Quote:
Where I live (El Paso, Texas -- in the Chihuahuan Desert) a large percentage of front yards are "xeriscaped" to save water. Our water utility structures our rates so that using water for landscaping -- which would keep the house cooler -- is cost prohibitive for many homeowners. On top of that, the utility used to pay homeowners something like $1 for each square foot of lawn they removed and replaced with decorative rocks or approved drought-tolerant plants. I will add that it actually rained 0.75" this afternoon and so I can turn off my sprinkler system for a couple of days and save about $5 off my next water bill.


I should of perhaps been a little more specific as where I live in the east coast of Scotland, the water supply isn't metered and if gardens are left unattended for a few months during the summer you would be waist or neck high in vegetation. The last time I used a garden water hose would have been around 6-7 years ago.