DENVER — On the heels of an extremely dry and warm winter in Colorado, Denver7 asked for your water and drought questions — and we received a lot of comments about not needing a lawn at all.
Jonas from Aurora wrote: “We have to end the denial that everyone’s individual landscaping in our climate here in the west can include lush grass… Keeping grass alive and vibrant at my single-family home’s front and back yard causes me to go from using 3,000 gallons of water per month to 20,000 per month! That is unsustainable here, and I am not doing it anymore. Wake up and ban the grass!"
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Drought
Water restrictions in Colorado: Share your concerns, how you are impacted
For decades, one of the first landscapes to greet you at the Denver Botanic Gardens has been their Water-Smart Garden. It is full of plants and flowers native to Colorado and from around the world that thrive in our weather and soil.
“Very little supplemental water is given to this space," explained Erin Bird, director of marketing and communications for the Denver Botanic Gardens. "I think it's maybe a couple of times this summer that the horticulturist who manages that will use some overhead sprinklers, but otherwise it is on its own."
The Roads Water-Smart Garden breaks any misconception that Xeriscape — a water-efficient process of landscaping — means just rocks. The garden is alive with plants and pollinators. Horticulturists actually advise against doing a landscape of just rocks because it creates a heat microenvironment.
Bird said that, over the last decade, more people have become interested in gardening with less water.
“We've definitely seen a trend over the last decade of people being more cognizant and aware of the plants that they're putting in their home gardens and then also, many neighborhood communities or new construction neighborhoods are putting in limitations on how much turf you can even add to your property,” Bird said.
The Denver Botanic Gardens offers classes on Colorado native plants and understanding Front Range soil.
On Mother’s Day weekend, they hold a Spring Plant Sale, where you can stock up on native or low-water plants and speak with an expert horticulturist about caring for them.
The Denver Botanic Gardens said it has not yet heard from Denver Water about how water restrictions might affect its operations.
