Earth Day 2012: Rip Out Your Front Yard

Written by Travis Pritchard, water quality monitoring lab manager at San Diego Coastkeeper.

This tip is part of San Diego Coastkeeper's Earth Day blog series running through April 22, 2012.

I can count on one hand how many times I have seen folks utilizing the grass lawn in their front yard. Backyards, I kinda understand, you can let the dog run around, give a spot for your children to play, and wiggle your toes while you BBQ. But front yards? When is the last time you used the grass on your front yard?

The concept of grassy lawns dates back to 1500s England where it rains every month, no irrigation necessary. That model does not make sense in San Diego when we have to import our water. Why pump in water from long distance and at great cost, in both money and energy, to water a lawn that you don’t use? Especially when San Diego is home to many very beautiful plants that evolved to thrive in our dry climate.

Take a walk around Torrey Pines or our many canyons to see how nice these native plants look. You can have that in your front yard. Let’s blur the lines between “nature” and “urban” and make our city look how it is supposed to. You would save water and be the envy of your neighborhood.

To start you out, here is a list of easy-to-grow native plants.