Las Vegas: Home of the Controversial Lawn
by
Gabby Hyman, All About Lawns Columnist
October 27, 2006
If you want to start an argument, ask Las Vegas homeowners
about their lawns.
One of the fastest-growing cities in the nation, Vegas is plagued with
blistering summer heat, coupled with near-drought conditions every year. For
many, lawn
care in Las
Vegas means sneaking the water onto your grass any way you can and
hoping the local government doesn't notice. Meanwhile, lush green lawns and gushing
fountains thrive all along the casino strip.The Southern Nevada
Water Authority is less interested in lawn water conservation than in paying residents
$1 for each lawn foot ripped out and replaced with other landscaping. Now what?
Keeping Your Las Vegas Lawn After All
Many Las Vegas homebuilders
are touting the use of native rocks and cacti in place of a lawn, but if you love
your lawn and want
to keep it, consider this alternative: drought-tolerant native grass.
Most people choose
either Kentucky bluegrass
or Bermuda grass for
their lawns in Nevada. Neither is ideally suited for
the climate. Of the approximately 1,400 native grasses in the country, only two are really
excellent for Las Vegas lawns:
fescue and buffalo grass.
Fescue handles heat
well, but it takes a long time to mature and just won't give you the ease of care and tenacity of
buffalo grass. In
its natural habitat, from Montana
into Mexico,
buffalo grass
thrives just fine without fertilizer or a lot of water. Homeowners who have
tried buffalo grass
"609" have reported a healthy growth of lawn without fertilizing.
The only
maintenance, which can be ongoing, is weeding. But the amount of water you
drink while weeding your lawn
will be considerably less than what you'd pay to water non-native grasses. You can have a beautiful
lawn and still
thumb your nose at the Las
Vegas Valley Water District office as you drive by.
About the Author
Gabby Hyman has created online strategies and written content for
Fortune 500 companies including eToys, GoTo.com, Siebel Systems,
Microsoft Encarta, Avaya, and Nissan UK.
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