It seems more and more people are choosing to have their existing turf removed and replaced with fake grass instead. It’s not something that I had given a lot of thought about until a couple of years ago when my sister-in-law did exactly that.
She and her husband decided to convert their lawn because their garden is quite small and they felt it wasn’t worth investing in the gardening tools and shed to keep everything in, which would also have taken up a good proportion of their garden space. Maintaining a beautiful grass lawn takes a lot of effort too, with raking and scarifying for moss and thatch, applying fertiliser, aerating, and regular mowing of course. As they are quite a busy and active couple, it made a lot of sense for them.
It has certainly made us stand up and take notice. Through last summer, we were ‘green’ with envy as we continued to mow our lawn on at least a weekly basis to stop it from growing like wildfire while they were simply giving it a brush for leaves or other debris, or wash down with a hose as required.
So this year, we’ve been looking at converting our lawn too. It would make sense for us for the following key reasons:
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Firstly, the children always play on it. Whether it’s football with Mr C, badminton, catch or inflatable pools with water slides, the lawn takes a lot of punishment through the spring, summer and autumn months. Artificial grass is very hard wearing and will continue to look great despite such a heavy hammering.
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Secondly, we have a bit of a drainage issue on the left-hand side of the lawn which is shaded by the fence for most of the day. It has led to problems with moss which has needed aerating and treatment with moss killer. Most artificial turfs feature a drainage layer which would eliminate this issue.
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Finally, I’m thinking of the time and money it will save us from not having to maintain the lawn. True, there are the initial installation costs, but the life expectancy of an artificial lawn can be anywhere between 15 to 25 years, depending on the quality and how well it is looked after so it’s a long-term win.
I never thought I’d be a fan of fake anything but here is where I’ll make an exception! Do any of you have fake grass installed? How do you find it?
Disclosure: This is a featured post.