Little rain can make for brown grass. It's a fact of life.  

Add to the mix county lawn-watering restrictions, and Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner might feel a bit burned at the sight of scorched earth where there was once a lush carpet of green.

But drought aside, rules remain the rules at some subdivisions.

Inside DeBary's Saxon Woods gated community, homeowners with brown-patched lawns reportedly are facing the prospect of losing a very different kind of green -- receiving threats of fines or legal action unless their lawns are revived or replaced soon.

Steve Kintner, a water-use expert for Volusia County, considers such homeowner association demands ridiculous.

"That could be a challenge right now," he said of keeping a lawn that's Better Homes & Gardens-cover green, given the lack of rain, although complaints from the lawn police still occur. "If you live in an upscale subdivision, it's not that unusual. I hear about it all the time."

Volusia County allows no more than four hours of watering, two days a week, enough, Kintner says, to maintain a "decent-looking lawn" even in a drought, as long as the grass is not over-fertilized and watered, creating shallow roots.

But he said it's buyer beware when it comes to subdivision rules that demand a conformity in look and style, whether with architecture, house color or lawns.

"Conversely, many (homeowner associations) don't allow native plants, which require little water," said Kintner, who's the county's director of environmental management. "A lot of people don't know what they're getting into."

The Saxon Woods homeowners association, as well as the property management firm, declined comment, although in an e-mail an association spokeswoman said the matter had been "blown way out of proportion."

Robert Maddern, treasurer of a coalition of about 50 Port Orange homeowners associations, said subdivision rules and restrictions initially are established by developers and their lawyers. When it comes to lawn care, specifics can vary depending on the development, but typically the overall theme is to create a uniform, well-maintained and manicured look.

"It's usually more the overall look," said Maddern, vice president of his neighborhood's homeowners association at Lake Pointe. "There are going to be brown spots now where the sprinklers don't hit, even in common areas."

In a recent letter, the West Volusia Audubon Society asked the DeLand City Commission to prohibit homeowner associations from penalizing people who refuse to water their lawns during drought conditions.

"It just seems crazy to me. It's ludicrous," said Karyn Hoffman, a local Audubon Society officer, of forcing homeowners to maintain green lawns during dry times. "It goes against all the water restrictions. I'd like to see a little more wiggle room for homeowners. Covenants that don't force watering and allow more creative landscaping with native plants. It's either going to be that, or people drinking treated sewage water" one day.

With the passing of a state law, subdivisions built after 2001 no longer could force homeowners to only landscape with grass.

Tom Aello, 71, a resident the last seven years of LPGA International's Jubilee neighborhood in Daytona Beach, said his homeowners association is strict, even requiring approval from the development's master homeowners association before the kinds of flowers in beds can be changed.

He said his Jubilee homeowners association recently hired someone to cut the grass at the house next door and charged the out-of-state owner $300.

"It got very brown, and the weeds were high," he said.

Aello added he has turned on the lawn sprinklers sometimes at the house that is up for sale.

"A lot of people water way more than (twice a week)" to keep grass looking lush, he said. "They wouldn't have a green lawn otherwise."

But some homeowners in the area are shunning the traditional Florida lawn.

Peter Harraka, 55, of Port Orange's Sabal Creek subdivision, has gone with an alternative look that includes native plants, rocks and a fountain. He said he hasn't received any objections from his homeowners association.

"I pay the taxes and built the house. I'm doing something that's environmentally friendly. No chemicals and little water," he said. "It's Florida. It should have a natural appeal. Everything shouldn't look the same, all concrete and grass."

Lawns & Drought

It's brittle out there. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index -- an 800-point scale with zero meaning total saturation and 800 indicating desert-like conditions -- is above 700 in some pockets of Volusia and Flagler counties, with a mean of 569 in Flagler and 582 in Volusia. The fire danger is high and the lawn is dry.

So don't throw out cigarettes, observe burn bans in both counties, and follow these tips to try and keep your lawn green in dry conditions:

MOWING: Make sure the blade on your lawn mower is sharp; raise the blade for taller grass in dry conditions. For example, St. Augustine grass should be about 4 inches high, Centipede, 2 inches and Dwarf St. Augustine, 3 inches. Mow less often.

IRRIGATION: Check your irrigation system to make sure all parts of your lawn are receiving adequate coverage and that there are no leaks or broken sprinkler heads.

CONTROL WEEDS: Weeds take water away from your lawn, so keep them under control.

PEST CONTROL: Brown spots may mean chinch bugs in St. Augustine lawns. They take moisture from the grass and can be seen if you dig down to the soil level. Various pesticides are available to control them.

HYDRATION BOOST: Chemical wetting agents are available at garden supply stores to spray on your grass to help fight drought and stress brought on by heat and lack of water.

DON'T FERTILIZE: Dry weather is not a good time to stimulate growth.

SOURCE: University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences