Daniel Marsh: Don’t let your lawns, greenery die out
As I go around the city, I see more and more homes with lawns, plants and shrubs dying due to lack of water. The neighbors have lush greenery in abundance. Drought or not, the city in its wisdom has allocated enough water to keep your green landscaping alive and thriving.
For those who wish to live with a dirt patch in their front and back yards, think of the investment in terms of dollars and cents and the cost to replace the greenery when the drought is over.
Of course, those transforming their gardens and yards into drought-resistant greenery should surely be applauded. Modesto has been noted for having very fine lawns and gardens. Without some landscaping, the value of real estate will be much of much less. If you live near someone who is in default of maintaining their yards, remind your lazy neighbors that they are letting the property values decline all around them.
This form of urban blight must not be allowed to get out of hand. A nice, expensive residential neighborhood can go downhill fast. As the saying goes, “there goes the neighborhood.” This kind of blight is avoidable.
Daniel Marsh, Modesto
This story was originally published August 19, 2015 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Daniel Marsh: Don’t let your lawns, greenery die out."