Is Artificial Turf Right for My Landscape?

grass field lawn photo by Photo by Fauzan Saari

Is Artificial Turf Right for My Landscape?

Guest article by Ali Sanderson. Photo by Fauzan Saari on Unsplash.

Why Faking the Lawn is Worth the Trouble

New Orleans set a new record with a  temperature of 96 degrees in May 2018 according to the National Weather Service. Tending to your lawn in hot temperatures that come with humid warm air is not anywhere close to pleasant. However, people do spend several hours a week keeping their lawns immaculately manicured so that their grass is always greener than the other side. The reward  is people constantly pausing at front lawns just to take a look and some even bending to touch the grass. So it’s not hard to imagine why a “veteran natural lawn-maintainer” would look down on people who go the easy route with synthetic turf.

Artificial grass is cheaper to maintain

Artificial grass or synthetic grass is simply an outdoor carpet that looks and feels like real grass.  It helps address many environmental issues brought about by natural grass care. You don’t have to water or mow or feed it.  Basically, artificial grass stays the same all year round because synthetic turf is UV stabilized to protect against color fading.  The materials used to make it include recycled old tires or plastic bottles that would normally end up in rivers or oceans.

Artificial turf  installation

One great advantage that artificial turf has is that you can install it almost almost anywhere without worrying about insects or gophers. If you have a small yard or reasonably sized balcony or patio, install artificial grass together with potted plants there, to make you feel closer to nature. Add a small water feature and the place could become your Zen zone. You can install it around your pool knowing that you won’t have to worry about blades of grass, and dirt getting into your pool.

Replace it decades later

You may be able to lower your water bills by using grey water to water your lawn but your natural lawn is still vulnerable to insects, trespassers and animals. Artificial turf can endure heavy use and depending on the quality can last up to 25 years. Artificial grass options are limitless coming in a variety of blade lengths, textures, and colors. New generations of artificial grass look so real that even the most experienced eye has trouble identifying the difference.  You may be wondering why everyone in not installing artificial grass if is indeed that great.

The truth is that artificial grass is expensive, costing anywhere from $5 to $20 per square foot. But it makes up for that by saving you money you may have used to maintain real turf. It also ends up paying for itself anyway because of how long it lasts. You are not a cheat for installing artificial grass, you are just faking it and saving money and the environment at the same time.

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