanita or creeping rosemary are good very low water alternatives to a lawn. I have a very low hearts desire ceanothus that hasn’t been watered yet this year and it still looks green and lush.
Native yarrow, penstemon and salvia are the work horses of the garden needing little water once established and attracting all sorts of insects and birds. Other natives on the 800 plus Approved Low Water Use Plant list include Pacific Coast iris, helianthemum, libertia, santolina, California fuchsia, rockrose, lavender, myoporum, coffeeberry, teucrium, verbena and kangaroo paw to name just a few. You can download the list from www.sv.org or www.slvwd.com.
I am not a big fan of artificial lawns. They do not provide habitat for wildlife, beautify our environment, or improve the soil. They get significantly hotter than the surrounding air temperature, contributing to the heat island effect by increasing air temperatures.
Also, artificial turf is a synthetic material with a relatively short lifespan ranging from 10 to 20 years and will eventually end up in a landfill. They cannot be recycled. There are many other beautiful, low water use options that result in more sustainable and beneficial landscapes.
Water and soil management as well as plant selection are key to water conservation in the landscape.
