Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Synthetic Grass? 24Nov 25, 2009 7:59 am avaganda Am laying a lawn for a client in Baldivis and next door they have synthetic lawn down. What amused me was the number of weeds growing on it from blow-in weed seed growing on blow-in sand. Sure they weren't "synthetic" for the "real grass" look... mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Synthetic Grass? 25Nov 25, 2009 10:37 am Synthetic turf was the topic of discussion in a course I'm doing at the moment. Everyone is in different areas of Horticulture, eg nursery, landscape, conservation and land management. They are all highly educated horticulturally and everyone was horrified at the use of this when so many alternative things are available for landscaping eg Native landscapes, better turf options or lawn replacement plant options. I guess it all comes down to being a "reactive" trend and a lack of the average person to be able to come into contact with landscape professionals with good native landscape skills or like wise from retail nursery staff and managers having a solid knowledge or range of available options on hand. It is the industry falling behind the game really, but there are folks who can do this to standards the average client may not even imagine Re: Synthetic Grass? 26Nov 25, 2009 11:13 am I went with both options I’m just finishing off the landscaping at my place now. My aim was to reduce water use (at home) and also reduce the time & effort spend on maintenance (especially weed control). At the same time it should look good and the kids should be able run around & play. After reading a lot (mainly thanks to Fu) I went with Empire Zoysia in the front area where it is relatively large area and gets full sun. To me, this is the best grass I came across so far. I put the off cuts on the nature strip and it is doing well even though I didn't do any preparation! Then, I put the artificial turf on sections of areas where it is difficult to mauver a lawn mower (or shaded area where grass can’t grow). All my family members like the look of the synthetic grass. I like it where it covers small/narrower areas. However, next time, I would create a garden bed out of a larger area and surrounded it by the synthetic. I guess the 'bigger area' looks a bit too perfect and way too green. Re: Synthetic Grass? 27Nov 27, 2009 11:40 am Quote: They are all highly educated horticulturally and everyone was horrified at the use of this when so many alternative things are available for landscaping eg Native landscapes, better turf options or lawn replacement plant options. See it is this attitude I do not get. I think it is Ok to have preferences but to just flatly refuse to acknowledge there is any application for a particular material just does not make sense. I think most people, all things being equal, would prefer a natural solution. But fact is, for many of us, particularly those with kids, our backyards are areas where we need flat open places that will tolerate high traffic and not require a lot of maintenance. In that case, synthetic lawn should be considered as an option because it is not affected by lack of water, it does not wear, it provides a relatively soft landing and requires very little week to week care. It ticks a lot of boxes. I think one of the problems is that people immediately think synthetic lawn is only used as an alternative to natural lawn. Its' not, it is equally an alternative to paving or concreting etc. Re: Synthetic Grass? 28Nov 27, 2009 2:03 pm From the same post Quote: I guess it all comes down to being a "reactive" trend and a lack of the average person to be able to come into contact with landscape professionals with good native landscape skills or like wise from retail nursery staff and managers having a solid knowledge or range of available options on hand. It is the industry falling behind the game really I think you have missed my point made in earlier posts. A lawn can only do one thing nothing else can. That is kids can play on it. That is all. Now if a turf area as we discussed is shaded in an area that kids play where lawn won't grow then yeah it maybe an option. As for using it as an alternative to paving or concrete in situations where more responsible alternatives should be used then I feel it isn't a great idea. It isn't something that should be an aesthetic answer only. ie, nature strips, front lawns. Just the same, our indiscriminate use of large paved areas contributes just the same if not more to the heat absorbed by our cities. Black roofs as well. If paving or syn lawns must be used then have shade structures in place or good tree plantings to cool exposed areas and reduce the heat absorbed. In the case of your example then I would imagine you'll have shade over the area for the kids to play. Re: Synthetic Grass? 29Nov 27, 2009 4:53 pm We are also having both options. A small area of synthetic grass out the front and lawn (most likely zoysia) out the back for the kids to play on. Blog: http://bluemistkids.blogspot.com "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." Re: Synthetic Grass? 31Dec 02, 2009 10:14 pm I grow and sell natural turf and sell synthetic, but I offer the truth on both sides. natural vs synthetic and synthetic vs paves/concrete/tiles etc look at: http://www.sirwalter.com.au/real-turf-v ... ebisode/33 and http://www.sirwalter.com.au/environment ... ebisode/45 ps. fu, empire hasn't got the runs on the board yet. Re: Synthetic Grass? 34Dec 03, 2009 10:49 pm yep I was just laughing because the OzBreed folks haven't gone to that extent of information with the Zoysia web site Other than that it is a very good summary of what a few others and myself have been saying. How often do you see syn turf used for areas mentioned, more often than not it is for front verges, front lawns, back lawns. Such is peoples reception of the product. I do agree there is a time and a place for it and that shows it right on the money. Thanks for the links Grasshopper. Re: Synthetic Grass? 35Dec 04, 2009 9:27 pm glad you liked them, I think they cover alot of what's been posted lately Re: Synthetic Grass? 36Dec 06, 2009 9:19 am The eco-movement is full of ironies: "I care about the environment, so I'm going to cover my yard in huge sheets of complex plastics." Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves. - Dale Carnegie Re: Synthetic Grass? 37Dec 06, 2009 5:51 pm Cabinfever The eco-movement is full of ironies: "I care about the environment, so I'm going to cover my yard in huge sheets of complex plastics." I think I want that as my new signature! My tac-home-ter: Been in 8 months! Re: Synthetic Grass? 39Aug 08, 2012 8:20 am Lots of bowling greens are synthetic turf too - thats not a new thing. I dont have any myself but I think it can have a place in home gardens - in small shaded areas where lawn would not be practical. I wouldnt do a large area myself because of the heat factor - and I like gardening and enjoy my living growing garden - but not everyone is into that, and thats fair enough too. Re: Synthetic Grass? 40Aug 16, 2012 11:29 pm A lot of bowling greens are removing it. They need to wet them to make them more playable. So after installation they have increased water use dramatically. The water used to produce it is huge. Be very aware that what you perceive to be saving in water is superficial. When it comes to your domestic budget, this stuff hides a bite. What you save on your water utility will be well and truly eaten away by the increase on your electricity bill. The increase in electricity costs, on a whole, is going to hurt far more in the long term than the water utility costs. The additional heat this stores through the day means that the area around your home gets hotter. Far hotter. Close to the same as a road surface. That heats the walls of your home and you run your AC for longer and harder to cool the home. Hotter nights are also going to happen as the enormous surface areas they have release that stored heat all night. To reduce this, they really should be well shaded, by shade sails or better still is well chosen trees which do far more than cool a landscape. Then we look at how that latent heat affects your neighbours electricity bill. One neighbour with this is contributing to a hotter environment. Then next door is running their AC more or having a reduced comfort of living. I know if one of my neighbours wanted it, I'd object to it formally. If they installed it, I'd also paying for it by them making my house hotter than it was and me having to offset that. How many people have thought of that before? Gardens need to be a homes passive air conditioner. Cooling the home, reducing utility costs, making a more valuable property and a property that adds value to other homes near it. they will also contribute to cooling our cities. Cooling a city is of great importance to governments, councils and residents. Instead we are making landscapes heat our homes, increasing utility costs and complaining about how big the electricity bill is. Perth is an excellent example of what a hot city does to reducing rainfall. As more and more people make their little patch of land hotter, (bit by bit, house by house) we are making the city hotter. On a hot day, thunderstorms often move in from the North or NE with an active west coast trough. As that rainfall moves over the city, more often than not, the water simply evaporates before hitting the ground. On the BoM radar we can see the outline of the city with rain all around it. Saving water? The hotter we make a city, the less of that vital summer rainfall we are getting and that amounts to a huge amount of water not being saved. Of course many other things contribute to this as well such as landscapes with out trees, dark roofs, unshaded carparks, unshaded roads, dark hard surfaces. Overall there is far too much of that and nowhere near the wonderful, cheap cooling gardens we need to cool homes, reduce utility costs, cool the city, reduce carbon footprints, slow winds, reduce evaporation and increase precipitation. Every landscape counts. DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Please help me to answer this question , it will help me a lot as i can go to buy confidently with your recommendation: I want to put synthetic turf in our backyard for… 0 10293 Help!! I’m meant to start building soon and have only really just learnt about orientation. Im reading so much that no grass will grow on the heavily shaded south… 0 13722 |