The Newscape : Though Not for Everyone, This Lush Landscape Saves Energy Water and Avoids ‘Green Waste’

This spring, some homeowners won’t be preening their lawns--they’ll be pulling them out. Despite this winter’s deluge, a revolution is taking place in the front yard.

Grass is giving way to trees, shrubs, ground covers and perennial flowers, and because the ground is thoroughly soaked, this is the best opportunity we’ve had in years for a big project like replanting the front yard, even though you may have to water wisely this summer.

Those with new homes, and barren front yards, can literally be the first on their block with this new look. Unlike sod, this is not an instant landscape, but you can easily do it yourself at minimal expense and the resulting garden will do more to erase that raw look than rolls of sod.

While watering less is the driving force behind this front yard revolution, there are many good reasons for this front yard fix-up.

--These plants do save water. According to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the typical 20-by-40-foot front lawn uses an average of 2,100 gallons a month, enough to supply a family of four with all the water it needs for 10 days. Other kinds of plants need much less.

--Lawns send hefty bagfuls of clippings to landfills. The average 20-by-40-foot front lawn sends 500 pounds to the dump each year, according to L.A. city’s office of integrated solid waste management. This “green waste” is considered a major environmental problem and may be the next regulated garden activity. Clippings are hard to compost and make a poor mulch.

--Lawns help cool the surrounding air because of transpirational cooling, but trees shading the house can cut total energy use by 10%, the cost of cooling by 40%, where homes are air-conditioned, according to air quality engineer Mark Adams at the DWP.

--Lawns require considerable fertilizer. Most are made from fossil fuels and they quickly leach down into the water table.

--Concrete and other solid paving in the front yard prevent what rain we get from soaking into the soil. Some alternatives are illustrated.

--Lawns may require it, but other plants are easily maintained without power equipment, so there’s less noise in the neighborhood.

The clincher for many is simply that a mixture of trees, shrubs, ground covers and perennials is vastly more interesting--less like outdoor carpeting, more a garden. For those who like to spend time out in the garden, there’s more to see and more to do.

But this front-yard face lift is not for everyone. Before you rip out the lawn (a huge job in itself) and start over, consider that nothing is easier than a lawn, and that there is no better play surface if you have children. Lawns can’t be beat for somersaults and catch--though there is always the back yard.

Lawns need practically no care, if you’re willing to settle for one that is less than perfect, with dead spots and more than a few weeds. And a lawn is easy for hired maintenance crews to care for.

The alternate landscape pictured here is harder for others to care for and while it may not need attention every week like a lawn, it does need looking after. “Mow, blow and go” won’t work here.

But if you want something a little more exciting to come home to and like to putter in the garden, there are a lot of alternatives to a lawn. Some of them are pictured here.

Begin a front-yard face lift with an inventory of what’s already out there--you do not want to throw out the baby with the bath water. Trees are too valuable to simply cut down, and shrubs, though easier to replace, can become a background for the new plants. Most of the common shrubs planted around houses are already quite drought resistant, such as junipers, rhapiolepsis, oleander and even camellias.

If they’ve been badly pruned, or clipped into little balls, let them grow out so they look more natural and blend better with the plants you add. Those that grow too large can be replaced.

You may not want to tear out the entire lawn at once. A lot of people have been nibbling away at their lawn for a long time, making room for trees, shrubs and flowers as they go. You may even want to keep some of the lawn permanently, though a bright green lawn will look a little out of sorts with the gray and olive-colored plants pictured here.

Spreading grasses with underground rhizomes are particularly hard to get rid of but a herbicide named Roundup will kill the roots and rhizomes as well as the blades. Follow the directions carefully; they are important. Roundup only works on actively growing grass and on sunny days so this is a good time of year to apply it.

When you are sure the grass is dead, turn it with a spade or a power tiller. Turning soil is a lot easier when it is damp, not wet or dry. Do not simply scrap it off or you will be sending mounds of grass to the dump when it could actually help improve the soil.

Wait a few weeks to see if any of the grass resprouts. You may even want to water the lawn as if it were still there, to encourage hidden seeds or rhizomes to grow. It’s important to leave no survivors in a Bermuda grass lawn or they will become noxious weeds in the new garden. That’s why the other name for this grass is “devil grass.”

If you object to using herbicides, you can slowly dig up the lawn, pulling out every rhizome and runner by hand. It’s not bad exercise.

Tall fescue and other non-spreading grasses are much easier to deal with--they can simply be turned as if you were plowing up the prairie.

If your soil needs improvement, till in soil amendments. You can buy them by the bag, or truckload. Look under “Topsoil” in the Yellow Pages, but don’t buy topsoil, you want an organic amendment.

Most of the plants described in the artwork don’t need an especially good soil--tilling in a two- to three-inch layer of amendment should do the trick.

In heavy clay soils, you may also want to add gypsum at the same time. Gypsum, available at nurseries, helps break up the packed clay particles.

Drip irrigation is the best way to water a new garden like this. Since you are applying water only to the root area, weeds are discouraged between the new plants (at least until it rains again next year).

There are drip systems that simply attach to the old sprinkler risers so you even make use of all the piping already in place. They turn each riser into a dozen individual drip tubes.

You can also use the existing sprinkler system with some modifications, or you can water the garden bit by bit with a movable hose-end sprinkler. Remember, you won’t be watering so often once plants are established, so this is not the chore it seems.

You are now ready to plant. The artwork suggests some plants with ideas on placement. Those of you living in areas where frosts are common will want to check the hardiness of these plants. Some are simply too tender; others work fine. Ask your local nursery.

If you want to avoid the ground cover look of the 1970s, follow this simple rule: Don’t use too much of any one plant.

The object here is not simply to replace the lawn with some other plant, but to use a variety of plants. That’s what will make your new garden attractive and it will be easier to care for too. Everything will not need attention all at once and you won’t be courting disaster. Look what happened to solid hedges of eugenia when the eugenia psyllid appeared on the garden scene.

There are two tricks used by professional designers illustrated in the artwork.

One is to stage plants, with shorter plants in the front and taller plants behind. Here and there, break this rule with plants that are taller that their surroundings. For instance, let a tall clump of grass pop out of a lower planting of ground cover.

The other trick is to plant in little bays, separating groups of plants with others so they never appear too numerous. Soil polymers and some slow-acting organic fertilizer in the bottom of each planting hole will provide new plants with a little extra moisture and food.

You may want to mulch the area between new plants but the best mulch--the chips seen around plants at botanic gardens and parks--are hard to come by. You might call tree trimming companies or topsoil dealers. Mushroom compost is another good choice and so is shredded bark, or even the same materials used as organic amendments.

Although gravel makes great paths, or open areas in the garden, it is not a good mulch because it tends to get mixed up with the soil and is hard to get rid of should garden plans change. Bark chunks are a bad choice for similar reasons. As the garden grows and needs trimming, simply cut the prunings up and leave them around the plants as a mulch.

If you want to prevent weeds from sprouting through your mulch, or your garden paths, try one of the new landscape fabrics underneath. Their dense weaves let water in but weeds can’t squeeze through (though any left over Bermuda grass will find a way). Some gardeners find it easier to simply pull out the occasional weeds between plants, or get out the hoe.

Saturday used to find everyone out spreading fertilizer and crabgrass killer, mowing and raking, with bags of clippings piled on the curb and water rushing down the gutter.

In the not-too-distant future, Saturdays might be a lot different. Picture a quiet day with no two-cycle cacophony, just the soft scraping of a hoe and the snip-snip of garden shears. No bags are piled on the curb because these prunings make great mulch or compost, and water runs down the gutter only when it rains.

There will always be a few weeds to pull, and there may be some replanting to do because some of the lawn alternatives are not long-lived. But there will also be a tapestry of texture and color just outside the front door, and flowers to cut for the house.

Even if it rained all summer, you’ll be seeing more and more of this kind of garden, because some gardeners think this vision of the front yard makes a very pretty picture.

FRONT YARD FIX

TREES: BIG HELP, BIG DECISION

Properly placed, trees can cut your cooling costs by 40%. For further savings use trees that can get by on almost no city water. Trees also help the urban environment, cleansing and cooling the air. A tree-filled neighborhood feels cooler and smells better. Realtors say that trees add 10% to 20% to the value of a house, so if there are existing trees, preserve them. Trees are not easily replaced.

Choosing a Tree

There is no perfect tree. Consider the roots, the litter, the density of shade and strength of each tree. Customers of Southern California Edison can get a free book on choosing a tree. Call 1-800-952-5062. This summer the DWP will have a similar booklet. Call 1-800-827-5397.

North, South, East and West

Evergreen trees can block both cold winds and Santa Anas on the north and east sides. Large deciduous trees shade the roof in summer on the south and let warmth through in winter. Trees on the west block the late afternoon sun, but may stop cool ocean breezes.

BEFORE: A Boring, Wasteful Yard

Concrete driveways and paths prevent water from soaking into the soil, sending it down the gutter. The lawn helps cool and cleanse the air but uses 2,100 gallons of water and sends 40 pounds of clipping to landfills each month. Water use soars to 3,100 gallons in July. Power mowers, blowers consume fossil fuels and create noise pollution.

AFTER: An Exciting, Ecologically Sound Garden

Attractive gray and green foliage, lots of flowers save energy and water, require no power tools and improve look of both existing and newly built homes.

CONCRETE OPTIONS: POROUS PAVING

* Rain runs off solid asphalt or concrete driveways and walks. Less-solid alternatives let some of winter’s rains soak into the ground to nourish roots . Recycle concrete by breaking it into steppingstone-size pieces. One disadvantage: it’s hard to play basketball on porous paving.

* Stepping-stones

Water soaks in through gaps a variety of looks available: Flagstone or broken concrete slabs.

* Rock and Gravel

The most porous surface. You can even plant in the paths but they must be thick and compacted for good footing.

* A Good Idea

Plant some small ground covers between the paving stones, such as chamomile, thyme, blue star creeper and erodium.

* Turf Blocks

Sturdy enough to drive a car onto they have holes where water can pass through or grass can grow.

HIGH-TECH HELP

Drip irrigation is the most efficient way to water, delivering water right to the root area. Weeds do not sprout between plants.

Landscape fabrics let air and water into the soil but weeds can’t sprout through the weave. Hide it under a mulch.

Mulch keeps weeds down, cools soil temperature and prevents erosion. Chipped tree trimmings work best.

Soil polymers act like little sponges, holding onto water within the soil, which plants can draw on. Add to bottom of planting hole.

Planting The Newscape: A close-up View

A--Shade Tree: California pepper. Fast growth to 25+35 feet, grows in any soil A beautiful tree with graceful, drooping, bright green branches, gnarled trunk. Others: Allepo pine, Australian willow, olive, silver dollar eucalyptus, pistache.

B--Small Tree: Bronze loquat. Grows to 10 feet but needs training to become a tree. Large leathery leaves are bright coppery color. Needs some water. Others: Crape myrtle, Eucalyptus forrestiana, redbud, Mediterranean fan palm.

C--Spots of Color: Sea lavender (Limonium perezii). Tough perennial where frosts aren’t hard. Big deep green leaves, rch purple flower clusters on 2 foot stems. Others: Coreopsis, dusty miller, red-hot poker, rockrose, valerian, verbena, yarrow

D--Vines: Bougainvillea. Dense, thorny vines grow fast after first year in ground. Leaves dull green but flowers are vibrant, come in red, orange, purple, white. Others: Cape honeysuckle, potato vine, trumpet creeper (Campsis), grape.

E--Small Ground Covers: Cape weed (Arctotheca calendula). Spreads fast, stays low (a few inches). Tough as nails with bright yellow flowers, grayish leaves. Others: English ivy (shade), gazania, ice plant, santolina, snow-in-summer.

F--Cool Gray: Artemisia. Fast shrubs, most 3-4 feet or more tall, and across. Grown for graceful silvery foliage. Flowers usually white. Short-lived, needs trimming. Others: Bush morning glory, dusty miller, lavender, Matilija poppy, sage.

G--Unshorn Grasses: Red fountain grass (Penisetum rubrum). Not weedy, but quickly makes clumps 3 feet tall, with reddish brown leaves, fluffy flower heads. Others: Blue fescue, blue oat grass, (Carex buchananii), dwarf pampas.

H--Background: Rhapiolepsis. Easy-to-grow shrub that stays under 4 feet tall. Glossy deep green leaves tinged red when young. Pink to white flowers. Others: Dwarf oleander, feathery cassia, hopseed bush, myrtle, pittosporum

I--Wide Ground Covers: Lavender lantana. Single plant spreads to 3 feet. Dark green leaves, small clusters of lilac bloom most of the year. May frost Others: creeping rosemary, dwarf coyote brush, juniper, low mazanitas.

J--Succulents: Echeverias. Neat rosettes of fleshy leaves colored green or gray-green usually tinged with red or purple, makes clumps in time. Nodding, bell-like flowers. Others: Aenoium, aloe, crown-of-thorns, ice plant, kalanchoe, sedum yucca.)