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DEFENDING THEIR TURF : Lean Lawn Days : Landscapers look at the alternatives, but most still plead the case for a patch of green grass.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Dan Manzer, president of Custom Lawn Service Inc. in Saticoy:

“I’m not getting the calls for lawn installations. Of those that are doing anything new, very few are going to expansive lawn areas. Their priorities are changing, especially in industrial and commercial developments.”

But, Manzer said, “if you have a family and you need some place for the kids to play, it’s very hard for the kids to play on a xeri-scape or some other drought-tolerant landscape. If you want the kids to play, you pretty much need sod.”

In that case, Manzer suggests Bermuda grass for its wear resistance and drought tolerance, even though it goes dormant in winter. But he also emphasizes increased use of drip-system irrigation (which delivers a low volume of water to specific points, instead of spraying it over a general area) and drought-tolerant shrubs.

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For greenery, Manzer offers junipers; for brighter colors, he suggests lantana, which blooms orange, yellow and blue, or verbena, which blooms red.

Jay Bain, a landscape architect with Jordan & Gilbert landscape architects in Ventura:

Jordan & Gilbert handles commercial and corporate clients. They remain largely faithful to turf, Bain said, because it projects an image of affluence and because it’s the simplest ground cover to maintain.

“The more turf that you have on a landscape, the less problem you’re going to have finding a competent maintenance contractor,” Bain said.

Even if a business does put in plants that are less thirsty, Bain said, “a lot of times you get people who are over-watering a drought-resistant landscape the same as they would turf. Unless you have somebody who’s a good water manager, you’re not going to see a difference” in water usage.

Bain has, however, noticed that more clients are asking for more control over their irrigation systems. And for those who ask about other foliage, he has been offering a compromise plan.

“We’ll still do a turf portion in front,” he said. “But on the sides of the buildings and in the parking areas, we’re seeing a lot more shrubs with drip irrigation systems or a wood mulch or gravel.” In those areas, he said, “the volume of water applied to the ground is cut 60% or 70%.”

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Chuck Robinson is co-owner of Chuck and Tom Robinson’s Earthly Pleasures, a landscaping service in Ventura:

“If it’s a fairly large yard, I try to incorporate some grassy areas, and also some hard-scape areas--patio areas, for instance--and also try to put in a lot of shrubbery that would be low water use, and maybe some bark,” Robinson said. “If you put it on thick enough, it holds the moisture in the ground.”

Many clients, Robinson said, are devoting more space to hard-scape patio areas of brick, flagstone or concrete. “Initially, it’s more expensive, but in the long run it’s going to save them money,” he said.

Another popular measure with the water-conscious, waterfalls: “I’ve been pushing waterfalls, and I’ve been using the waterfall pond part as an area for recycled water,” Robinson said. The pond collects gray water from household uses such as dish-washing or showers, and the pond in turn feeds the waterfall and a drip irrigation system.

Still, Robinson said: “Everybody likes the aesthetics of grass. We’re still putting 4,000 and 5,000 square feet of grass on some people’s lawns in Oxnard and Camarillo. They have the money to pay for the water, so they don’t really care.”

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