Did you ever think that your lawn would be considered “old fashioned?” This may come as a shock to many people who can’t imagine anything except that green grass in the front and back yard that have always been the hallmark of a nice house, from the time when you were a child until now. Especially people from the east coast might believe that anything except a thick green grass lawn was a sign of someone who wasn’t doing well, but over time these kinds of perceptions have changed. Especially in desert communities where water is now being rationed in order to conserve, it is no longer considered fashionable to have grass. But what has changed and why?
Your lawn will typically use more than 55 gallons of water every year per square foot, which adds up to thousands of gallons that could be used for drinking. In areas where water is scarce, even if you do not want to ration water you are probably going to be forced to do so. In addition, greater desire on people’s part to be part of a community instead of simply a resident of an area has lead to a mental shift away from grass. People are no longer considered to be “doing their part” if they are wasting water on their lawns.
Many younger people today do not want to spend their time landscaping when they could be doing better things. Any attempts to reduce the amount of upkeep on a home are now considered as a home improvement, so that residents can feel more of a sense of living in their houses instead of working on them. People feel as though they have better things to do with their time than care for their lawns, and paying someone else to do it is generally not what they want to do either. For this reason, many young people are opting for low maintenance yard situations, using elements like desert landscaping and artificial turf instead of the grass which has come to define older homes. Artificial turf recreates the same look and feel of the grass lawn, only using no water what so ever to do it. There is also the fact that since it is plastic it does not grow and will not need to be mowed or trimmed, which most younger people have no desire to do. This saves them time and money, while at the same time saving the environment by not wasting water on completely decorative things that can be better suited to be replaced with better materials. While the softness and clean looks of grass are appealing, these are improved upon with artificial turf almost 100% of the time. In addition, artificial turf will eventually pay for itself completely through saving on water and landscaping bills.
The next time you consider grass for your lawn, think about the fact that in a changing world you are no longer considered modern. This will have a negative impact on both your property values and how people perceive you.