Poll: Smart Growth with Xeriscaping, Or Natural Grass And Oak Trees (Albuquerque: house, landscaping)

[CCCVDUR]

It's spring, and we're all thinking about landscaping, construction, and urban planning...

Leaving local politics out of this discussion, here's a poll question about what YOU would PREFER in your front yard...

In many communities such as Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Flagstaff, Xeriscaping and "Smart Growth" (Smart Growth Online) are in style these days, with features such as:

1.Rocks instead of Lawns
2.Extra Wide Sidewalks, Streets, and Driveways; useless amounts of concrete, causing and urban heat island effect, especially in the summer
3.Very Few Shade Trees
4.Little If Any Native Vegetation Except Perhaps Pinon/Juniper (low elevations), or Ponderosas (high elevations)
5.Expensive, Difficult to Maintain Drip Irrigation Systems
6.Artificial Recirculating Streams And Ponds (also difficult to maintain)
7.Air Conditioning Costs Are More Expensive Due To Lack Of Large Shade Trees (also difficult and expensive to maintain)
8.Conditions Are Windier, Due To No Shade Trees, With Less Humidity

In more rural areas, such as Placitas, Los Ranchos, Corrales, Santa Fe, and areas east of Flagstaff, and older areas such as Nob Hill, natural *DROUGHT RESISTANT* vegetation is present, such as:

1.Junipers, Pinon Pines, Cottonwoods, Aspens, and Oak Trees (~over 60 native oak trees native to New Mexico) Albuquerque means "White Oak" alba=white; querqus=oak
2.Rocks in the front yard are replaced by beautiful natural wild grasses, wildflowers and green lawns during rains, and Crytobiotic Crusts
3.Children can play in the yard, even if the grass is brown, rather than trip and fall over stones and rocks, or walk 2 miles to the nearest irrigated park.
4.Shade trees grow quickly because the Crytobiotic Crusts and Mycorrhizae Fungi feed the soil with Nitrogen and Minerals
5.Lawns need less water, for the same reason as #4
6.Air Conditioning Costs Are Reduced
7.Wind Is Less With Higher Relative Humidity Due To Shade Trees

In a "nutshell" (no pun intended, the NM 60 beautiful species of oaks!) that's a summary. If you have a viewpoint, or even if you don't (see note below), please take the poll!

Note: To accurately assess the views of people with passionate feelings one way or the other, please Answer "#4=No Opinion" if you are not sure, or, you like multiple options.

[Mike Horrell]

Your definition of Xeriscape is so overtly prejudicial ("useless amounts of concrete", etc.)
as to basically ruin what otherwise might have been an interesting and worthwhile poll..

[Tim Rankin]

Tom - the wording in the choices belies your strong personal preference. Although my preference would also be for drought-tolerant grass & oak trees, I found it impossible to vote because of the wording.

A "lawn" in the traditional sense is a very bad idea, and requires way too much water. However, a mix of highly drought-tolerant, high desert grasses with select southwestern oak trees could be doable. Say, a mix of buffalo, grama, galleta and Indian ricegrass, underneath a low canopy of Arizona white oak? The oak would need some supplemental watering the first few years but after that could probably self sustain. I would want white, heat reflective, concrete sidewalks outside my grass/oak yard though - can we add that as a possibility?

As far as where the name of Albuquerque truly derives from: A well-documented theory is that the Moorish "Abu al-Qurq" [Land of the Cork Oak] begat the Iberian region of Alburquerque begat the Alburquerque family lineage begat the Duke of Alburquerque begat the Duke City.

[Poncho_NM]

I had a little patch of lawn in my front yard, about 350 square feet. I quit feed or watering it last year. I got most of the weeds out this year. It is natural as far as I'm concerned, will see what happens.

I agree with Mike.

Rich

[rybert]

Xeriscaping means much more than you apparently understand. The goal IS to create as NATURAL a landscape as possible. Crusher fine, large stones/boulders, low-water planting (prairie grasses like Gramma, some succulents, local trees). Who said Xeriscaping meant no trees? Nobody.

[Cathy4017]

I agree with Mike, too. Your bias is so blatant that voting is worthless.

[mortimer]

I agree with Mike, Tim, and Cathy and won't vote due to the biased nature of the post.

- o - I prefer the "Status Quo" of Xeriscaping, "Smart Growth," Stone Lawns with Rocks,
----- Large Useless Areas Of Concrete, and Expensive Drip Irrigation.

Xeriscaping and "Large Useless Areas Of Concrete" have nothing to do with each other.

I often hear this criticism about xeriscaping by people who don't like it. They also object
to "ugly" areas of river rock. River rock covering the whole yard is "zeroscaping" and is
a lazy person's version of xeriscaping.

Drip irrigation is not expensive and is not even necessary. It's just little plastic tubes.
I'm sure it's expensive if you have a heavily irrigated lawn and you want to convert over to
a yard with all xeric plants and you install the system from scratch. People with "instant
gratification problems" often spend more money thant they need to for many things.

- o - Natural Vegetation, Lawns, and Large Trees Including New Mexico Native Oak Trees.

Natural vegetation in New Mexico, by definintion, does not require any extra water.
It's easier to get it started via water, but once plants are established, they don't
require any extra water. You can add water as you wish to make the xeriscaped
landscape more lush than the natural desert, but if you turn off your irrigation
system it won't kill it.

Lawns are not natural vegetation in New Mexico.

NM may have 60 beautiful species of oaks, but none of them grow in Albuquerque
without 'help.' That goes for the beautiful Ponderosa Pine and Aspen trees that
you can find throughout the city. They are only "native" at elevation.

Having a small lawn and some non-native species are OK as accents, IMO.

-o- Artificial Recirculating Streams And Ponds (also difficult to maintain) <== why lump this in xeriscape?

-o- Air Conditioning Costs Are Reduced <== In order to see any significant reduction in air conditioning
.................................................. ........ due to vegetation, you would spend so much on water that
.................................................. ........ your savings will vanish.

I would encourage people that despise the look of xeriscaping so much to move elsewhere.
Live is too short to put up with looking at nasty natural vegetation in New Mexico.

[lisdol]

The rocks thing is usually called ZEROscaping, while native grasses and vegetation requiring little water (zonal landscaping where the highest water need is next to your house and moving outward) is usually called xeriscaping.

I prefer the real xeriscaping, if someone would set it up for me and tell me how to water it.

Right now we are growing a buffalo grass front lawn from plugs and seeds planted last year.

Got some grama in some other spots.

Got some flagstone with whatever grows coming up in between the stones (too lazy to plant or deal with thyme or whatever others put between the stones).

Got some ash trees from the soil and water conservation office that we are trying to grow.

I consider that xeriscaping. If I decided to put down tall fescue, water hungry plants and flowers, and a bunch of aspens (beautiful but water hogs), that would be beautiful but expensive, wasteful, and super high-maintenance because I have a large yard. Some people will put down a small patch (say 15x20)of non-native grass and water that and that is doable.

[sjbasin]

Kentucky Bluegrass and plenty of it.


More people need to run their sprinklers 24/7 so we can suck the last drop out of the system and drive the interlopers back to wherever they came from. Conserving water only means there are more resources for more people to pile in here and get in our way. "Smart growth" is a fools errand.

[AlisonL]

I won't vote for the same reasons mentioned above.