You can almost hear it: the crunch of crisping lawns all over L.A., thanks to the ongoing drought and recent restrictions on outdoor watering. It’s no surprise, then, that many Angelenos are thinking seriously about ripping out their lawns in exchange for less thirsty landscapes and a $2-a-square-foot rebate from the Metropolitan Water District ($3 a square foot in Orange County). Hiring a landscape contractor can make the project much easier but far more expensive, even with MWD’s rebate (and potentially more in some jurisdictions), so some people, especially those with smaller yards, are considering the DIY approach.

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• Mercury News: Why planting trees to cool your garden is a good idea
• San Francisco Chronicle: There’s a simple way to cut your water use — but many Californians don’t even know about it