The hot, dry weather is taking its toll on lawns in Sioux Falls. Many of them are brown and have already gone dormant. But know this: if you start watering now to try and save them, according to one expert, it might be money down the drain.
The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence.
"I don't think the two next to me have sprinkler systems, so I understand that," Huling said.
Randy Huling does a nice job of watering his lawn and it shows, even on these hot dry summer days.
"You got to water at two or three in the morning, you don't want to water in the hot day, otherwise it'll just evaporate off into the sun," Huling said.
Huling's neighbors' lawns on each side of him are both brown, but he says that's okay.
"I guess it's hard to complain, they keep it mowed a little bit, but dandelions come in my yard from their yards a little bit, so that's a little frustrating," Huling said.
If your lawn looks like this, here's some advice.
"Just wait, the best thing to do right now is wait," Erik Helland of Landscape Garden Center said.
Helland says if you haven't been watering your lawn throughout the summer, don't start now. He says your yard has probably already gone dormant and won't come back until the fall when there are cooler temperatures.
"You're kind of just throwing money away, unless you already had a green lawn," Helland said.
Plus, he says, if your lawn has gone dormant, you can stop mowing it too, otherwise you risk damaging your grass even more.
For guys like Huling, he'll keep mowing and watering his yard, so others will be green with envy.
Helland says you should always make sure to water your bushes and smaller trees, because they require a lot of water.
Early September is a great time to overseed if you want to get a head start on your lawn for next spring.