The west coast of the country has been experiencing a drought over the course of the past few years. Rainfall levels and snow in the mountains has not provided an adequate reserve level of water that will guarantee enough drinking water for all residents of southern California and Nevada, which creates an issue for landscaping. The issue is a simple one, when there is not an ability to assure all citizens that there will be enough water on hand to drink, the communities where people live begin to restrict the access to water that is used for non essential purposes. In a nutshell, this means that landscaping suffers in order to make sure there is enough water to drink. The restrictions imposed on homeowners are that you can only water your lawn and landscaping between certain hours and on certain days. Each square foot of living grass typically needs about 55 gallons of water to simply survive, and more than that to grow healthy each year. The communities do not necessarily view landscaping as wasteful, but instead must prioritize the access to drinking water to people over plants in times of crisis. This means that your lawn may very well die in the summer months because you cannot legally water it enough to keep it healthy, but there are benefits to letting it die.
Why should you let your lawn die? Simple. Because in southern California your grass will not naturally grow lush without a constant artificial supply of water. Grass of this type is not natural to the environment, and as a result you must pay for the continual feeding of water to the grass. In times of crisis, you are not allowed to feed the grass enough water to survive, so you are going to be faced with looking at a continually stressed and dying lawn, or at best a brown field in front of your house. You have a better option in water smart landscaping or synthetic turf. Water smart landscaping is any type of ground covering that does not need water to look good. These types of covering can range from crushed rock to cement or synthetic turf, and essentially are not living plants so they do not need continual care or mowing, and also do not need water. By installing water smart landscaping, you will cut back on your own water use and ultimately save money, but also create a space that does not need ongoing upkeep and landscaping services. The savings are very important to citizens during these times of economic uncertainty, and the stress free aspect of a lawn that looks good without any maintenance will add value to your home. The best part is that water smart landscaping can actually look for better than traditional grass if it is done correctly, with all of the beauty and dramatic elements that you could desire. Once you rethink the look and feel of a traditional lawn, you can crete a beautiful space that your family will love which also conserves water, and that is what good citizens do.