Goodbye grass, but now what?
Posted on | June 5, 2009 | No Comments
Mandatory water reductions begin here in San Diego County this Monday. Because of prolonged drought here in the south and a cut in water deliveries from the north, we’re all supposed to cut water usage by 10% to 30%. Under the new rules I’ll only be able to run the sprinklers on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays before 10 am or after 6pm, and then for only 10 minutes at a time.
There’s other rules too like only being able to wash your car with a bucket of water (no hoses!), filling ornamental fountains only with recycled water, and so on.
No big deal.
I went 100% dripline and soaker hose for irrigation years ago. And most of the acreage around the ranch is planted with native flowering shrubs, Mediterranean herbs and a few arid exotics from Africa, South America and Asia.
Outside of the vegetable garden and a couple areas next to the house, I don’t really water the yard anyway. Which, in a round-about way, leads me to this story…
When we first moved to the ranch back in 1993 the front section of the house was a huge swath of lawn with a terrible sprinkler system and more gopher holes in it than you could throw a stick at. Plus there was a big tree stump right in the middle of it. So I tore the whole thing out and re-planted it with the first of several flower and herb gardens.
Along about 2005 I got a romantic notion in my head about a lush, green lawn, and chose an section directly off the front patio to plant a small 8′ by 20′ strip of lawn.
The Lawn (top of photo) in 2005
And for a year or so it looked great. Soft, lush and a beautiful deep green throughout — even in the shady spots — it was small enough to mow in three quick passes and water by hand in five minutes. It was cool even on the hottest days and it’s location at the edge of our big ranch-style patio and terrace made it the perfect place to wander barefoot on a long summer day.
“Why hadn’t I re-planted a lawn a long time ago?” I asked myself.
And then the gophers came and made small holes in the lawn. And my wife’s dachshunds came after the gophers, making the small holes big ones and the big holes trenches. Then I’d fill the trenches back in and the cats used it as a litterbox. And weeds grew in the dirt. And the Mexican lime tree at the far end dropped limes and burned the lawn. And then the dogs jumped in and helped the lime tree burn the lawn in places the lime tree couldn’t reach.
Finally, after six months or so of battling the forces of nature, I looked out where my lawn had been and remembered why I had dug up that lawn originally.
The lawn circa 2009
Lawns aren’t just a waste of water, they’re a total pain in the butt.
So I’m not planting a lawn again, but now I’ve got this weedy dirt patch greeting all my visitors as they head to my front door. It’s right next to the patio and barbecue area, and has a really nice west-facing view. It’s also a natural walking path, so I can’t block it off with big shrubs, and I can’t very well leave it as is. Ideally what ever I do should be easy to care for, do well in both shady and sunny environs (there’s both under the trellis), and be water wise.
I’m totally stumped as to what I should do with the area. Any ideas?
Lawn to the Right
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Tags: arid > drought > lawn > native > water-wise garden > xeriscaping
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