Have you heard about the latest landscaping trend for rescuing a shabby or dead lawn? Thanks to the recent spike in foreclosures the recession has delivered a new business niche: lawn painting. There are now enterprising companies eager to paint your sad, dead lawn a lovely custom hue of green for as low as $175 a lawn.

Lawn painting is not a new idea in the U.S.; it sprang into existence on the west coast during the drought-stricken 80s. And it’s not really paint. It’s permanent green dye that promises to "really be green", as in environmentally safe, also kid and pet safe. It's funny that no ingredients for this dye have been published, so we’ll have to take their word for it.

This lawn paint stains the grass for up to 6 months, or once you mow the lawn. The homeowner can purchase the dye online, dilute it with water and spray it on his lawn with a simple garden sprayer. If that’s too much to handle on your own, several enterprising companies offer their services.

Today it’s not uncommon to see several foreclosed homes on one block. They’re easy to spot at a distance with their crunchy brown lawns. Since the foreclosure process is a lengthy one, most lawns in this situation go neglected. Add to this neglect the exceptionally high temperatures and lack of rainfall we’ve had this past year and you get a recipe for a lawn disaster. The town of Perris, California, outside of L.A., is investing in painting the lawns of the thousand or more homes on their foreclosure books. They found lawn painting much more economical than watering.

It’s hard to say if the faux lawn will fool a prospective homeowner. Once he ventures off the sidewalk and onto the brittle grass the disguise can last no more. The tinted lawns do please the neighbors left on the street, however. Painting over the bare, brown lawns gives the neighborhood a much needed facelift.

Disguising a dead lawn with paint is an acceptable short-term action, especially for those bank-owned homes, or pet-stained lawns, however, there is a better solution for homeowners. If you have to have a lawn, why not try drought tolerant native grasses such as Zoysia, Fescue or Buffalo Grass. If you have dead spots in your lawn, or problem patches, why force grass to grow there unnaturally? Why not reduce your lawn size and plant a drought tolerant garden with plants more suited to your climate? If you have a shady spot, a great grass substitute is moss. If you treat moss right you’ll be rewarded with a lush, fuzzy green carpet that requires little attention. By using native plants for your lawn and garden you will cut down on watering, pesticides, maintenance and frustration.

As long as foreclosure rates remain high there will be entrepreneurs disguising dead lawns with coats of green lawn paint. Hopefully the stained grass trend will fade along with the housing crisis. The buzz of lawn mowers will once again return to the empty neighborhoods, releasing the captive lawns and imparting that wonderful spicy fresh-cut scent. And once again we can sit on our front porches and watch it grow.