Frugalbabe Saves a Chunk of Green
[Note: Good Morning! No I'm not dead, or quitting. I'm letting Frugalbabe take over for a day! She had this awesome post that attacked the problem of water use on a lawn from the point of view of changing the vegetation to low-water intensity vegetation]
Remember in 4th grade science class when you learned about the water cycle, and how there's a finite amount of water on earth - with a very small percentage of it being fresh water? Some of our resources - like trees - can be replenished over time, but as our global population grows, we're heading towards a day when we run out of some very necessary resources. We've all been hearing for years about how we need to conserve water. We learned in elementary school how to fill a milk bottle with plaster and put it in the toilet tank to reduce the amount used to flush. We know we're not supposed to let the water run while we brush our teeth, and that short showers are better than baths. Although most of our needs for water can be reduced, they can't really be eliminated. But what about the water we use on our yards?
Unlike bathing, drinking, and flushing toilets (you can only "let it mellow" for so long...), watering lawns is not a necessity. We do it because we like what a lush green lawn looks like. But there are alternatives. My husband and I xeriscaped our front yard last spring, and we just finished doing the same thing to our side yard last week. Last fall my husband tore out all the very thirsty grass in our backyard and replaced it with a drought resistant grass that needs hardly any water at all. He planted the seeds in September, and within a few weeks it was a beautiful green carpet that stayed green all winter, with no maintenance at all. We now only have a little strip of "normal" grass along the north side of our house, which requires very little water since it's on the north side, and is also under a shade tree. We live in a very dry climate. It's not a desert, but it's pretty darn close. Before we started looking for ways to reduce the amount of water needed in our yard, we were watering our grass every two or three days for six months a year. Just to have green grass.
Our front yard cost us about $300. On the other end of the spectrum, I have a friend who spent $10,000 to have a landscaper professionally xeriscape her yard, so there's obviously a huge range in terms of what you can spend on a yard. Now that our yard requires very little water, we're saving money on our water bill, and we feel better about the impact we're having on the environment. The plants we selected for our yard are native to our area, so they grow well with very little maintenance - we spend almost no time at all in our yard these days, but it still looks really good.
I think some people shy away from xeriscaping because they think it means they have to just have rocks and mulch in their yards, without any plants or color. But if you look for native species that thrive in your area, they'll grow with whatever rain water you get. If you live in Arizona, you can have an amazing cactus garden. If you're in a high mountain area you could have a beautiful yard full of wildflowers in the early summer. There are lots of options that require a lot less water than a carpet of grass.
I've seen HOAs that forbid xeriscaping. This should be illegal, and is an issue for city councils to address. But that's another matter. For now, how about looking at ways that communities can encourage residents to xeriscape and ultimately reduce their water usage? If your town gave out free rocks, mulch, and native perennials, would you take advantage of them and redo your yard? What if there was a tax credit for xeriscaping? Or a voucher you could get at the city office that would be good at a local nursery where you could buy your own xeriscape supplies? Check out your city and see what you can find. Ours offers free xeriscape classes, has a sample xeriscape garden where we got most of our plant ideas last year, and offers as much free mulch as people want at the recycle center. What does your town do to encourage people to use less water in their yards? What would it take to get you to move away from thirsty grass in your yard and switch to something that uses little or no water?
I've always thought of myself as environmentally aware, and I've tried for years to reduce, reuse, and recycle. But now that we have a baby, my passion for environmentally-friendly living is redoubled. I want our son to grow up in a world full of trees and birds and bees. I want there to be fresh water for him to drink, blue skies above him, and snow-capped mountains in the distance. We're veering dangerously towards a world without these things, and it makes me sad. There are so many little things that we can all do to protect the earth, and many of them are very budget-friendly. You don't have to go out and spend 25 grand on a hybrid car - there are lots of simpler, cheaper ways to "go green." What changes have you made to be more environmentally-friendly? Did they end up saving you money as well?
picture credits www.daviddarling.info
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