What鈥檚 the secret of a lush-looking lawn in Metro Vancouver, where watering is banned amid a brutal drought?
It might not be surreptitious sprinkling. Instead, it might be paint.
Tyler Basham, owner of Tinted Turf Grass Solutions, was giving a residential lawn in Maple Ridge an instant makeover on a recent morning, spray-painting the brown expanse and turning it a luxuriant green.
鈥淚 know it might sound a little silly at first, but then when you started looking at it and that kind of transformation from the start to finish, it鈥檚 one of those phenomenal things,鈥� said Basham, wielding a spray wand and wearing a white plastic backpack filled with green paint.
Lawn watering was prohibited in Metro Vancouver鈥檚 23 local authority regions on Aug. 4, with the ban in place until Oct.15. Some homeowners are looking for alternatives including spray-painting or artificial turf, but others are embracing the golden look.
British Columbia is experiencing what the province calls a severe and unprecedented drought, with 29 of its 34 water basins at drought level 4 or 5, with level 5 being the worst level.
From May to July, just 54.6 millimetres of rain fell at Vancouver鈥檚 airport, compared to the average 154.4 millimetres. August has been similarly dry so far.
The City of Port Coquitlam has launched a 鈥済olden lawn鈥� contest, with residents being asked to submit photos of their 鈥渄ormant鈥� lawns to compete for $100 gift cards, all in the name of celebrating water conservation.
Chilliwack is staging a similar competition but isn鈥檛 trying to gild the issue 鈥� it says it wants to find the community鈥檚 鈥渦gliest lawn.鈥�
Port Coquitlam resident Kristi Hayward submitted a photo to her community鈥檚 contest, showing her neighbour鈥檚 dog on her parched and tufty lawn.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a way to make a fun thing out of something that was not fun,鈥� she said.
Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West said he鈥檚 sticking with his golden lawn, which he hasn鈥檛 watered since Canada Day. He said the contest had been flooded with photo submissions.
Jackson Thornley, an owner of Turf Team Landscaping, said he鈥檚 seen increased demand for his company鈥檚 artificial grass in recent weeks.
鈥淚 think even last year, there was a little bit of a watering restriction towards the end of August, but this year has been a lot more, I would say, maybe a 20 per cent increase in demand for artificial grass now,鈥� said Thornley, adding that the company鈥檚 waiting list was growing.
Thornley said installing artificial grass would typically save more than 50,000 litres of water per year for an average-size Vancouver yard.
Basham launched his lawn-painting business in June, and said business has picked up quickly. It costs about $200 to $250 to paint a typical residential lawn.
The watering restrictions are prompting many homeowners to seek alternatives, he said.
鈥淧eople like to have green grass 鈥� and people care about their properties. We live in a really nice part of the world, and people like to make their yards look nice,鈥� he said.
The process of lawn painting, long popular in California, is similar to hair dyeing, said Basham. He said he consults with homeowners to choose the appropriate shade of green.
He said the paint is long-lasting, at least until the grass grows out again and the painted tips are mowed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a permanent paint, one rain is not gonna hurt (it),鈥� said Basham.
It鈥檚 also biodegradable and environmentally friendly, he said. 鈥淚 have two young kids. One is two, one is three months and I have our grass painted. I鈥檝e got a dog as well,鈥� said Basham. 鈥淚 wanted to make sure (and) I wouldn鈥檛 put it in my yard if I didn鈥檛 believe the product.鈥�
Basham said lawn painting is popular among real estate agents staging properties for sale.
Real estate agent Justine Williams, one of Basham鈥檚 clients, said agents want properties to be 鈥減erfect-looking and show-ready.鈥�
Williams said she had her own lawn painted before recommending it to clients.
鈥淚 had it done probably about a month ago and it still looks the same as it did the day I got it painted,鈥� she said.
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