Wed Aug 6, 2014, 10:49 AM

antiquie (4,299 posts)

Drought-tolerant Yards can be Free with Rebate

LOS ANGELES (KABC)
Winnetka homeowner Cherry Cordero recently decided it was time to get rid of the thirsty grass on her yard and save water with new drought-tolerant plants instead. But the real beauty of her new drought-tolerant front yard was that none of the work cost her a dime.

Because California is in the midst of a water crisis, local water agencies are offering homeowners rebates up to $3 a square foot for removing water guzzling turf and replacing it with plants and mulch that use much less of our precious resource.

Another great feature of this type of landscaping is all of the irrigation is underground. With traditional sprinklers, there's a lot of evaporation in hot and windy conditions, which costs you money.

"A study of the city of Santa Monica and Santa Monica colleges says that for a 2,000-square-foot yard that's green and lush and has proper upkeep, switching that with drought-tolerant landscape...can save up to $2,200 in a given year," said Farrell.

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10 replies	Author	Time	Post
Drought-tolerant Yards can be Free with Rebate (Original post)	antiquie	Aug 2014	OP
Excellent. Eventually, we'll have to outlaw lawns altogether.	NYC_SKP	Aug 2014	#1
I never had a lawn. I find planting natives and other drought tolerant	Cleita	Aug 2014	#5
My current place is on 1/3 acre, I water nothing except one Loquat tree, some tomatoes, and...	NYC_SKP	Aug 2014	#7
Beautiful arrangement.	Cleita	Aug 2014	#8
Google "xeriscaping" for more info on no-water landscaping --	eppur_se_muova	Aug 2014	#2
Google again with your city name	antiquie	Aug 2014	#3
Something to think about.	Cleita	Aug 2014	#4
This is a wonderful idea.nt	historylovr	Aug 2014	#6
The Vegetable Garden is Gradually Taking Over the Yard	AndyTiedye	Aug 2014	#9
Excellent.	antiquie	Aug 2014	#10

Response to antiquie (Original post)

Wed Aug 6, 2014, 11:22 AM

NYC_SKP (68,644 posts)

1. Excellent. Eventually, we'll have to outlaw lawns altogether.

And we'll have to outlaw HOAs that require owners maintain water-intensive landscaping.

If one lives in an area where grass grows naturally, then fine. But anything that requires use of the domestic drinking water supply has got to go away.

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Response to NYC_SKP (Reply #1)

Wed Aug 6, 2014, 12:03 PM

Cleita (75,480 posts)

5. I never had a lawn. I find planting natives and other drought tolerant

bushes and plants much more attractive. However even drought tolerant requires water when extra dryness and heat are present. I try to keep my watering to once a month, but climate conditions often make that once a week and in especially dry, hot weather, it might even be more often. I'm almost considering going to succulents. That's how hard it's been in the past few years to maintain an attractive garden.

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Response to Cleita (Reply #5)

Wed Aug 6, 2014, 01:27 PM

NYC_SKP (68,644 posts)

7. My current place is on 1/3 acre, I water nothing except one Loquat tree, some tomatoes, and...

...one table top of succulents and an Elkhorn fern.

I'm moving to a small place on the coast where I've got no ground but a few potted plants, mostly succulents, and these get most of their water from the seaside air.

I love it!

I needed a potted something for my entry and the local independent nursery created this from my selections:

If anything, it takes a cup of water every two weeks.

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Response to NYC_SKP (Reply #7)

Wed Aug 6, 2014, 02:51 PM

Cleita (75,480 posts)

8. Beautiful arrangement.

I'm going to make a patio out of a lot of my yard to put similar container plants on, which should cut down watering needs a lot.

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Response to antiquie (Original post)

Wed Aug 6, 2014, 11:23 AM

eppur_se_muova (34,151 posts)

2. Google "xeriscaping" for more info on no-water landscaping --

Greek ξερός, meaning "dry", is the root of xerography ("dry writing"

and hence of Xerox. Poetry fans can use the word sere as a mnemonic aid, although there's no etymological connection.

Posted because this is a hard word to remember ...

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Response to eppur_se_muova (Reply #2)

Wed Aug 6, 2014, 11:35 AM

antiquie (4,299 posts)

3. Google again with your city name

to find out if rebates or free plants are offered.

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Response to antiquie (Original post)

Wed Aug 6, 2014, 11:56 AM

Cleita (75,480 posts)

4. Something to think about.

My "underground irrigation" or in my case soaker hoses in my drought tolerant garden, keep getting chewed through by critters looking for water. I do put containers of water out for them, but the expense of replacing the hoses has forced me to go back to using sprinklers.

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Response to antiquie (Original post)

Wed Aug 6, 2014, 01:17 PM

historylovr (1,557 posts)