Forget Water: Brown Lawns Just Need A Coat Of Green Paint
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A lot of lawns are turning brown with strict new water rules during California's drought, but a local man found the proverbial fountain of youth for keeping his lawn green in dry times.
On any given afternoon, you'll find Bill Schaffer swaying back and forth, with brown lawns as his canvas, a shiny nozzle his paint brush—the Degas of the Drought, if you will.
"One night I said to my girlfriend, 'Ya know, people are going to have to start painting their lawns green if they want green lawns this summer,'" he said.
He's always been an idea man and entrepreneur and quickly got to work forming his new company, Brown Lawns Green.
That was two months ago. Now, he has hoses pumping what he calls colorant.
""I guess my consideration would be for animals, is it toxic or not, because the little one eats grass, im sure the big one does too," said Shaun Johns.
Schaffer says the paint is nontoxic, made up of stone pigments and oil that helps bind it to the grass and makes it safe for the family dog or kids to play on. The paint lasts about six weeks depending on how fast your grass grows and how often you trim it.
"In July you should be able to get about 6, to 8 weeks out of it, because you are not cutting your yard as much," he said.
So far, Bill has had a couple of dozen people decide to go green. When he finishes a lawn, it's hard to tell the grass had been painted.
