Did you know that a typical modest-sized front and backyard suburban California lawn consumes 45,000 gallons of water per year? And to stay pest and weed free, those water-thirsty lawns use more pesticides and herbicides per acre than any other crop grown in the country! More and more homeowners are opting to lose their lawns in favor of drought tolerant landscapes that not only look beautiful, but are saving one of our most precious resources-water.
So let’s say you are one of the ‘converted’ and you are tired of being a slave to that thirsty green patch. What do you do? There are several methods for lawn removal and the one to choose is the one that fits your pocketbook and your physical abilities.
For more detailed information on lawn removal, low-water design, and plants to use in a water reduced landscape, you will want to read Reimaging the California Lawn, Water-conserving Plants, Practices, and Designs by Carol Bornstein, David Fross and Bart O’Brien. These are the same authors of California Native Plants for the Garden, my absolute favorite native plant garden book. The new book details seven garden designs and provides a list of plants (both native and Mediterranean) to use in each design. Each plant is profiled so you will know where and how it can be used in the garden.
I recently attended the ‘Bringing Back Natives Garden Tour’ held in the San Francisco Bay Area. Several home owners had replaced their front lawns with native plants. The gardens contain a mix of native grasses, shrubs, trees and perennials; all are quite attractive. Some gardens contain berms-which not only give the garden depth and interest-but also allow the great drainage that natives love. Several of the owners created back gardens with native grass meadows where their children can play. One homeowner proudly displayed her water bill for the past three years…in September, 2007 it was $97.00. By Sept. 2010 it was down to $54.00. Something to think about.
If you would like more information about losing your lawn, call the Master Gardener Hotline at 533-5912 or stop by the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden and talk to a Master Gardener. The Garden is open the first Saturday of every month through October. The next Open Garden Day, “Kids Day in the Garden,” is Saturday, June 4th beginning at 10:00am.
Carolee James will be installing a backyard native plant garden when she moves to Oakley.
This post was last modified on 05/27/2011 5:25 pm