Planting vegetables and flowers in the backyard instead of maintaining a lawn in areas that lack water is a smart move, lawns require a lot of watering and in places where you do not get a lot of rainfall, replacing it with vegetable and flower gardens is what most homeowners should be doing but many kept to the traditional concept of having a lawn. Ignore the critics, they are either ignorant of the way of life here in US or just plain jealous of what you have build for you and your wife in the great State of Texas.