How can the “Brown Lawn” Syndrome be avoided?

[lniles]

That’s a great idea! I think indigenous plants (succulent cacti and other dessert-hardy plants) look much more beautiful than green grass. Go with what nature intended, not the cookie-cutter, green-grass lawn!

[lniles]

That’s a great idea! I think indigenous plants (succulent cacti and other dessert-hardy plants) look much more beautiful than green grass. Go with what nature intended, not the cookie-cutter, green-grass lawn!

[novice1027]

Personally, I love my fake grass in the back yard. No water bills, the dog dosen’t kill it, and it looks great all of the time. It feels a little wierd, but who cares, it’s not like I roll around on it.
Maybe the HOA’s can take all of their money and lay that in the front lawns?

[novice1027]

Personally, I love my fake grass in the back yard. No water bills, the dog dosen’t kill it, and it looks great all of the time. It feels a little wierd, but who cares, it’s not like I roll around on it.
Maybe the HOA’s can take all of their money and lay that in the front lawns?

[temeculaguy]

Novice, what did the lawn cost? I think those fake lawns are cool but have been told they can be expensive initially. How long before you break even if you figure in water, mowing, sprinkler repair, pest control, etc. Do they go bad after a certain amount of time like carpeting?

How long before we see them in front yards?

[temeculaguy]

Novice, what did the lawn cost? I think those fake lawns are cool but have been told they can be expensive initially. How long before you break even if you figure in water, mowing, sprinkler repair, pest control, etc. Do they go bad after a certain amount of time like carpeting?

How long before we see them in front yards?

[novice1027]

Temculaguy,
I was able to work a pretty good deal. I had a very small area, so I got a remnant. They threw in quite a bit of extra turf.
We installed it ourselves, so I think it was about grand all up for about a 600-700 sq ft area. That’s off of the top of my head.
It far out weighs the cost for the instant and constant green lawn. I believe it has a 10 year warrenty.
When it gets dirty you can put simple green or even bleach on it. I haven’t had to yet, got it in September.
We are very pleased with it.

[novice1027]

Temculaguy,
I was able to work a pretty good deal. I had a very small area, so I got a remnant. They threw in quite a bit of extra turf.
We installed it ourselves, so I think it was about grand all up for about a 600-700 sq ft area. That’s off of the top of my head.
It far out weighs the cost for the instant and constant green lawn. I believe it has a 10 year warrenty.
When it gets dirty you can put simple green or even bleach on it. I haven’t had to yet, got it in September.
We are very pleased with it.

[FormerOwner]

I agree that using things like astroturf, native plants, xeriscape, etc. is the way to go. Going forward, I think we will have no choice up here in Temecula and we’ll be better off without all this grass in the desert.

I wanted to do something along these lines when I owned my house but my wife wanted a tropical look. After a few hot summers and some big water bills, she started to change her mind. Our rental house has a very small yard so there isn’t very much grass to water – at least it’s a step in the right direction.

Aside from the water usage, lawns cause a lot of environmental damage due to fertilizer and pesticide runoff. Plus there’s the hassle of having to mow it, fertilize it, fix sprinkler heads, etc. The less grass, the better.

Plants should be suited to the climate as well. I can’t believe some of the plants that Lowe’s and Home Depot sell up here. Almost everyone that moves up here from San Diego has a story about how they spent a couple hundred bucks on plants that all burned up in the summer heat. I did that but I brought them all back (I had saved the pots) and got a store credit. After that, I started researching what types of plants, trees would do well up here before buying them.

[FormerOwner]

I agree that using things like astroturf, native plants, xeriscape, etc. is the way to go. Going forward, I think we will have no choice up here in Temecula and we’ll be better off without all this grass in the desert.

I wanted to do something along these lines when I owned my house but my wife wanted a tropical look. After a few hot summers and some big water bills, she started to change her mind. Our rental house has a very small yard so there isn’t very much grass to water – at least it’s a step in the right direction.

Aside from the water usage, lawns cause a lot of environmental damage due to fertilizer and pesticide runoff. Plus there’s the hassle of having to mow it, fertilize it, fix sprinkler heads, etc. The less grass, the better.

Plants should be suited to the climate as well. I can’t believe some of the plants that Lowe’s and Home Depot sell up here. Almost everyone that moves up here from San Diego has a story about how they spent a couple hundred bucks on plants that all burned up in the summer heat. I did that but I brought them all back (I had saved the pots) and got a store credit. After that, I started researching what types of plants, trees would do well up here before buying them.

[AK]

I too am surprised by the widespread use of water-hungry landscaping. I remember the dry years of 1976-78 in Nor Cal … my parents switched to drought-resistant landscaping, as did many other homeowners. Unfortunately closed minds can’t distinguish between xeriscape / native vegetation and weeds.

On the subject of brown lawns … some could be the result of intentional neglect. Somewhere in the forums is a link to an interview with a short sale “specialist” who says that brown lawns help convince lenders/servicers that a property is impaired and will be hard to sell as an REO.

[AK]

I too am surprised by the widespread use of water-hungry landscaping. I remember the dry years of 1976-78 in Nor Cal … my parents switched to drought-resistant landscaping, as did many other homeowners. Unfortunately closed minds can’t distinguish between xeriscape / native vegetation and weeds.

On the subject of brown lawns … some could be the result of intentional neglect. Somewhere in the forums is a link to an interview with a short sale “specialist” who says that brown lawns help convince lenders/servicers that a property is impaired and will be hard to sell as an REO.

[Author]

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