Phoenix area yards (fit in, 2015, house)

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by veritased

Don't get a lawn in AZ, it's irresponsible waste of water. Artificial grass is pretty nice, and to my surprise, seems to weather the intense withering irradiation by the sun very well.

Can’t say I agree with any of that. About a fourth of our property has grass. It uses very little water. We also have a patch of artificial grass in the deep shade under the pines where grass won’t grow. It seems to harbor biting insects. I hate walking across it.

[veritased]

Which part? The waste of water or the artificial grass is nice part or both?

Well I'd have to suspect that natural grass has far more biting insects thriving in it with the natural moisture level.
While artificial grass is completely inorganic... little for critters to survive, certainly little moisture I would have to assume.

Then you gotta cut and weed your lawn. Forget about it. I had enough of lawns in CA. So happy with modern artificial grass.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by veritased

Rock lawns absorb and emit as much heat as black asphalt? Uh, no. Basic thermodynamics. Good to learn if one wants to survive in this desert. I am not at all sure they absorb as much as brick tiles or cement, mainly due to the fact that, even assuming the same heat capacity (surprisingly they are in the same ballpark on that), they are not presenting near the same surface area to the sun, and hence can't built up a total amount of heat to absorb or later emit at night.

I've heard that argument about agriculture and commercial use of water is so much that your residential lawn irrigation is peanuts. Great. Multiply every pool evaporation, lawn evaporation, and pool/lawn wetting, and you have a decent amount of water in total. Why not conserve this very precious resource? Why not get agriculture to be more water efficient. Seems insane to promote the waste of water at any level, with decreasing water levels upstream from us. Insane.

Rock yards certainly don't add a cooling effect like natural grass and shade trees do ... and in fact, they contribute to the urban heat issue. But to sum it up, I say we should all be allowed to have the kind of landscape that we choose. You being from California should be grateful that we don't have restrictive laws like the state where you used to live. As for me, I'll get rid of my grass lawn when everybody else gets rid of their swimming pools ... which isn't going to happen anytime soon!

[veritased]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Rock yards certainly don't add a cooling effect like natural grass and shade trees do ... and in fact, they contribute to the urban heat issue. But to sum it up, I say we should all be allowed to have the kind of landscape that we choose. You being from California should be grateful that we don't have restrictive laws like the state where you used to live. As for me, I'll get rid of my grass lawn when everybody else gets rid of their swimming pools ... which isn't going to happen anytime soon!

Yes Sir, I could not wholeheartedly agree more!
Very grateful, and concur that by no means should my viewpoint be enforced upon all.

[Sno0909]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Can’t say I agree with any of that. About a fourth of our property has grass. It uses very little water. We also have a patch of artificial grass in the deep shade under the pines where grass won’t grow. It seems to harbor biting insects. I hate walking across it.

Maybe the biting insects just like to hang out in the shade and stay cool. Maybe it has nothing to do with the artificial grass.

[FrmFltn]

We’re bringing a good sized dog to SCG and the issue of where and how to walk him ( not far, he’s pretty old) is taking up more thought. Great input that artificial grass could be an insect(flea) collector. Our yard is mostly rock and that won’t work. Going on the patio won’t work. Bringing poop bags on sidewalks seems to make sense but what about when the heat is too hard on his feet? Ideas, please.

[veritased]

Yeah easy: it's called walking your dog and getting them inside all before the hour of 10am. Simple.
After that, no outsides, not even at night until probably 10pm, but then you don't want to step on a scorpion or a rattler.

Also I don't think artificial grass hosts any bugs. Our dog lays out there all the time to get his daily sun dose.
Never shown any sign of fleas or anything whatsoever.
That being said, there are tons of tiny little bugs in AZ, and we seem them in our glue traps all the time... super tiny whatevers.

[sargeant79]

Originally Posted by FrmFltn

We’re bringing a good sized dog to SCG and the issue of where and how to walk him ( not far, he’s pretty old) is taking up more thought. Great input that artificial grass could be an insect(flea) collector. Our yard is mostly rock and that won’t work. Going on the patio won’t work. Bringing poop bags on sidewalks seems to make sense but what about when the heat is too hard on his feet? Ideas, please.

Out of curiosity, why is going on the rock not an option? I have a tiny patch of grass in my yard, but my dogs have always gone on the rocks more often than not. You do have to be mindful of the heat on their paws during the summer (depending on the rock type), but I would think even with a senior dog they could be taught to do their thing on the rock.

For actual walking (not on your property), the poster above me pretty much nailed it. Folks around here walk their dogs very early in the morning before it heats up or well after the sun goes down. Daytime outdoor activities for dogs isn't really a good idea around here in the summer unless it involves swimming.

[thinkalot]

Originally Posted by FrmFltn

We’re bringing a good sized dog to SCG and the issue of where and how to walk him ( not far, he’s pretty old) is taking up more thought. Great input that artificial grass could be an insect(flea) collector. Our yard is mostly rock and that won’t work. Going on the patio won’t work. Bringing poop bags on sidewalks seems to make sense but what about when the heat is too hard on his feet? Ideas, please.

My dog was 10 when we moved here and was always on grass. He did not go the first 2 days but was fine after that and went on the rock the rest of his life. Same with the dogs of all of my neighbors.

[JGMotorsport64]

I like a small area of grass better for the dog to use the bathroom. If you let them use rocks exclusively the area will start to smell. With grass you’re watering it and cutting it so it mitigates it.