dpep4 wrote:JDawg512 wrote:Tejas89 wrote:There’s a house down the street from us that went with the desert, fine gravel and cactus/yucca landscaping during a recent remodel.
It looks great and they’re taking those hundreds (thousands?) of dollars in water bill savings to the bank I’m sure.
But as another poster alluded to, I fear what the temps in Dallas would be if everyone did that. Talk about heat island. We’d be Phoenix but with the occasional major street flooding from runoff after the deluges we’re sure to also get.
The problem with urban desertification is that it wipes out habitats for creatures we want around like bees, fireflies, butterflies. What's more it doesn't actually help with the environment. Simply plant native grass, native plants and trees. Once established they require little care and are so important to keeping beneficial urban wildlife. What happens to those rock/sand yards once the rain comes back? Grass and other plants will grow and what usually happens is the homeowners spray weed poison all over to kill it which in turn isn't very good. You can be water wise and still have a lovely landscaped yard focusing on natives. I encourage everyone not in the Austin area to check out The National Wildflower Center. They partner with Native American Seed co. out of Junction and you can get all sorts of seeds native to your specific region as they cover all the ecological regions.
'Wipes out' is overstating, I'd go with 'has potential to reduce'. It would take widespread adoption, whole suburbs and HOA conversions, to have a significant impact. Most front and backyards lawns, like Bermuda grass, are not native, so conversion to rock type lawns is not near as impactful to the urban ecosystem that has adapted compared to when that land was developed and converted from native vegetation.
And of course you can still have all kinds of flowers, groundcover, shrubs, and trees with a rock lawn, from ornamental to extensive swaths. Still mix in flower beds, mulchscaping, etc. The kind of vegetation that attracts bees and other manner of natural fauna, few of those actual require lawn grass. Deciduous shade trees can help mitigate the warming effects of rock replacing grass.
That said, I agree that landscaping as native as practical is often the preferable way to go and you give good advice in that regard. I don't want to see subdivision regulations changed to require non-native xeriscaping. But to individuals who want to convert their grass lawns to rock, I say go for it. But recommend a light-colored theme, of coarse (SWIDT?)
Fireflies need grass and are being wiped out by rock yards. It is vital to provide grass if people still want to see them in urban areas which they are disappearing from (though there are additional reasons compounding the problem as well, loss of grass habitat is up near the top). Native grasses are ideal for protecting firefly habitats as they burrow into the soil layer during the day and require the shading from the grass to keep the soil temp cooler. Their larva stay in the soil until the time is right, they cannot live or sustain themselves under a layer of rocks. I'm not saying no rock gardens, there are applications where it works best like the south face of buildings with no shade, just not the entire yard. Plenty of native grasses or a combination look just as nice as non natives and you don't have to mow as often. Win win situation.
