As more people consider water shortages and drought issues in Colorado, there鈥檚 been a push for gardens to use more local and water-efficient plants and landscaping. In some areas, these changes were met with resistance from local homeowners' associations.
Get top headlines and 皇冠网址 reporting directly to your mailbox each week when you subscribe to In The NoCo.
However, state leaders are making that a problem of the past by passing legislation protecting the right to install less traditional lawns and gardens. The rules also allow other techniques that cut down on water usage. Most of these changes are an adjustment to match recent droughts across the state.
鈥淲e live in the arid West. We do have a lot of rivers and streams, but we also have a high population, and we need that water for cooking and bathing, and so we can still have beautiful landscapes, but we don't have to be putting all of that potable water on the landscapes,鈥� said Deryn Davidson, the statewide sustainable landscape specialist with Colorado State University Extension.
Davidson has worked with state lawmakers on legislation to allow homeowners to use plants that thrive in Colorado鈥檚 climate.
One popular example of this is the rise of xeriscaping. Davidson says the term actually came from Denver Water in the 1980s, but has seen a resurgence recently. the word 鈥渪eros鈥� is Greek and means dry. A xeriscaped property is often landscaped with plants that are drought-tolerant, like yuccas or milkweed, in its design. The end result is to reduce water usage.
Davidson says some people have a negative connotation of the design, but there is beauty in it.
鈥淕ardening is so much fun, you can bring out your aesthetic and your personality, and you can also celebrate your sense of place,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o many people want to move to Colorado because of the natural beauty, but why do we want to just go into the mountains? Or go to the national parks, or go into our open spaces to enjoy that beauty? We can actually have that same beautiful plant palette and landscape in our yards.鈥�
The push for water efficiency goes beyond convincing homeowners, as housing HOAs often aim for a particular aesthetic and many were combative to the idea. But that changed in 2023 when Colorado lawmakers passed a bill that stopped HOAs from banning xeriscaping and forced communities to offer multiple pre-approved water-wise garden designs.
鈥淪ome HOAs have chosen to allow their residents to bring design ideas to them, but what the law is saying is that they need to have at least three pre-approved designs that people can choose from,鈥� said Davidson.
These rules extend to replacing lawns. Coloradans are allowed to rip out their traditional grass lawn, but they need to make sure they have a plan to replace it with their HOA.
The changes in Colorado policy don鈥檛 end there. Other efforts have been made in recent years to make Colorado homes a better fit for the climate. This also includes rain barrels, which only became essentially legal in the state in the last decade. Navigating the legality of water harvesting has to do with Colorado being what is known as a 鈥渨ater rights state.鈥�
鈥淲ater is a really important topic in Colorado, and essentially, with water rights, all of the water that falls as precipitation, once it hits the ground, is owned by somebody else,鈥� said Davidson, citing rules that protected water that went back into streams and rivers for farming, ranching and mining use. 鈥淚f a homeowner moves into a new house and they want to capture some of that rainwater, essentially, they are stealing that water from the water rights holder.鈥�
The law now allows homeowners to collect 110 gallons in rain barrels at any given time. That water can be used for landscaping. Once its sprayed on plants, some of that water will make its way back to the watershed.
The rules for water harvesting also trickle down to HOA communities. While HOAs can make aesthetic suggestions on the rain barrel, homeowners can still use a barrel to collect water from the roof of their home.
Only about 2.7% of the state鈥檚 water supply is used outside homes in cities and towns around Colorado, but every drop can count in making a more tolerant future.
鈥淚f we can just have these natural spaces woven throughout our urban landscapes, then we gain those benefits,鈥� said Davidson. 鈥淎nd we can start to celebrate again that sense of place and that natural beauty.鈥�
Want to learn more about native plants and how to build a water-wise lawn and garden? Listen to the interview with Deryn Davidson on the In The NoCo podcast.
