We talk a fair amount about yards and lawn care on this Board. The hassle, the costs. Here's an interesting article about the history of American lawns. It's rather long.

//blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/the-american-obsession-with-lawns/

But this part was interesting:

The sheer volume of resources required to keep lawns alive is staggering. And seems particularly wasteful in consideration of drought plagued places, like California. The significance of lawns persisted in the west for a long time, and was aided by water management technologies that helped transform arid landscapes into lush ones. But that is changing as well, perhaps in part due to the awareness made possible by social media. Lawns require the equivalent of 200 gallons of drinking water per person per day. Californians, who are acutely aware of this wastage, have taken to shaming (#droughtshame) neighbors who persist in watering their lawns.

We are at a moment when the American Dream, inasmuch as it still exists, is changing. The idea of homeownership is untenable or undesirable for many. While green spaces are important, a large area of green grass seems to be a lower priority for many. With a growing movement that embraces a more natural lifestyle, there is a trend toward the return of naturalized lawns that welcome flowering weeds, and subsequently support a more diverse entomological ecosystem.

I am in California, Los Angeles to be exact. Years ago the City got a list of my rentals and sent me a nasty letter, I have to do better maintaining my lawns. It's not enough that I provide each property/tenant with a weekly gardening service AND I've installed automatic sprinklers. Because my tenants of single family homes pay their own water bills, which include 100% added cost for Sewer Services even though laws and sewers don't mix -- tenants have to adjust watering costs each month.

The City will give each property a Tiered 1,2 and 3 water rates based on usage. Want to keep those lawns green? Well during cooler months the water costs for lawns runs only around $100 per month. The during hotter times, the lawns need more than triple the amount of water, BUT THE CITY WILL MOVE RATIONING SO YOU'RE AUTOMATICLY IN TIER 2 AND 3 -- paying penalties. So the monthly water rates/use for lawns jumps from $100 per month to over $400 per month. Tenants and landlords can't pay those rates.

Then after I install plush SOD new Marathon Grass, the City starts a rationing program, NO WATER FOR LAWNS PERIOD!. So my $4000-$5000 front SOD lawns with automatic sprinklers gets turned off and the lawns die!

Grass grows fast here... I use Empire Zoyzia. It's drought resistant, grows slowly, and requires half the water of centipede. But I'd rather not have lawns. Need something low maintenance but safe.

But what about no grass, Sisco? Hardscaping, or vegetable gardens, or flower gardens (another English thing!)

We visited my brother-in-law in a trailer park in Colorado. He worked, temporarily on the oil rigs, so he moved when the company needed him elsewhere. The mobile homes were relatively close together but the landlords had their stuff together.

The lawns were artificial turf. I am not talking expensive football-stadium turf, but good, very functional green, somewhat soft green turf. It almost looked like green indoor-outdoor carpet. It was pleasant to sit on, etc.

Absolutely no maintenance.

To clean it up, did you sweep or vacuum it?

I can always tell what class neighborhood I am driving through just by looking at the grass and how well kept or unkept it is.

Class A - high quality grass lawns are cut weekly and are well manicured, usually by a Pro.

Class B - grass is mowed once a week but not manicured.

Class C -grass (mostly weeds) is 6-10 inches high before it gets mowed.

Class D- some grass but more dirt with tire tracks due to vehicles parked on the front and back yard.

You can go back as far as eraserhead to see pioneering xeriscaping. The yard in one scene is river stone.

I love cutting grass but the guy who I've been relying on for the last three seasons....doesn't seem to enjoy it.

This year I'm back on the mowers.

I cut the lawns at 3". Never adding seed or chemicals.

There was a lady who used gravel and ground cover in her yard. It was amazing. The gravel turns a darker color after some time. This lady used mulch around some plants and the ground cover plants really looked cool.

However, I believe it was a lot of hands on work