Lawns in Desert Gardens

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard that turf (lawn) is inappropriate in desert gardens.

In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. It’s probably the most misunderstood principle of desert gardening.

Lawns do have a place in a desert garden. Even though it requires more care than many other desert plants, it’s relatively easy to maintain.

There are a number of advantages to planting turf. Some are empirical, while others may be somewhat subjective. For instance, a lawn helps cool the local microclimate in the garden. It reduces erosion…something anyone who lives in the desert Southwest should be concerned with. Because of its texture and color, it also reduces glare of the sun.

One of the more subjective reasons for having a lawn in your desert garden is that it provides a play area for children and adults.

While any type of groundcover can fulfill most of the needs above, turf is the only one that can provide a play and recreation area for children and adults. (It’s very, very difficult, not to mention messy, to play croquet on dirt.)

If you do decide to include turf in your garden, then there are several things you need to consider. For instance, where do you want your turf installed? How large an area do you want? How will it be used? And finally, what seasons do you want to use your turf?

At this point, you are ready to limit your turf to the most useful spaces, and also to decide which type of turf will suit your needs.

In higher elevations of the West and Southwest, cool season grasses are the best, especially in areas used for play, and particularly if the use extends into early spring and late fall. Two types of grass that do well in these areas are fescue or a fescue-bluegrass mixture.

For lighter use, or in the lower and or warmer elevations of the country, grasses that need less water, such as buffalo grass, blue gramma, or Bermuda grass are more appropriate.

The problem that people have with lawns is that they do use a lot of water. However, if watered properly, and the water is not wasted, responsible and limited use of lawns can add significantly to the beauty of your garden, the quality of your life and the environment.

One way to conserve water is to use bubbles, not sprinklers (sprinklers waste water by encouraging evaporation, especially in low-humidity areas.) Also, I also encourage anyone with lawns in their desert garden to set up timers on their watering systems, and make sure that the water doesn’t overrun your needs.

There is nothing more irresponsible than water running into the streets after the lawn has been saturated.