One area though that I feel is left out of the picture is water conservation, and creating sustainable landscapes. Watering turf grass in particular is a huge drain on our water resoureces. What can we do though? A big part of it is making a paradigm shift in our collective society about what we consider a nice landscape. Most of us still have the New England mentality that a brilliant green grass is the only acceptable ground cover. But does it have to be? First of all, as a whole, we put way to much water on turfgrass. Part of it is due to outdated and inefficient irrigation systems. Part of it is due to the fact that we don't like to see any brown on our lawns.
I think we are going to have to get used to the idea that our lawns can get a little brown during the heat of summer. Another way to change, is to only plant water thirsty lawns where they actually get used. Do we really need to plants of arterial street edges with grass that only gets looked at as we zoom by at 40 miles per hour? I think not. In those places, we need to start planting drought tolerant grasses that are suitable to our climate. I found such an example in the Ridgegate project in Lone Tree. Another option is actually plant more perennials and shrubs. Sure these cost more in the up front installation, but they certainly use less water than turfgrass, and don't cost any more to maintain than the lawn does. But it does take a new way of thinking. Here at Vignette Studios, we have four projects on the boards where we are taking a hard look at the landscaping and looking for ways to conserve water. Three are new projects, and one is a remodel of an existing condominium complex. More to come on this though.
These are just some of my ideas, I would welcome more comments and thoughts from others!
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11 comments:
Thanks Amy,
I have done some research into this. Greenprint Denver and some other master plans don't mention this specifically, but I do know that Denver Parks has a master plan to convert about 30% of there surface area to Xeriscape, which could include native grasses, perennials, or other plant material other than turf grass. And Denver Parks maintains a lot of streetscapes!
I agree with you, its convincing the larger majority to join in a new school of thought. As you and I both know the city requirments restrict our abililty to design with water limitations in mind. Even when "xeriscape" plantings are called out we are still required to design elaborate and overutilized irrigation systems.
Thank you for your response. I even fight that battle within cities own conflicting regs. For example, here in Fort Collins, they have passed an ordinance that HOA's cannot require homeowners to plant grass. However, buried in the city's engineering regs is a requirement that all parkway strips must be planted with turfgrass. For the last 10 years, all streets have been required to be built with detached sidewalks and parkways. I even lost the battle on the cities own project when I tried to plant the parkways in something other than turf. So what gives?
Those people that are obsessed with their green grass waste important resources. I just think that the water should be conserved. Not only are you doing something good for the environment, but you can save on your water bill. Does keeping your grass green help the environment? Does grass kick back oxygen into the environment and absorb carbon like a healthy tree does? I believe that cities and municipalities should take the lead and promote conservation of resources, instead of saying one thing and doing another.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but from an evironmental standpoint, isn't grass dumb? Isn't drought resistant ground cover a far more sustainable concept?
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