Littleton, Colorado (AP) -As Lena Astilli bought her house outside of Denver for the first time, she had no interest in corresponding to the lawns from wall to wall that dominated her block. She wanted local plants – the way she remembered and loved as a child in New Mexico, who need far less water and have much more into insects and birds that are in decline.
“A monoculture of Kentucky Bluegrass does not help anyone,” said Astilli. After checking several kindergartens before she found one who had what she wanted, she slowly reintroduced these local plants into her garden.
Although Astilli only replaced grass last month, it remains omnipresent in American yards. It is a tradition that started more than two centuries ago when the landscape design of Europe copies richly, and Gras now dominates the well-known planting outside of everything, from single-family houses to apartment complexes to office parks and retail shopping centers.
“In the absence of simple directions and guidance, what should do with her landscape, she was in default because it is easy,” said Mark Richardson, Managing Director of the Ecological Landscape Alliance, a non -profit organization that promotes sustainable landscape design.
But this grass is problematic in deserts and at any place with limited water, for example in the American west, where it will not do well without irrigation. Since climate change makes the world hot and more extreme weather, including drought, tax thirsty areas of emerald that are already under stress.
Give xeriscaping one-landscape construction to greatly reduce the need for irrigation, also by using locals or drought-tolerant plants. (A benefit here, Denver Water, said that he shaped the term in 1981 by combining “landscape” with the Greek word “Xeros”, which means dry to promote reduced water consumption.)
A boulder program makes it easier for people to save water and money this summer. According to Resource Central, her replacement program has helped Coloradans to save 36 million gallons water since 2020. Take a look at our report below.
The lawn replacement program offers incentive to replace grass with water -saving plants
Reasons to think about tearing this lawn
The average family of the United States uses 320 gallons daily (1.211 liters) water, according to the environmental protection authority. Almost a third of it is devoted to water consumption outdoors. It is even more for people with thirsty plants in dry areas.
“Drinking water is becoming increasingly difficult to find,” said Richardson. “Lawn reduction is a fantastic way to limit the use of water in the landscape.”
Brittany Peterson/AP
His group is not interested in grass, even in areas such as northeast or medium west, in which drought and water consumption are not as problematic as in the West. Less lawn means less pesticides and fertilizers that wash into rivers. Other local plants mean more rest stops and nesting grounds for pollinators such as birds, butterflies and bees that have had serious population declines in recent decades.
“We can bring nature back to our urban and suburban areas,” said Haven Kiers, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of California-Davis. “Improving biological diversity, creating habitats will be a big deal for the environment.”
It is also better for the people who use the farm, said Kiers.
“As many studies show that all of this is really good for them to spend time in nature and garden,” said Kiers. “If you do that, don't talk about mowing the lawn.”
Take the first steps
Kiers says that the only thing that is more intimidated than a wide of lawns is an area of non -planned dirt. Your top recommendation: take it slowly. It also allows the costs because she said that the payment of someone to do everything at once can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
If you have beds on the outside of the house, expand them. If you have a way that leads to the front door, put shrubs or flowers on both sides. If you have no shade, plant a tree and already have a tree, create a bed around it. All of these steps reduce the lawn.
Brittany Peterson/AP
There are also financial incentives and discounts in several countries to make the transformation more affordable. Sometimes they are offered by a city, a district, a state, water authority or a local nature conservation organizations. The search for the programs that are available to the municipalities and companies near them is a good starting point.
In search of landscape design ideas? “If you want to see good examples of horticulture best, visit a public garden,” said Richardson. Kiers recommended finding a master gardener or a volunteer for community garden, as they often offer specialist knowledge free of charge.
What is in Lena's court?
Astilli, the house owner of Littleton, made her garden new with local plants a few years ago – Goldenrod, sunflowers, Rudbeckia, Purple Poppy Mallow, Rocky Mountain Bee and more. Some green lawn stay so that your dog and child can frolic.
At the end of this summer she brought her hands dirty to convert the front yard into Xeriscaping. With the help of the restorative landscape design and its owner Eryn Murphy, Astilli Gras replaced with plants such as bee, evening primrose, scarlet red Gilia, Prairie Dropsed and Tall Thimbleweed.
During a break from work, Murphy was off some of the various possible looks for landscape design with low water.
Brittany Peterson/AP
“Really, the sky is the border in relation to its creativity and aesthetics,” she said. “It's just about using plants that should be here.”
Murphy said an increasingly difficult West due to climate change will ask people to do something when lawns are becoming less viable.
“Water is getting more and more expensive, your lawn will stop looking good. You have to open your eyes and say: What could I do, that's different and better?”
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