Environment
The California Drought Inspires a Contest for San Francisco's 'Ugliest Yard'
"Ugly" here means beautiful yards with well-watered plants.
Lush greenery, bursting flowers, and well-watered turf—in the topsy-turvy world of drought-struck California, this is what qualifies as an "ugly" lawn.
That's according to the San Francisco Department of the Environment, which is holding a contest to see who in the city has the "ugliest yard." Spokesman Guillermo Rodriguez explained to the San Francisco Examiner what might qualify for that ignoble distinction: "The ugliest yard really isn't one that is desolate and full of weeds and dirt. A yard that wastes a lot of water to maintain—that is ugly."