I was looking outside at my lawn and it called me back to my childhood. I can remember my father dedicating some part of his weekend to his vivid green Dichondra, a perennial ground cover which was once commonly used as a lawn and the hours of fun my buddies and I had playing ball, his pride and joy. Now I am the dad and I still love to hear the familiar soothing sprinkler sound of the rainbird’s and the freshly mowed smell, but since my kids are starting their college and working lives, I find myself growing weary of the maintenance and my frustration with the ‘dog spots’.
It spurred my thinking to consider alternatives.
Take a look at ground covers, ornamental grasses and faux lawn.
Since Astro turf made its debut in 1966, with the opening of the Houston Astrodome, it has been predominately used for sports arenas. There is no mowing, watering or fertilizers.
Synthetic isn’t inexpensive, a faux lawn is several times more expensive to install than living lawn. The experts say the investment is made back in the long term.
Out of all the different manufacturers that I have used and seen, Tiger Turf has continually provided a consistently superior product. With any artificial grass system the maintenance is always going to be much less than that of REAL Grass. However, the cheaper and lower grade products tend to “mat down” and often times end up looking like a green carpet which makes it very difficult to maintain a look like natural grass. More superior products with an “S shape” fiber and a rubber infill tend to stand up better and maintain the natural grass look longer, so maintenance to keep the fibers up is much less. With pets, what is needed is to simply pick up their excrement and dispose of it just like natural grass and periodically water down the area that the animal uses. All urine and trace amounts of feces get flushed through the system and out of the perforated holes that cover that underside of the turf. Tree leaves and other debris can be either blown off with an electric leaf blower or raked up with a leaf rake.
Different manufacturers have various warranties on their products. The average warranty against any manufacturer defect is somewhere from 8-10 years.
There are 2 key factors that ensure an artificial grass system will last.
1) A poorly installed lawn can easily take a high quality product and cause it to have a short lifespan (1-4 years), and likewise, a lower end product that is installed properly can surpass the manufacturer’s 8-10 year warranty.
2) The amount of traffic the artificial grass area gets can also increase or decrease the lifespan. However, on average a good quality, properly installed artificial grass system can have anywhere from an 18-25 year life expectancy.
Since artificial grasses are costly, here are some factors to keep you happy.
1. Use a product with Polyethylene fibers (softer and more durable than nylon fibers)
2. Use a product that has a minimum of 52 ounces of fiber per sq. yd. and a rubber infill to assist in supporting the fibers.
3. Have the product installed by a contractor that is well trained in the industry in both installation and product (this is the more difficult factor to control since some contractors can come across as if they know what they are doing when in reality they could just be saying whatever there customer wants to hear to make a sale).
Check out these affordable reference books for groundcovers and ornamental grasses.
1. The Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses and The American Meadow Garden Both by John Greenlee. You can preview on http://amazon.com
2. Pocket Guide to Ornamental Grasses by Rick Darke, Timber Press
3. Taylor’s Guide to Ornamental Grasses and Taylor’s Guide to Ground Covers, Vines and Grasses
4. Landscaping with Ornamental Grasses, Sunset Books
5. Eyewitness handbooks, The Random House Book of… and Better Homes and Gardens book of Ornamental Grasses are worth researching. Excellent images and information.
Think about adding interest to your landscape. I recommend mixing grasses with succulents. Plant ground covers with a subtle fragrance such as Thymus serpyllum “Creeping Thyme” or Mentha requienii “Jewel Mint of Corsica” in between the strips of natural paving stones or grids of cast cement square pavers. Check the Sunset Western Garden Book for other options and sub species.
So the next time you look outside and see your brown and green lawn need some assistance, think artificial lawn, ornamental grasses and ground covers!
Here is to 2010!
Matthew Schoenwald
http://www.calypsolandscape.com
