Sep 04 2008
Great Yards: Low Maintenance
JTucker53 asks: I’ve worked hard to get my lawn green year after year. I take alot of pride in it. I think it just looks nice. Can you give examples of yards with out grass that look good, too? Thanks.
Hi Tuck. Thanks for the great topic. Aesthetically pleasing (aka beautiful) yards that do not have a blanket of lawn, or have only a small little blanket of lawn are everywhere. Eartheasy.com has a great explanation of what xeriscapes are. I’ll sum it up.
“Xeriscaping refers to the conservation of water through creative landscaping,” and, “Xeriscapes do not have a single look - almost any landscaping style can be achieved. The principles can be applied to all or part of a yard, in any geographic region of North America.”
Toucan Landscaping’s Desert Xeriscape has minimal lawn area, just enough to allow you to let your toes squish in the green. Think about how much lawn you really need to get what you want from it.
A company called Toucan Landscaping has done a great job in areas with extreme drought. But you don’t need to be a desert dweller to have a yard that conserves water (or more exactly, avoids excess watering). Choosing plants that are native to your region is the best way to be sure they will thrive. Afterall, it is their natural environment! You shouldn’t have to water plants that are native species. You can find species that are native to your area at the link to the Native Plant Database mentioned in my post “5 Ways to Go Green in Your Garden“. At your local USDA Cooperative Extension System Office you can also find more useful information on xeriscaping and other responsible landscaping practices.
Happy Gardening!
Beautiful Xeriscape: landscaping that needs little, usually no additional watering. Just the good ol' rain'll do.
This is a link to some info on Ecoturf, which sounds like a good alternative to regular grass because it doesn’t need as much maintenance and watering. Also some good info about how much pollution lawns and lawn mowers contribute. Yipes.
For those that don’t understand the linking in comments, you can link to their site (or the site they mentioned) by clicking on their name. So above, click on L.cristobal.