Tip Water

[David Hogan]

Plan Now for a Low Water Lawn

Lake Travis and Buchanan are down to 41% capacity and there’s slim chance for any drought relief in the near future. Additionally, the price of water continues to grow, up 100% from 2000 to 2012. What is the home owner to do? Minimize lawn area with Xeriscaping, and plant the remaining grass areas with grass requiring little water. Approximately 50-70 percent of our residential water use is for our landscaping, most of it to water lawns.
    Psalm 24:1, The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.
    The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas through years of research has developed a turfgrass they call HABITURF (tm). It is a mix of native turf grasses that is dense, attractive, and soft and comfy on bare feet. It establishes quickly in the spring. Their research shows it compares favorably to commonly-used non-native turfgrass species in its ability to thrive with minimal watering. It requires less mowing and weeding to retain its eye appeal. It works in areas of full sun or down to 50% sun. More details may be found at www.wildflower.org/habiturf/ .
    Remember, bring your own shopping bags to stores. Single use bags are no longer available. Details at www.bringitaustin.org/
    Available at the Welcome table is a handy chart of where you can take your recycling and, better yet, where you can take your reuseable items for another useful life. The next St. Matthew’s Garage Sale is coming in September, another fine outlet for your reuseable items.