When The Grass Is Always Greener

Newcastle Herald

Thursday June 2, 2005

ALYSSON WATSON

ALYSSON

WATSON

looks

at the

benefits of

synthetic

grass in a

suburban

backyard.

LAWNS are lovely things, except when they

die off and turn brown in winter, guzzle precious

water and grow too quickly in summer, and sprout

weeds in-between.

John and Jude Hersee tried for years to grow lawn in

the shady backyard of their home before finally giving

up and going synthetic.

But the product they chose, a synthetic lawn system

designed by Pro-tech, is not like the fake grass of old.

It?s as close to the real thing as you?re likely to see.

It looks real, and feels wonderful underfoot.

It is based on a European concept, using the

process of fibrillation to split the fibres.

John said he opted for the synthetic grass

because his backyard had palm trees which

created shade.

He saw the product advertised in a magazine

and thought he?d give it a go.

?Unlike my natural grass, the synthetic

lawn always looks perfect without me

having to do any maintenance,? John,

a painting contractor, said.

?I get a lot of clients, builders and

architects come in and they think that

the grass looks real,? he said.

The Hersees installed the grass in a

play area under their daughter?s cubbyhouse,

and also on an adjacent miniputting

green which, John says, plays as

true as a championship green.

Of course, no watering, mowing or edging is

required ? the only maintenance John does is to

blow away autumn leaves.

Jude said the cost was comparable too, especially

considering the number of times they had laid turf

and the cost spent on watering and maintenance.

THE COST OF GOING

GREEN

A spokesman for Pro-tech said the cost of installing

artificial grass depended on a number of variables

such as access, size of lawn and whether it was level

or steep, but the price would probably fall between

$80 and $100 per square metre.

spilled to facing page

HOME OWNERS LOVE IT,

NEIGHBOURS ARE UNSURE

THE use of ?fake grass? has been spreading in the

USA, and there has been plenty of reaction for and

against.

In Roswell, Georgia, Christel Schmidt

wanted a lush green lawn without

all the mowing, weeding,

fertilizing and seeding.

To the horror of her

neighbors, Schmidt

found her answer in

a roll of faux grass.

?We watched

them roll out this

fake grass,? said

neighbor Susan

Kea, a few houses

down.

?Everyone was

out in their

front yards looking

at it and shaking

their heads.?

Schmidt?s new

$US10,000 lawn was

installed by SYNlawn.

?My grass always looked

very bad, even though I

spent a lot of money on it,?

said Schmidt. ?I had a lawn company,

a gardener, but it still was full of

brown spots and looked awful.?

As the plastic lawns take root in more communities,

strong reactions typically follow.

Dan Van Hout, president of the home-owner?s

association where Schmidt lives, said neighbours

were ?up in arms? when they heard of Schmidt?s

plans.

?We never considered putting in a clause banning

artificial lawns,? said Van Hout. ?We?d never even

heard of it before.?

Several national US companies, as well as a

number of regional businesses, sell and install

artificial turf, but the residential community is a

new arena, thanks to more realistic variations.

Residential sales took off in the southwest, where

water is harder to come by.

The reception hasn?t always been welcoming. In

Nevada, some home-owner associations banned the

fake grass as tacky. Marco Island, Florida., banned it

for environmental reasons. Officials were afraid tiny

rubber pellets used as infill would run off into local

waterways.

Grady Miller, associate professor of turf grass

science at the University of Florida in Gainesville,

points out that plastic grasses don?t filter rainwater,

produce oxygen or help cool the air like real

grasses. He also questions how well fake grass can

handle heavy runoff during downpours. Lastly,

how does one dispose of fake sod?

To help with runoff, SYNlawn adds six centimetres

or so of compacted sand below the turf.

Another company uses a more elaborate system,

installing a piped drainage system.

Fake lawns past their prime end up in landfills,

and newer lines of grasses are made of materials

that are easier to recycle.

SYNlawn officials say pseudo sod has advantages:

It helps conserve water, doesn?t require pesticides

or fertilizer which can pollute groundwater, and is

better for people with grass allergies.

Not that the fake grasses are a threat to

traditional green grass yards ? yet.

But many struggle with growing the green.

Clay soils are difficult. High temperatures can

stress grass. High humidity leads to diseases. Add

shade or heavy traffic, and chances of having a lush

lawn are slim.

That?s why some have turned to plastic grass as an

alternative. The Lovett School installed fake turf on

a children?s playground last year.

?We chose it because of its resiliency and long

life,? said David Meriwether, business manager for

the school. ?It was the perfect answer for our needs

in a high-traffic, high-use area.?

Atlanta homeowners Mark and Nancy Rafuse put

SYNlawn in their shaded back yard after two failed

efforts with sod.

?I wanted a place for the kids to play, and this

fit the bill,? said Mark Rafuse. ?I wouldn?t replace

grass with it, but where you can?t grow grass, it?s

great. And from a look and use standpoint, I

couldn?t be happier.?

Even home-owner president Van Hout said now

that it?s spring, Schmidt?s lawn doesn?t look that

bad.

?It looks OK in the summer, but in the winter it

was still bright green. Everyone else?s yards were

brown, and she looked like she had a golf course,?

he said.

© 2005 Newcastle Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home