On Sunday, Aug. 4, Denver set a record for the hottest temperature in the city since the National Weather Service started keeping track of the city’s highs and lows. That day, which peaked at 102 degrees at the airport, was the fifth day Denver tied or broke a heat record this summer. Although the heat wave is finally fizzling, hotter summers are the new normal for the foreseeable future. Climate change means longer, hotter summers, drier soils, and more frequent droughts.

Given this trajectory, homeowners may feel they have to choose between a crispy brown lawn, a high water bill, or an ugly rock-scape that radiates heat and irks neighbors. There is another option. By replacing some or all turf grass with native and other water-wise plants appropriate for high desert conditions, homeowners can reduce water use while creating wildlife habitat and other productive uses.

I gradually began eliminating sod from my landscape more than a decade ago and replaced it with plants that require less water and are far more productive than turf grass. The turf-free property now supports 60 kinds of fruit- and vegetable-producing plants and twice as many ornamental shade-giving and flowering plants, including some two dozen native species. The yard draws butterflies, bumblebees, insect-eating birds like wrens and towhees, and hummingbirds.

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