Los Angeles lawn care in winter is easiest if you let low-water grasses like Bermuda Grass go dormant. If you haven't planted a drought-resistant variety of lawn grass, you will have to continue to water and mow it all winter. Or you can over-seed your dormant, drought-tolerant grass and add a layer of compost, to keep it green during the cooler season. Over-seeding will require regular mowing and extra water in dry periods, however.
Another, more practical alternative to winter lawn care is to take at least some areas of your lawn areas and convert them into more useful garden space. Lawns that have a job: a play area for children or pets, that are an intregal part of the landscape design, or that are small and require little fussing are probably best to keep. But where lawn is being used as the default, to cover up bare spots or fill in for lack of anything more imaginative you can substitute more exciting choices. Save yourself money and maintenance in the Los Angeles dry climate by going for a more sustainable landscape. You'll thank yourself when the heat of summer – and high water costs – return.
Create activity or patio areas with permeable paving. Build a swimming pool. Cool hot Los Angeles summer days with a water garden – adding a fountain or a pond. Consider designing in a whole drought-tolerant landscape with colorful, easy care plants. Replace some of your lawn with with a fun, home-grown kitchen herb garden – a fun project for children and adults alike. Or build a small vegetable garden where the use of water will reward you with healthy, tasty treats instead of laborious mowing and fussy edging.
Use your imagination to come up with a lawn substitute that will work best for you. There are so many ways to augment the space you use for your lawn to create an overall, more successful and beautiful landscape in the Los Angeles climate. Winter is the perfect time to replace lawns so your new landscape will be ready for use as soon as the spring arrives.
Comments