Drought is one of the biggest issues with living is Southern California. Of course we have nearly perfect weather and it is essentially spring all year long. Of course we have awesome beaches that the rest of the country would kill for, and we can be out on them almost year round. We have an outdoor lifestyle that is unique to California, and it mostly has to do with the weather. The problem is that it sometimes doesn’t rain enough, and suddenly we realize that we are actually living in a desert environment. All of the beautiful and exotic plants that we use to landscape our yards and create beautiful environments are actually being watered artificially, and cannot survive on the natural amount of water that gets provided most years. Most grass is the same way, and would eventually become quite thin and brown even on a good year. Factor in a drought situation and suddenly you realize that our landscape is essentially a false one.
This may not bother you, and you may be thinking “as long as I can afford to pay the water bills I am find.” The issue happens during the mandatory watering restrictions, when it really doesn’t matter how much you can afford to pay. You are simply not legally allowed to water your lawn to the amount that is necessary during a drought, because that water must be conserved for the members of our community that need it to drink. No matter how much you love your lawn, if the water that you feed it will potentially cause another person to not have enough, then we must use that water for humans and animals. If there is not enough to do both, then you must cut off water to your lawn. If you will not do it voluntarily, then you will be fined or have your water supply shut off.
There is an answer to this issue, it is called synthetic turf. This plastic product is installed in the spaces where you would have grass, staked securely to the ground after that area is cleared from living plants. It is installed over a weed barrier and a compressed filler material that will provide the feel of real grass, and once it is installed it will look just like real grass too. This product will allow you to maintain the look and feel of grass without any water whatsoever, and this will not only save you money but it will also do your part to conserve. You will also be able to save the money you spent previously on landscapers, because fake grass does not grow or need maintained. It is time for you to allocate the money that you would have spent restoring your grass lawn, and put that money into fake grass. It will last a lifetime and will also save the water that needs to be saved for our community to survive. Do your part this year and install artificial turf.