I’ve been noticing a trend in my area. Lawns are looking a little browner than they do most summers in my area. Seems like a lot of people are watering them less.
Not a bad start, if you ask me.
Better, of course, is to do something useful with the land, or at least xeriscape so that the yard is not completely unattractive. But it’s nice to see that more people in my area seem to be more willing to deal with a less than perfect lawn right now.
In my area, that’s a very rational decision. We’re facing a huge water shortage and they’re trying hard to get us to cut back on our water usage. I’m determined to keep the garden alive, but the lawn? Only enough for the kids to play on. And they delight in dandelions and other weeds just as much as they enjoy the grass.
Quite frankly, if we owned this house rather than just rented, the front lawn would be long gone. There’d also be a much bigger garden in the back yard, which might make up for any water savings, but at least the water would be used productively.
We’d probably also be looking at installing water barrels
Fresh, clean water is something that is just going to become more valuable throughout much of the world, and it’s time for people to start understanding that. Using less even when you could have more isn’t a bad habit to establish at all.
Our lawns are looking brown as well. We’re on a strict two day per week water restrictions, and sometimes I water and sometimes I don’t (didn’t today, and it was our day).
Something else I do that some people might not is hand water my garden. Not only does this save water, but it really cuts down on the weeds! The five minutes I spend per day refilling the watering can and walking from plant to plant is much less than the time I would be spending weeding if I used a sprinkler or a soaker hose.