So Faux So Good: Fake It With the Green, Green Grass of Home
Don't stop reading! Synthetic turf can be a fun, fetching and practical way to go green at home
I’m reminded of the story of a tourist visiting an English stately home. He asked the head gardener for the secret of the estate’s emerald-green billiard table lawns. “Well,” replied the gardener, “you water it, cut it, and roll it – and then you do that for about 500 years.” We love the feeling of walking barefoot on cool, natural grass, but climate, water supply, poor soil, shade from trees and buildings, lack of time, high-rise living and maintenance costs often make it unattainable. This story is about using small quantities of synthetic turf in playful ways, not about clothing hectares of garden. Get the lowdown on synthetic turf from an expert, and have some grassy fun.
What does maintenance involve?
“Natural forces like wind and rain do most of the work, but it may require occasional brushing against the fibre with a broom or vacuum. Hosing is not often needed, although a good product is permeable and has drainage holes. Mowing natural grass stirs ups and releases allergens. With proper care, synthetic turf can be practically allergen-free.”
Does it get hot underfoot?
“This is a downside – yes it does. But it doesn’t retain heat for long and cools down fairly soon as the sun moves off it. Concrete and pavers get hotter and retain more heat than synthetic turf.”
Henshaw has seen synthetic turf used in some inventive ways: table runners at a Melbourne Cup lunch, turf-upholstered garden chairs and an amazing huge Mad Hatter’s top hat in an Alice in Wonderland re-creation. The following ideas may get your creative juices flowing for some ideas of your own.
“Natural forces like wind and rain do most of the work, but it may require occasional brushing against the fibre with a broom or vacuum. Hosing is not often needed, although a good product is permeable and has drainage holes. Mowing natural grass stirs ups and releases allergens. With proper care, synthetic turf can be practically allergen-free.”
Does it get hot underfoot?
“This is a downside – yes it does. But it doesn’t retain heat for long and cools down fairly soon as the sun moves off it. Concrete and pavers get hotter and retain more heat than synthetic turf.”
Henshaw has seen synthetic turf used in some inventive ways: table runners at a Melbourne Cup lunch, turf-upholstered garden chairs and an amazing huge Mad Hatter’s top hat in an Alice in Wonderland re-creation. The following ideas may get your creative juices flowing for some ideas of your own.
Make a wild and whacky welcome mat
Don’t just stick to squares and right angles. This inventive homeowner has cut fantastic Big Foot shapes and embellished with some great Fred Flintstone outdoor sculpture for a rather sensational entrance. An occasional brush or vacuum would keep a welcome mat such as this clean.
Don’t just stick to squares and right angles. This inventive homeowner has cut fantastic Big Foot shapes and embellished with some great Fred Flintstone outdoor sculpture for a rather sensational entrance. An occasional brush or vacuum would keep a welcome mat such as this clean.
A delightful lolly-pink watch poodle, complete with hand grenade tail, guards this entrance from his (or her?) synthetic grass carpet. Fake poodle, fake grass – I love it!
Go up the wall
If you prefer to keep off the grass, put it up the wall. Why not tip a little nod to nature when you live high above it? A small hot tub surrounded by walls of lawn, complete with flowers, makes a rooftop sanctuary for a sky-high soak.
If you prefer to keep off the grass, put it up the wall. Why not tip a little nod to nature when you live high above it? A small hot tub surrounded by walls of lawn, complete with flowers, makes a rooftop sanctuary for a sky-high soak.
Vertical gardens are on the up and up, as are wallpapers with faux patterns and textures. We can trick the eye with digitally-printed forests, sun-faded timber, realistic concrete, rusty iron, fabric and exposed brick. In this very contemporary home, it’s the improbability of an interior grass wall that makes panels of synthetic turf a similar visual decorative gag.
Be a garden artist
Get artistic with some swoops and curls to enhance a small outdoor area – without the watering and mowing. Runoff is actually less than on hard paving and will be absorbed into the soil.
TIP: Don’t lay synthetic turf right up to the base of trees as they will be hard to fertilise and may cause heat build up. Allow at least a metre clearance to allow soil to maintain ventilation and runoff.
Get artistic with some swoops and curls to enhance a small outdoor area – without the watering and mowing. Runoff is actually less than on hard paving and will be absorbed into the soil.
TIP: Don’t lay synthetic turf right up to the base of trees as they will be hard to fertilise and may cause heat build up. Allow at least a metre clearance to allow soil to maintain ventilation and runoff.
Defining a geometric grid with real grass is pretty hard to maintain and almost impossible to mow unless you fancy hands-and-knees and a pair of nail scissors. Narrow strips of synthetic turf make a modern Mondrian-inspired impact in a white-paved courtyard. In small areas, sections can be easily hosed or brushed, and replaced if necessary.
Bring your garden artistry indoors with an improbable and feel-good carpet of green, to give you that back-to-nature spirit, without the lawn-clipping – and the insects.
Get funky on top of the world
Check out this eccentric urban playground overlooking the city lights of Dallas. From the crazy horse lamp and amoeba-like table to the synthetic grass carpet, it’s a case of go kitsch or go home.
Check out this eccentric urban playground overlooking the city lights of Dallas. From the crazy horse lamp and amoeba-like table to the synthetic grass carpet, it’s a case of go kitsch or go home.
And now for something completely different … this happy homeowner can lord it over his neighbours with his very own pretend park, right in the middle of suburbia. A synthetically-turfed roof deck floor acts as a sound barrier to the rooms below.
See more of this eco-friendly home
See more of this eco-friendly home
Just kid around
The bane of barefoot Aussie kids, the bindii won’t trouble playtime with synthetic grass. Synthetic turf is widely used in commercial child-minding facilities and public parks with swings, roundabouts and climbing structures. Australian Standards has a complex safety formula for public playground applications. Backyard play areas are not usually such high-traffic areas, but if yours takes a pounding from active kids, consult a professional if you have concerns.
In response to a question about the hygiene of synthetic turf on play areas, Henshaw says: “Polyethylene fibres repel dust, and don’t encourage bacterial growth. All play surfaces, including natural grass, have bacteria – we can’t live in a bubble. Sweep or vacuum the surface regularly.”
The bane of barefoot Aussie kids, the bindii won’t trouble playtime with synthetic grass. Synthetic turf is widely used in commercial child-minding facilities and public parks with swings, roundabouts and climbing structures. Australian Standards has a complex safety formula for public playground applications. Backyard play areas are not usually such high-traffic areas, but if yours takes a pounding from active kids, consult a professional if you have concerns.
In response to a question about the hygiene of synthetic turf on play areas, Henshaw says: “Polyethylene fibres repel dust, and don’t encourage bacterial growth. All play surfaces, including natural grass, have bacteria – we can’t live in a bubble. Sweep or vacuum the surface regularly.”
This out-of-the-ordinary playroom has an out-of-the-ordinary wall feature: super-wide skirtings of synthetic turf, perfect for protecting painted walls at bike and ball height. It also sports a turf wall and I believe some turf has even hit the ceiling.
More creative playrooms
More creative playrooms
For indoor play areas, synthetic turf is an alternative option to floorboards, tiles, rugs or carpets. It is no harder to vacuum than carpet, repels dust and won’t stain from food and drink spills. The new generation of soft fibre turfs is comfortable on baby feet, too.
Roll with it
Anyone for pétanque – or boules, bocce or carpet bowls? They differ slightly, but the aim is the same: eliminate your opponent with some dead-eye ball rolling. Of course, ancient gnarly Gauloises-smoking Frenchmen in dusty town squares wouldn’t be seen mort playing on synthetic grass. For them, the rougher and stonier the ground, the greater the challenge. A court 12 x 3 metres would suffice for backyard bowling. It can be professionally laid on a bedding of compacted crusher dust and graded to assist runoff. No raking, or mud and puddles if it rains, and you can make your own rules!
Anyone for pétanque – or boules, bocce or carpet bowls? They differ slightly, but the aim is the same: eliminate your opponent with some dead-eye ball rolling. Of course, ancient gnarly Gauloises-smoking Frenchmen in dusty town squares wouldn’t be seen mort playing on synthetic grass. For them, the rougher and stonier the ground, the greater the challenge. A court 12 x 3 metres would suffice for backyard bowling. It can be professionally laid on a bedding of compacted crusher dust and graded to assist runoff. No raking, or mud and puddles if it rains, and you can make your own rules!
Attention, golf tragics! Perfect your putting before you hit the course. Synthetic sports turf suppliers can make a simulated putting green to your specifications, complete with secondary cut fringes and some challenging borrows (golfing term for undulations). A short, dense, closely-woven pile is used to create an effect that’s as close to the real thing as any golfer would want.
Where a soft landing is essential and natural grass would be totally impractical, bring on the synthetic turf! A small area of well-padded turf under or around trampoline equipment would minimise damage from falls and over-ambitious leaping feats.
A synthetic turf court specific to sports applications needs to be professionally laid for complete safety. A natural grass court would not last long with high usage. Contact a pro if a court like this is a high-use recreational area at your place.
Get in the swim
Lawns around pools often suffer from pool chemical overflow, and paving can be hard and sometimes hot – not the nicest way to flop down after a swim. Modern turfs are chlorine- and salt-resistant, non-slip and are way safer than paving to minimise impact if wet feet lose grip.
Lawns around pools often suffer from pool chemical overflow, and paving can be hard and sometimes hot – not the nicest way to flop down after a swim. Modern turfs are chlorine- and salt-resistant, non-slip and are way safer than paving to minimise impact if wet feet lose grip.
In the doghouse
Synthetic turf has solved many a dirty dog problem. Muddy feet are a thing of the past when you carpet your pet’s play space with durable turf. Spot or Rover will enjoy feeling the ‘grass’ under their paws, even miles from the park. Doggy doings can be cleaned up and stained sections replaced. The downside is that they can’t bury a bone!
TELL US
We’d love to hear your views on synthetic turf – do you have some of your own? Let us know in the Comments.
Synthetic turf has solved many a dirty dog problem. Muddy feet are a thing of the past when you carpet your pet’s play space with durable turf. Spot or Rover will enjoy feeling the ‘grass’ under their paws, even miles from the park. Doggy doings can be cleaned up and stained sections replaced. The downside is that they can’t bury a bone!
TELL US
We’d love to hear your views on synthetic turf – do you have some of your own? Let us know in the Comments.
Is it environmentally-friendly?
“Third generation synthetic turf has come a long way. It no longer contains heavy metals and toxins, and doesn’t require rubber infill. Water usage is cut dramatically – an important consideration in our dry Australian climate. Chemical fertiliser, pesticide and lawnmower emissions are avoided completely. There is also some work being done on using recycled PET water bottles – this may take off in the future.”
Does it break down in landfills?
“Eventually, yes. But it is a very durable product, with a 15-20 year lifespan with average usage, so you won’t be taking it to landfill every couple of years. Old lawnmowers and fertiliser containers end up in landfills, too.”
This sleeping dog doesn’t seem to care, either way!