Prompted by water restrictions and fed up with the demands of keeping a rectangle of grass in crew cut, perpetual green, some homeowners are giving up on the traditional lawn.
Many cities and towns are now encouraging people to lose the Kentucky bluegrass, offering cash rebates to people who replace their lawns with rock gardens, perennial beds, a tangle of ivy, cactuses or other kinds of less water-hogging plantings. Researchers at the National Gardening Association say as many as 10 percent of all yards may be dominated by something other than grass.