The summer months have finally come. The weather is nice and the kids are out of school. It’s a perfect time of year to plan a vacation with the family. And with vacations – the longer, the better.
But before you can take that trip, you have to make sure that everything will be taken care of while you’re away. Will your pets come with you, or stay at home? Do you have someone to get your mail? And oh yeah, who is going to take care of your lawn and garden?
Garden care can present a major hurdle for homeowners who want to go on longer vacations. Even the simplest of gardens need a lot of water to stay green and healthy. In the hotter days of the Southern California summer, just a few days of neglect can leave your lawn looking dried and discolored. A full week of neglect can lead to outright lawn death.
Lawn Care Options While You’re Away
For those who have a programmed sprinkler system that activates on a timer and their sprinkles perfectly hit every part of their yard, this is not a concern. For everyone else, the lawn requires special plans. Options Include:
1. Have a friend or neighbor come by to handle your watering.
2. Just leave it in nature’s hands.
3. Installing artificial grass.
Option one can work if you have someone who is diligent and has both the free time and desire to tend your lawn. You might be able to get by with them coming over every other day for a deep drenching of the lawn. However, if it’s one of the hotter months, they will have to come by every day to water. That might be asking too much, especially if they have to water manually using a hose.
Option two is every homeowner’s nightmare. The lawn that they worked so hard to keep in good condition will be left to the elements. At best, if it’s a short trip and the weather is perfect, the lawn will be in moderate condition upon returning. But then there is the worse-case scenario of high heat during a long trip, after which you return home to stiff, dead stalks of brown, crumbling grass. The end result, a hideous lawn for weeks, if not months as you spend extra hours trying to recover the dead mess.
Of course, there is another option: artificial grass (also known as synthetic turf.)
Synthetic turf won’t need any watering while you go on a trip with your family. Artificial grass won’t need any watering ever! It offers all of the aesthetic effects of grass, yet has none of the demands of traditional lawns. No watering. No fertilizing. No mowing. No pesticides and herbicides. No aeration. Artificial turf lets homeowners enjoy all of the perks of having a healthy-looking lawn without having to endure the headaches that come with having to tend to it.
Another added bonus?
Artificial grass is the best way to conserve water during these times when a lot of the country is experiencing extremely severe drought conditions.
Everyone deserves the occasional vacation, but no one should have to worry about things back at home while on vacation, least of all, plants. Artificial grass allows homeowners to enjoy their leisure time that would otherwise be spent tending to a lawn.
Check out our latest guide to learn just how much water (and money!) you can save by switching to artificial grass during the drought.
