ASK GARDENBEAR: DROUGHT, LAWN, DESPAIR (or Grow Up and Go Native)

Please click on the title of this article, if you want.  You'll see a video of Havasupai Indian Waterfall

Dear GARDENBEAR,

You may know that we’ve had a terrible drought here in Texas.  My lawn is dead.  What can I do to restore my self-respect with my neighbors?

Love,

Greta Grassley

__________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Greta,

John Crisp of the Indiana Gazette seems to capture the essence here. 

“The current drought hasn't yet reached the proportions of the 1950s disaster, but according to the Houston Chronicle this summer has been the hottest and driest seen in Texas since records began to be kept in 1895. The current drought is the worst one-year drought on record.”

Harsh!  And everybody is soooooooo worried about their lawns.

Originally, status was one of the main motivators behind cultivating a lawn for the sake of it.  A well-kept lawn symbolized disposable wealth and an ability to appreciate the finer things in life.

In ancient times, whatever land you may have been lucky enough to own would have been immediately devoted to agriculture, which was making a living.   Well, folks, those times are back.  Lawns are so eighteenth century.  And water is scarce.  Check out  these facts:

1.      Since 1950, water usage in the United States has risen 127 percent.

2.      Even though each person only requires 48 liters of water on a daily basis, individuals in the United States use an average of 500 liters, those in Canada an average of 300 liters and those in England an average of 200 liters.

3.      95% of all the water that enters each household ends up down the drain.

4.      More than a billion people in water poor regions around the globe survive on the same amount used to flush a toilet or take a 5-minute shower.

5.       It takes an average of 300 gallons to water your lawn. During the summer, this can account for almost half of your water usage.

6.      TheTiger Woods Golf Course in Dubai uses 4 million gallons of water every day to maintain its lawns and gardens.

So do yourself and all of us a favor.  Dig your lawn up!  Go native.  Use more stones.  Try some sculpture.   

Start here at http://npsot.org ,  The native plant society of Texas. 

  Now THIS is what I’m talking about.   It’s from a company called Texas Land Design. 

Think about water use.  For other ways you can help quench the world’s thirst, visit this site: www.thirstproject.org .

One Love,

GARDENBEAR