Cure for Dead Lawns at Foreclosures: Green Paint

California’s Riverside County is looking a little greener these days—just don't look too closely. The area has been so racked by foreclosures and unsold homes that parts of it look like a ghost town, complete with very dead grass. That’s where Insta-Green comes in. The start-up has a novel way of fixing up a lawn: It just paints the dead grass, reports the Los Angeles Times.

At $400-700 per lawn, Insta-Green winds up being cheaper than repeated watering. The special biodegradable paint will keep the lawn looking moderately lifelike for three to four months. Insta-Green’s founder even thinks the business will outlast the housing crisis. “It's only a matter of time until people get sick of watering their lawns and ask me to paint them.” (More recession stories.)