Much of Western North America is parched. Some areas started suffering this summer, some parts like California have been enduring drought for years.

Dry conditions have more and more homeowners rethinking their landscaping practices, including lush green lawn.

“It's just so not necessary,” says Leta Van Duin with Alberta Low Impact Partnership, “It shows a certain aesthetic that we have to evolve past.”

The perfect Kentucky Blue Grass lawn, once a suburban status symbol, is slowly giving way to water-saving alternatives.

One option gaining traction in Alberta needs only the water that manages to trickle through the downspout from the eavestrough.

“The cost of water is going up,” says homeowner Jake Blumes, "and it's a good way to capture the water from the roof of our house when it does rain."

The practice is called a “rain garden." Blumes also uses a plant called Sheep’s Fescue for sod.

To create a rain garden, landscapers dig a deep trench which is then filled with top soil. The garden is planted with native, drought-resistant shrubs and perennials. The home’s downspout is directed into the garden, which does the watering.

Sheep’s Fescue, unlike the traditional Kentucky Blue Grass sod, has very long roots. It doesn’t need to be watered, even in dry weather. It grows very slowly, and only gets a few inches high.

“I mow it once for every five times I'd mow the regular lawn,” says Blumes.

Another water-saving option is artificial turf. It’s made of polyurethane complex, a plastic.

More commonly seen on mini-putt greens and sports fields, sellers are seeing more requests for home installations than ever.

"As the weather's been getting dryer we've been getting more and more calls for sure," says Jamie Wicks. His company, Evergreen Turf, charges between $10.50 and $11 per square foot.

The newest water saving option isn't permanent, but it is dramatic. Philip Setter uses a vegetable-based green paint to spray lost lawns lush once more.

"It's a pretty new thing it's coming out of California, where many home owners associations insist on green lawns, but they have drought," he says.

The paint, called LawnLift, usually costs 30 cents per square foot.

Johnny Nguyen is having his fried, brown lawn sprayed green after accidentally killing it with herbicide intended for his dandelions.

"It looks better than it did before," he says, "One hundred shades of green better."