One Florida homeowner was at a loss when their homeowners association demanded instant fixes for their lawn.
According to the homeowner, they were given two weeks from the date of their post to replace their dead grass. "I have to make my lawn look better by Feb. 4th or I'll get fined $1,000," they said.
The photo the original poster included shows a small front lawn edged with shrubs and tropical plants. The grass is mostly brown, with just a few tufts of green.
"All of our grass died once it started getting cold out," said the original poster. Indeed, even if the deadline had been longer, one wonders how the HOA expected the OP to grow new grass during the coldest time of the year. In Florida, daily low temperatures can dip below freezing in the OP's zone, which is 9b.
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The OP wasn't thrilled about the idea of grass, either. "I'd really prefer not to have grass again and do some type of ground cover instead that's not as much maintenance as grass but still gives the appearance of a nice yard but I'm totally clueless when it comes to all of this. If anyone has any tips or advice for anything on how to improve my lawn it'd be greatly appreciated," they said.
Luckily, the OP has many options. Rewilding their yard with native Florida plants is one possibility. Since native plants are adapted to the conditions in that zone, they'll thrive with very little input from the OP. Plus, they'll help support local wildlife.
There are also options outside the yard. The OP could take on the HOA bylaws themselves. A change in the rules could loosen the standards on lawns, allowing a natural winter look. That could save a lot of residents time, money, water, and fertilizer that they'd otherwise have to waste to keep a lawn green year-round.
One commenter pointed out how absurd it is to make these demands this time of year. "Seems like they are just trying to take in profits at this point if every house looks like that," they said. "I hate HOAs."
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