About a year ago there was a lady in Orem, UT that ended up being in national news
. Someone had reported that she had not been watering her yard and it had become completely brown and there is some law in Orem about taking care of the yard. When the police came to her door it didn't go very well and if I remember the story correctly she ended up in jail or at least with a citation. If I recall correctly she was in her 70's. She told the officer that she couldn't afford to pay the water bill so she didn't water her lawn. To most people that makes complete sense.
At that point I thought about that situation and what I would do if I couldn't afford to pay the water bill. I would think I would choose to not water my yard. If you don't have it you don't spend it, right? That is a difficult situation. In the news there were several people who made comments about why she didn't change her landscaping and then there were others who commented that she probably was too old to have the energy to change her landscaping. Then there was the suggestion of getting a landscape contractor to come in and help her change her yard so that it didn't take as much water to take care of her yard. Then to her defense if she couldn't pay her water bill how could she pay a landscape contractor.
These are all things to consider. We are not all in this situation, but we are all effected by the landscaping in peoples yards. The feel of a neighborhood is definitely determined by the landscaping of the yards. I am sure that people in the neighborhood would have loved to have seen her hire a landscape contractor to help her make her yard look nicer especially if the other yards looked really nice. The other thing that people commented on was why didn't the neighborhood pull together and help her fix her yard. That is a good point. Maybe there was a landscape contractor in the neighborhood who would have been willing to help her fix her yard.
This is one situation. Think about your area and your own yard. Where are you at on your yard? Do you have a yard that is difficult to keep up? Do you have plants or other things that are dying and would be better if they were pulled out? Do you keep your lawn mowed? All of these things are important and it is important to pull together as a community and help each other have beautiful yards. If your yard is too much for you don't lose hope. Get a landscape contractor to come and give you ideas. The options are endless.