Grass lawns becoming less common around metro Phoenix (2014, HOA)

[DougStark]

Originally Posted by wit-nit

Let's not fool with mother nature, grass is not a natural commodity here. It upsets the balance with water usage, higher humidity, allergies, non native bugs, non native weeds etal...

I have to disagree with you. Most grass grown in the valley is hybrid bermuda grass, which doesn't produce any pollen causing allergies, and I highly doubt grass is raising humidity levels to any degree

My biggest issue with grass landscaping here is that most people don't know how to properly take care of their summer lawns (bermuda lawns.) They don't use the correct lawn mowers (reel mowers are necessary), and they don't mow/dethatch and fertilize them often enough to look as good as they are capable of.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by Heath V

Brown desert landscaping is very ugly. Green grass is where it's at!

Then move to Savannah, GA. Bon voyage.

[kytoaz]

Stupid agriculture using up all my lawn water just to grow food.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by kytoaz

Stupid agriculture using up all my lawn water just to grow food.

It does underscore one very important issue in AZ.

Why are we flood irrigating farms? More efficient crop use and irrigation methods would go a LONG way towards reducing our use of CAP water and allow us to pump more into the ground. Likewise, things like Hay/Alfalfa have no business being grown during a drought.

If you made two simple changes like the above, the effect would be much greater on our water supplies than removing every strip of grass from Central Phoenix/Tempe but w/o making living down here unbearable.

[43north87west]

Around here in Central Phoenix the neighborhoods are mostly grass, and it does look really nice, especially with the mature trees. But desert landscaping looks great too. The key is, "landscaping" implies that some degree of effort was put into it. Unfortunately, some peoples' idea of xeriscaping is to pulverize the whole lot then roughly mimic the surface of the moon. That doesn't look good.

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Then move to Savannah, GA. Bon voyage.

We don't have a water problem here. We have a people problem. Too damn many people have moved here in the last 20 years. How about you going back to Chicago...

[ajonesaz]

I am unlikely to remove my grass, my kids can't play in gravel. If you are watering grass correctly, most strains of bermuda really don't take that much water. If you are against grass, you really shouldn't have a pool either because of the amount of water lost to evaporation is much more than what goes to grass.

[FloppyRunner]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

Around here in Central Phoenix the neighborhoods are mostly grass, and it does look really nice, especially with the mature trees. But desert landscaping looks great too. The key is, "landscaping" implies that some degree of effort was put into it. Unfortunately, some peoples' idea of xeriscaping is to pulverize the whole lot then roughly mimic the surface of the moon. That doesn't look good.

^This.

Gravel and native trees and shrubs can look FANTASTIC when done correctly, as well as provide plenty of shade. However, just because it's native doesn't mean you should "set it and forget it". Even most native plants will look better with drip irrigation (I don't irrigate my creosote and cacti except for in long hot dry spells), but that also requires some work. Watering frequency needs to be changed throughout the year, from "off" in the winter to once every week or two in the summer, for MATURE plants, provided it's a deep soak. As trees and shrubs mature, their drip lines should be moved away from their bases to encourage root growth, etc... Trimming should be done at certain times of the year and ideally in certain methods depending on the tree/shrub. There'll always be weeds to be taken care of, whether with pre-emergent or weed-killer or picking or some combination of them.

As for grass, I remember when I was home shopping I wanted a yard with no grass, and I swore I'd tear it out if I bought one with grass. Well, I did buy one with grass (albeit just a small patch), and it's still there looking nice. The reason? Dogs and kids. It's a reasonably sized play area, and serves a great purpose. We shouldn't WASTE water, but I wouldn't consider it waste if it provides a great play area for kids and dogs.

[Hschlick84]

What's the benefits of having a grass lawn versus dirt, gravel and rock xeriscape? Would the temperature rise faster without having grass? I think grass, native plants and cactus is a better idea.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by wit-nit

Let's not fool with mother nature, grass is not a natural commodity here. It upsets the balance with water usage, higher humidity, allergies, non native bugs, non native weeds etal...

In reality, we as humans fool with Mother Nature quite often. The mere act of building large cities in the middle of desert regions (Phoenix, Las Vegas, and many cities in the Middle East) would qualify as tampering with nature. Cutting down trees for personal use is tampering with nature. Hunting, fishing, and slaughtering animals for food is tampering with nature. Using land for waste disposal is tampering with nature ... our garbage has to go somewhere! It's all part of the process. We as humans enjoy our homes, our food, and our comfort, so this requires us to use nature's resources.

If the enviro nuts had their way, we'd be very limited in what resources we could use. We'd all be vegans, and our yards would be all natural. No thanks! Grass lawns are very attractive if they are property maintained, and they've been an established feature here for many years. Who cares if they increase humidity? They likely don't, but we could sometimes use a little more humidity around here.

Originally Posted by new2colo

As I have mentioned in previous posts, grass is a waste here. I don't care if it part of the historic nature of Phoenix. Imagine if everyone in the Valley had grass lawns like some of the more centralized neighborhoods have? We would put even more strain on the Colorado River to water our lawns. The city is not an oasis. It's a desert. It's should be treated that way. If you want grass, go east.

Just as I suspected! Typical transplant wanting to dictate to us what not to plant, how to drive, what not to build, etc., etc. Imagine if everybody in the Valley had desert landscaping ... it would make very little difference on our water resources, but it would look very brown and pathetic. You haven't lived here long enough to act all high & mighty as to what you believe Phoenix should be like ... nor do you have any business as a transplant telling others to move elsewhere.

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

Why are we flood irrigating farms? More efficient crop use and irrigation methods would go a LONG way towards reducing our use of CAP water and allow us to pump more into the ground. Likewise, things like Hay/Alfalfa have no business being grown during a drought.

If you made two simple changes like the above, the effect would be much greater on our water supplies than removing every strip of grass from Central Phoenix/Tempe but w/o making living down here unbearable.

Good points. I have been concerned about the string of dry winters in recent years that have contributed to California's drought (and our drought situation as well) ... however, I'm becoming more convinced that the drought isn't as serious as what it's made out to be when I read articles like this (which AZRiverfan posted):

Montini: Saudis are siphoning Arizona water to make hay

Originally Posted by ajonesaz

I am unlikely to remove my grass, my kids can't play in gravel. If you are watering grass correctly, most strains of bermuda really don't take that much water. If you are against grass, you really shouldn't have a pool either because of the amount of water lost to evaporation is much more than what goes to grass.

I agree wholeheartedly, especially the part about having a pool. It's really ironic how so many transplants move here for the sunny climate and balk against having grass lawns because they "waste water" ... but yet, they MUST have their pools! To me, that's hypocritical. I really don't care what anybody has in their yards ... I just hate these dictator types who move here and try to radically change things to fit their own agenda. I don't have a pool, but I have lots of greenery in my yard, and I'm not giving it up. Anybody who doesn't like it can kiss my grass!
()