Fresh, green healthy lawns are still considered the idea but whether or not they are environmentally friendly is debatable. Now is the time to discuss ways to keep a lawn healthy while still being friendly to the environment.

The fresh, manicured, lush, healthy green lawn is one of the most sought after possessions in much of suburbia. A homeowner's lawn is often judged by his or her neighbors and a bright green lawn is seen almost as a trophy.

Keeping a lawn healthy and green can be a complicated process and it's being debated on whether or not there are environmentally friendly methods of doing so. After all, running the sprinkler all day is also seen as a phenomenal waste of water.

Get Your Lawn Watering Timing Just Right

The best time for lawn watering is in the morning. Watering a lawn in the morning helps to evade the evaporation process that happens during the warmer parts of the day as generally mornings are much cooler. To that end, shrubs should be "deep watered" in the evenings.

Keep in mind external environmental elements. There is no need for lawn watering when it's raining (or snowing). Most lawns don't need to be watered in the spring, due to the rainy weather.

Lawn watering usually doesn't need to start until June (or in the middle of May for those who want to get a jump on the process).

Choosing The Best Type Of Grass

Think about planting a water-friendly breed of grass. A bluegrass lawn only needs about a half an inch of water in the spring and one or two inches during the hotter summer months. Even with that smaller amount of water a bluegrass lawn will be perfectly healthy.

Keep track of how much water your sprinkler sprinkles. The easiest way to keep track of this is to put a can out and then later measure the amount of water in the can.

This lets the homeowner know how efficient the sprinkler is, and to that end: how long the sprinkler needs to be run in order to achieve the level of water needed to keep the lawn healthy. Also use a sprinkler that sprinkles toward the ground instead of one that flings water up into the air.

A sprinkler that flings water into the air isn't nearly as one that that sends its water toward the ground where it is needed.

Be Efficient When You Water

There is no reason to water every day. Pay attention to the dryness of the lawn and once a week or so completely soak the lawn down to the roots. This helps keep the soil (as well as the blades of grass that grow from it) healthy.

There are also plenty of landscaping plants that are beautiful but don't require much water to stay healthy. Augment the lawn with these and less space will need to be filled with grass.

Lush green lawns are often seen as environmentally unfriendly, but there is no reason that this has to be true. By using environmentally friendly lawn watering techniques, your lawn can be beautiful and environmentally friendly year round.

About the Author

((c) 2007 Lawn Care Guidelines. All you need to know to make the right decisions to get a great looking lawn. There's all the information you could ask for, at Martin Haworth's website, http://www.LawnCareGuidelines.com