Grass lawns becoming less common around metro Phoenix (transplants, 2015)

[Valley Native]

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...ning/73696944/

Interesting story, but somewhat disappointing to a native like myself who always remembered well manicured green grassy lawns as part of Phoenix's charm. The way I see it: tearing out grass & putting in rock or xeriscape removes the aesthetics & the charm of the area. Worse yet, this kind of landscaping has a way of contributing to the heat island effect. If there's one thing we DON'T need more of around here, it's more heat!

It's also interesting to note that the article states something which I've noticed more & more lately: it's mainly the newer transplants who are rejecting grass for desert landscape. Transplants are often the ones who throw a fit about the many remaining grass lawns in the Phoenix area, and some of them go as far to dictate that we all switch to "natural" landscape. What they fail to understand is: the Phoenix area has always been known as a green oasis in the desert (or I should say: an oasis determined to keep the desert in the actual desert, and away from the city itself). It's actually quite expensive, time consuming, and absurdly counterproductive to rip out established greenery for something far less attractive.

If it's water usage they're concerned about, grass lawns are not necessarily water gluttons. On a water usage scale, grass lawns are a drop in the bucket (pardon the pun) compared to agriculture. Cotton & citrus are two of Arizona's "five Cs", but they consume FAR more water than any grass lawn or golf course. And since agriculture really can't be found anywhere in the Valley anymore except mostly in the fringes, that alone translates to less water consumption as a whole.

[Adamson865]

Two items of note for me - it appears at this point as if the turf rebates are taxable federal income (granted, there is argument on that point - some jurisdictions here are distributing 1099s with the rebates, and some are not), and in many jurisdictions here, water agencies are steadily increasing rates because consumers are being ordered by the state to use less water. The water agencies are crying that they have to make their budgets somehow, so in the end, cutting back on water use may cost more to pay for less.

I think Phoenix has a much greater chance of surviving the drought economically than we do on this side of the Colorado River, because Phoenix is a major metropolitan area and there's all sorts of big-city things to see and do. Here in the Coachella Valley, there's nothing except tourism. You yank out all the grass, and you run the risk of the northern snowbirds not flying here anymore - they want to see grass and play on golf courses, not roll around in sand dunes. But, without snowbirds coming here in the winter, the economy would collapse for half the year.

[stevek64]

Agree on the agriculture vs the homeowner use on water.

As for the heat island effect, in place of grass, that can be taken care of via planting native trees that throw a good deal of shade. Or if someone doesn't care about water use, there are tons of other trees that can fit the bill. And various native and non-native shrubs, low and high water use, can accomplish the same goal.

I think planting grass is a personal choice by the homeowner. I have my own views but it's not my business to tell someone otherwise what they should do unless they ask for my opinion. And I think people are free to ignore those who "dictate". And should. The only entity that I'm aware of that can legally "dictate" if grass is allowed in a community is an HOA. Or at a city level perhaps. In the few HOA's I've lived in, none limited grass in any significant way. In my small sample of people I've known, the vast majority of people who don't want grass or a very small plot of grass is simply because they don't want to deal with the maintenance of it.....reseeding, fertilizing, cutting it, etc.

[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...

[SageCats]

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...

Yes, yes, yes and yes.

[cactusland]

Good riddance.

[Heath V]

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

[Ponderosa]

I had grass and quite a bit of it. Over the years I have reduced the grass area to the point where it is all gone now. I liked the look (when it looked good which was only in winter) but the effort and expense were not worth it. It is nice to have the choice we have about it.

[JGMotorsport64]

I think that the central areas of town should have grass and trees, but newer areas should retain xeriscape.

[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.