I love the concept because as the article states, native plants support native insects, birds and more. One problem I've seen in execution is people watering the plants as often as they used to water the lawn they replaced. Many natives go dormant in drought and foliage fades, homeowners want vibrant foliage and flowers so they overwater. For best results, perhaps two payments, some to partially cover cost of replanting, more for actual water use reduction.
I don't water the lawn, and whatever the heck weeds it's made of, it seems to stay green.
When it's very dry I will water the flowers and the food garden but not the lawn, I don't want to encourage it to grow any faster than it already does.
I do try to put in mostly native flower plants in the "pretty" garden as they are more robust anyway. Not exclusively but mostly.
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City of Tampa pays for residents to replace grass lawns with drought-resistant native plants | Spyke
2 replies
I love the concept because as the article states, native plants support native insects, birds and more. One problem I've seen in execution is people watering the plants as often as they used to water the lawn they replaced. Many natives go dormant in drought and foliage fades, homeowners want vibrant foliage and flowers so they overwater. For best results, perhaps two payments, some to partially cover cost of replanting, more for actual water use reduction.
I don't water the lawn, and whatever the heck weeds it's made of, it seems to stay green.
When it's very dry I will water the flowers and the food garden but not the lawn, I don't want to encourage it to grow any faster than it already does.
I do try to put in mostly native flower plants in the "pretty" garden as they are more robust anyway. Not exclusively but mostly.