Archive for the 'Landscape Materials' Category

Lawncare For Drought Areas

Are you living in a part of the country that has strict lawn watering regulations.  Do you constantly have to deal with periods of drought that kill your lawn and leave it looking like a dried out wheat field.  I’ve never really had that issue but many in parts of the US that live in the southwest like Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California often have issues with keeping their lawns looking as green as they could.  There are several options to consider to avoid having a backyard look like the Nevada desserts.

One option I have seen, especially in Arizona is the implementation of a gravel yard.  Replacing your lawn with river rock or other smooth decorative stone to create sort of a dry river bed appearance has been a popular option in the past. 

You could also install a sprinkler system that utilized captured rain water and pumps it out to keep your lawn green when water supplies are being rationed.  This not only will keep your water bills lower, grass green but it is a very environmentally friendly way to conserve water and reuse what nature already provides.  This is becoming a very popular option for keeping lawns green in not only drought areas but throughout the US as more people become aware of the need to take care of our planet. 

I have also heard of people installing an artificial man made lawn.  These synthetic laws are made of artificial grass that doesn’t need watering, doesnt get trampled like natural grass and is very good for conserving our natural resources.  Imitation, synthetic or artificial turf of all types have been used for years on sports fields and is quickly gaining popularity among normal home owners and businesses that dont want to have to deal with lawn maintenance.  I’m not quite sure how you instal synthetic grass but I’m sure the web is full of diy websites that can provide you some examples.

Recycled Landscaping Materials

When you decide to tackle the project of landscaping your backyard you should consider using recycled or organic landscaping materials. Many small towns and even some larger cities have areas in their city dumps that are set aside for people to dispose of old limbs, dead Christmas trees, lawn clippings and leaves raked during the fall. Depending on how your city deals with these materials they can be a great source of backyard landscaping materials. My town for example has shredded all the limbs, trees and wood products to create a bark mulch that can be used around the flower beds, trees and shrubs to add a great appearance to an otherwise dull backyard landscape.

In addition to mulch for your flower beds they also have a nice compost heap and mounds of soil. All of these recycled organic products make for great landscaping materials and are free for the taking. I encourage everyone to take advantage of the many recycled landscaping materials that are already present in your area before you start buying new expensive landscape supplies