I used to have a lawn: a lush, verdant, thick lawn. These days, with our stage 3A water restrictions, we're not allowed to water lawns anymore. We can water the rest of the garden between 6 am and 8 am on two designated days per week. There are ways around this: water tanks and using grey water. I do use some grey water, but on plants in the garden. This is my "lawn" today -- and each day the wind blows we have less and less topsoil. Of course having two dogs doesn't help. They frolic up and down and disturb the dirt, so that we have great clouds of dust that drift around the backyard, and growing piles of dirt on the paths.
I contemplate building a swale -- the ground seems to have sculptured itself into that shape -- but again I need the ability to water any grass I plant in the first place. I suppose the time is coming where we're all going to move away from lawns as they have in some of the more arid cities in the US and elsewhere. Scoria was big in my old street; I hate scoria.
I think, though, that the biggest sign of drought is our change in attitudes. We used to talk about "when the drought breaks" -- these days we're less hopeful, more resigned to the lack of rain as a permanent symptom of global warming. These days we have to think about more inventive ways with our gardens.
16 January 2009
Signs of drought
Posted by Tracey at 10:49 PM
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Our front garden now consists of Lilydale Toppings (you know that creamy coloured gravel) and black mulch. We have planted a whole garden full of drought tolerant plants, which we don't water at all. It looks suprisingly good. I love a lush lawn, but we just can't justify the water it takes to keep alive (especially as we have a pool to maintain as well.) A lot of our neighbours are pulling out their lawns too. When we planted our garden two years ago, it really stood out as being different but now, not so much!
We do have some lawn in the back and we use tank water to keep that going.
My lawn died this week. Or at least half of it did. But I suspect it will come back again in the winter.
I also put in a drought-tolerant garden (aside from the lawn) a few years ago, for which I am thankful. It gets watered once a week at most with grey water from the washing machine.
Forget Target 155 -- I'm target 105!!
We have a lot of mulch too, Lisa, though we were just saying it probably needs a top up. Our front lawn is alive (well, brown, but existing anyway) -- it's just our back lawn where the dogs are, but because the dogs are there, it would be nice to have some lawn for them. Having two (dogs) seems so much harder on the lawn than one ever was because they chase each other up and down it. Do you find that too?
105's excellent, Ellen. I do have to say our front yard, which we've planted, is pretty drought resistant -- mostly Aussie natives, which I love. Our back garden, which was already here, is more tropical, but well established enough that we don't need to water it on a regular basis, just very occasionally.
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