Spring is here and it’s mighty tempting to try to force lawns and gardens to green up and grow, but try to let April showers (not sprinklers!) bring May flowers. Water consumption doubles in the post-winter months, mainly due to the watering of lawns. Reduce your use by getting realistic about how much water your lawn really needs. The method is simple: don’t water grass or plants unless they show signs of needing it. Sound simple? It is! Here are a few more simple ideas to help you conserve: Avoid watering on a fixed schedule or if rain is forecast. Water during the coolest part of the day to avoid excess evaporation and let the water sink in slowly — water applied too fast runs off into storm sewers. Lawns are nice, but they’re also big resource-suckers. This year, consider planting slow-growing grass, using non-toxic fertilizer, investigating rain-barrels and using more lawn space for native plants.

Photo by Jan Bakke.