You may think the only path to a truly beautiful lawn is by using complicated sprinkler systems that constantly drench your yard until it’s emerald green. Now that it’s 2018, more people are starting to realize they don’t need to utilize such methods to get the most out of their yards. In fact, constantly showering your lawn and garden can be bad for the environment. Water is a precious resource and should be treated as such. Here are a few ways you can achieve a beautiful lawn without being wasteful, and why conserving water is so important for our planet.
Tip #1: Keep it Natural
Your neighbor may have imported real Kentucky Bluegrass for their lawn, but outsourcing your greenery for more exotic landscapes isn’t always the best idea. For starters, it takes a lot of extra work to get foreign plants and flowers to do well, and in some cases, the extra sweat won’t help you out. Native plants are already well equipped to thrive in your current climate and won’t require extra effort to flourish in your yard. Furthermore, native plants require a lot less water to survive and will last a lot longer when you enter the dry season.
Tip #2: Compost & Mulch
Have you checked your gutters? They’re filthy with mucky leaves and plant matter. While this stuff may look gross as you scoop it out of from under your eaves, it’s also extremely useful. Composting is not just a hip fad — it’s an economic solution to maintaining your lawn and garden, all while saving the planet. Collecting, saving, and using compost for your flower beds will provide valuable nutrients for your plants as well as drastically slow down the process of evaporation. For an extra layer of defense, add some mulch to your beds to keep in the water longer and help your plants grow stronger.
Tip #3: Less Lawn, More Garden
If you’ve ever lived in an area prone to drought, then you know just how ugly your lawn can look. Yellowish, brownish yards are not easy on the eye, and they also signify a serious shortage of water in your community. This might be the time when your neighbor pulls out the sprinkler system to keep their precious Bluegrass looking lush, but when you invest gallons of water on your grass, you’re essentially throwing away one of our most valuable natural resources straight into the ground.
Instead of using more water, what if the answer was to have a smaller lawn? In some of the dryer regions of the U.S. neighborhoods have become infatuated with xeriscaping, a particular brand of landscaping that focuses less on greenery in order to conserve water. Instead of giant lawns, xeriscapes are made up of more concentrated areas of bushes or flower gardens, covering the rest up with mulch, gravel, or concrete walkways. A yard without a lawn means less water into the ground, resulting in more water for your community.
Tip #4: Capture Rainwater
Another solution to conserve water is by simply saving it. That’s right, actually taking water from the sky and saving it for when your yard needs it. Pretty handy, right? There’s more than one way you can collect and store rainwater, and some of these methods can even add to the overall aesthetic of your yard. By watering your yard with rainwater, you spare yourself from drawing from the communal tap, which again is very important when your area is going through a dry season.
These are just some straightforward solutions to keeping your lawn beautiful and conserving water. You can do one or try a combination of these solutions to maximize your lawn’s water efficiency. With that in mind, it’s time to slip into your gardening gloves and get to work.
Author
Clara is a retired business owner, who currently works in community gardening. She operates GardenerGigs, which aims to connect local gardeners with those who need them.
Photo Credit: Pixabay.com