lawns: big pollutants?

did you know....that in denver, 55% of all residential water is used on landscaping?!

....that gas-powered mowers produce11 times more air pollution per hour than a car?!

....that pesticie and herbicide runoff seriously affects plant and animal life in waterways?!

for many reasons, including environmental and aesthetics, i prefer real lawns vs. synthetic lawns, but that doesn't mean a ton of water consumption. there are solutions like native grasses like buffalo grass (see below), hair grass and even eco-lawn shown above from wildflower farm. eco-lawn grows in full sun, part shade and even deep shade! it's highly drought tolerant once established, has a beautiful green color, requires less fertilizing and can be mowed like regular lawn.

the lush buffalo grass lawn above (photo: joe fletcher, steve gunther, jack coyier) is from a project in venice, ca designed by marmol radziner & associates which received an honor award from the american society of landscape architects in 2009. once established, locally adapted types of native grasses should thrive on the area's average rainfall. during especially dry years, they may need some watering.

you can find more info on o'connell landscapes' blog and sunset's "kick the water habit" article.