Of COURSE there’s life after the lawn. I transformed my typical suburban front lawn in Loveland to a Xeriscaped yard that won a gardening contest, and looks far better than the previous featureless expanse. True, it was no longer suitable for whiffleball, but with family grown and living elsewhere, play space was less important. The new landscaping also draws birds, including hummingbirds, by the dozen, not to mention butterflies, and my water usage went from a high of 11,000 gallons per month in my first summer, to only 3,000 to 4,000 gallons per month. The monetary savings were not front-page-worthy, but I felt I was doing my own little part to adapt to the climate I found myself living in, rather than dragging the Midwest with me to the foothills of the Rockies.

Ray Schoch

Denver, Colorado