California Pays Residents to Xeriscape

photo:Clemens and Associates

Since moving to the valley, Shilo Herrling has been puzzled over
the quintessential desert paradox: lush and verdant lawns amidst
searing, triple-digit heat.
   When he bought his home in Cathedral City four years ago, it had
the standard green lawn found outside most other homes in his
Panorama Park neighborhood.
   "It actually takes a lot of effort to maintain the yard," said
the 52-year-old retiree, who has since started work to make his
landscaping more desert-friendly.
   He has removed the lawn in his back yard, put in a swimming pool
and planted palms and other heat-friendly plants. He also
started similar work on his front yard, replacing parts of the
lawn with granite rocks. He plans to put in trees and flowering
shrubs that better fit the desert environment.
   Other Cathedral City residents could soon get assistance in
making their yards more desert-friendly.
   The city will start a pilot program in the Panorama neighborhood
that gives financial aid for people willing to tear up their
front lawns and replace them with cacti, rocks and other
ecologically friendly features.
   "We want to encourage the residents to switch to
drought-tolerant landscaping," said Deanna Pressgrove, the
city's environmental conservation manager.
   She said a postcard is being mailed out this week to hundreds of
residents in the Panorama neighborhood, located east of
downtown, inviting them to participate in the program to convert
water-thirsty lawns to xeriscape, a lush yet water-efficient
landscape.
   She said she has not heard of other desert cities offering a
similar program.
   The city has $ 30,000 from its environmental conservation fund to
match funds spent by residents who xeriscape their yards, she said.
Up to $ 500 in matching funds will be given to qualified residents
on a first-come, first-served basis, she said. She said the
program, if successful, could be expanded to other communities in
the future.
   "There are many advantages to doing it," said Pressgrove.
Replacing grass lawns means less yard work for residents and
helps to conserve water in a valley that doesn't have a lot to
begin with, she said.
   In the Panorama neighborhood, she said, residents have been
complaining about standing water in the curbs as a result of
lawn runoff. She said the standing water is unsightly and could
become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Residents say they have
high hopes for the program.
   Herrling said he plans to apply to get expert help on how to
xeriscape his front yard and use whatever financial help he
receives to hire people who can help him with his yard.
   "I'm definitely looking forward to changing my yard into a
desertscape," said Donna Boatman, another Panorama Park resident.
   Boatman, 43, executive secretary at Eisenhower Medical Center,
moved into a house last year that has a lush landscape, but at a
cost.
   "I have to water it twice a day, and when it gets windy, the
water from the sprinkler gets blown all over," she said.
   She said she would like to pull out the grass in her lawn and
replace it with cacti, decorative rocks and hardy desert flowers
like the Mexican bird of paradise.
   "We live in the desert area. We shouldn't have lawns anyway,"
she said.