Of COURSE there’s life after the lawn. I
transformed my typical suburban front lawn in Loveland to a
Xeriscaped yard that won a gardening contest, and looks far better
than the previous featureless expanse. True, it was no longer
suitable for whiffleball, but with family grown and living
elsewhere, play space was less important. The new landscaping also
draws birds, including hummingbirds, by the dozen, not to mention
butterflies, and my water usage went from a high of 11,000 gallons
per month in my first summer, to only 3,000 to 4,000 gallons per
month. The monetary savings were not front-page-worthy, but I felt
I was doing my own little part to adapt to the climate I found
myself living in, rather than dragging the Midwest with me to the
foothills of the Rockies.
Ray Schoch
Denver, Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Life (after the lawn) is good.
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