A Golden Landscape

People tend to use several times more water in the summer than they do in the winter. Most of this increase in water use comes from lawn watering. One way to decrease the amount of water people use for irrigation is by promoting a Golden Landscape. A Golden Landscape is when you allow your lawn to go dormant in the summer by watering it less frequently.

Turf grass provides many benefits - it’s a soft surface for children and pets, but it is also valuable for conserving soil, filtering pollution that might otherwise run off your lawn into our streams and rivers, reducing urban heat loads by transpiring water, and more.

It is this ability to transpire, or evaporate, water quickly that makes keeping a green lawn a decision that isn't always ecologically green. Homeowners who irrigate their lawns apply, on average, twice as much water as their lawns need. What’s more, scientists at OSU’s Turf Research Farm have found that lawns don’t need as much water as they can use, and that reducing irrigation to provide only about 80% of a lawn’s water demand does not affect turf quality at all. So, even if you want that bright green grass, you should be watering less.

If you're willing to forgo the bright green (and all of the work that goes along with it), try a Golden Landscape. If a lawn can suffer no reduced quality if it gets only 80% of the water it wants, then what happens if it gets even less? Not much, really. The lawn does not die; it just waits for the fall rains. Many turf grasses will enter a dormant cycle when challenged by water stress. The grass turns a golden color and takes a nap until the fall rain returns. An early September soaking before the fall rains will help dormant lawns get a jump-start to remain healthy. As a bonus, the lawn will grow less over the summer so you won't need to mow as frequently. Consider letting your lawn go dormant this summer, by only watering once monthly during peak drought stress (June, July, August, September). Consider saving water, money, energy, and your time by letting your lawn go dormant this summer.

Want to take the next step? Explore alternatives to turf grasses. Consider using a seed mixture that contains turf grass for green in the spring but also contains flowers and herbs that respond well to mowing and remain green with very little irrigation throughout the summer. Or think about landscaping with native, water efficient plants to reduce the amount of grass.

Check out other Outdoor Water Conservation tips HERE.

OSU Extension Service: Lawn and turfgrass page with many useful resources for lawncare in Western Oregon: Lawn and turfgrass | OSU Extension Service

How to grow and maintain a healthy lawn | OSU Extension Service

What's your lawn style? | OSU Extension Service

What's Your Lawn Style? Low Maintenance | OSU Extension Service