When Colorado passed a new law allowing homeowners in HOAs to replace their grass, one Redditor said they leaped at the opportunity.
HOAs have been a major obstacle to many homeowners with unique ideas for their yards. These organizations often value a uniform look for the neighborhood over saving owners money or protecting the environment, and changing HOA rules can be a slow and frustrating process.
However, Colorado stepped in recently with a bill known as SB23-178, which is titled "Water-wise Landscaping In Homeowners' Association Communities." This new law protects homeowners' rights to put in money-saving, low-maintenance landscaping, alone or with the help of a company like Yardzen. It even requires HOAs to preapprove some options.
This Redditor is one of the homeowners who benefited from the new policy. "I have lived in this house for 23 years which is in a housing development with an HOA that has always been very strict about front lawn appearance," they wrote. "However, new laws in Colorado have pushed them to ease restrictions in support of more waterwise landscapes."
According to the Redditor, the grass in part of their front lawn always struggled, even with four sprinklers covering the area. They applied for permission to replace it with something else. "I received permission and the project was done in October 2022. A bit late here for a new garden," they wrote.
Photos from July showed an incredible transformation in less than a year, with new plants thriving in mulch beds surrounded by decorative river rock. "I have Karl Foerster grass, blue star juniper, mugo pine, Mojave sage, purple veronica, dwarf butterfly bush, balloon flower, two varieties of nepeta, spirea, three varieties of agastache, some sedums and sempervivums, and blue fescue," said the user. "I plan to add more plants as time goes by and hopefully fill it."
Although their yard is healthier than ever, they say they're using less water. "I capped off two of the four sprinkler heads in this area already and plan to cap the remaining ones after another year or so of the plants acclimating," they said.
They even said drought-friendly landscaping was catching on in their neighborhood. "As you can see, my neighbor liked the idea so much that they did theirs as well," they said.
"This looks so beautiful!" wrote one commenter after viewing the photos. "Great job to both you and your neighbor!"
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