Comments on: The ultimate in slow growth

By: Suzette

Suzette — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:07:17 +0000

Good points, all. I’m not enamored of the gravel-as-lawn look so popular in the dessert suburbs, but paving I could go for.

By: Teresa

Teresa — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:42:01 +0000

My next house will be a condo at least 6 floors up in a city. Takes care of the problem.

By: unimpressed

unimpressed — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:07:34 +0000

I’m with Jeffro. Pave it. Concrete can’t be much more expensive and will last a hell of a lot longer.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:07:40 +0000

The first thing I think of when people talk about artificial turf is “What will it look like in 5 or 10 years?” Artificial things do not automatically renew themselves. But I suppose if you have $40,000 to spend on your lawn you’ll have $60,000 to do it again in 5 years.

I also like the idea of annoying the neighbors by letting your weeds grow. Not that my neighbors care but anytime I’m driving through a town and see a lawn dotted with dandelions I smile and think a nice person must live there.

By: Lisa Paul

Lisa Paul — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:13:49 +0000

In semi-arid Sonoma, we have a completely different philosophy. We EMBRACE weeds. We call them Natives and feel very virtuous for nurturing them. Well, actually no nurturing is needed. Chemise, Manzanita, scrub oak, California wildflowers and salvia are about the only things that will reliably grow when there is no rain from March to November. And grapes, well they’re practically weeds in terms of the little water and care that they need.

Leaves? Well, we don’t get much of those from our evergreen desert-y plants. But what we get, we call mulch and are done with it.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:41:58 +0000

fillyjonk’s point is well-taken, although we in the plains of West Texas can add a twist. The level of our lawns rises a fraction of an inch each spring due to blowing dirt. You can effectively clear leaves from a fake lawn with a blower, but there’s no way you could deal with that much sediment without a heavy-duty vac.

By: CGHill

CGHill — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:52:02 +0000

Isn’t everything degrading in Las Vegas? (Don’t answer that.)

By: Jeffro

Jeffro — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:49:59 +0000

$40k? And I have to wonder how long this investment would last, seeing how it’s plastic and degrading in the sunlight. Bah. Pave it and be done.

By: fillyjonk

fillyjonk — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:17:38 +0000

When they make one with a built-in vacuum that will deal with leaves in the fall, then I might consider buying it.

Though I have to admit letting a few of the “weedy” wildflowers that come up in my lawn persist is good for yanking the chain of my Martha Stewart-esque neighbor down the street, and I might kind of miss that.