Summer’s in swing and it’s mighty tempting to try to force lawns and gardens to green up and grow, but try to let August showers (not sprinklers!) bring late-blooming 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.