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28 STYLE | gardening<br />
THE LEISURE LAWN<br />
If you’d rather spend your time with a latte and not on the end of a lawnmower,<br />
let us introduce you to the wonders of fake lawn.<br />
Words Sue Witteman<br />
Back in the day, plastic grass was a bit of a joke – it<br />
looked so bad that it could not be taken seriously.<br />
But now, premium grass at the dearer end of the scale<br />
looks and feels like real grass.<br />
Made of hard-wearing polypropylene and<br />
polyethylene, not only can you get it in different<br />
shades of green, but it can come with built-in thatch<br />
(that stuff we try to get rid of in our real lawns!). If<br />
you look closely, you can see brown blades of grass<br />
amongst the green, which adds a realistic touch.<br />
WHY CHOOSE AN ARTIFICIAL LAWN?<br />
Maintenance is probably top of the list of reasons.<br />
This type of lawn is (mostly) maintenance-free (no<br />
watering) and this may be desirable if you have limited<br />
leisure time and don’t want to spend it mowing.<br />
Depending on your climate and the wear and tear,<br />
an artificial lawn will look good all year round whereas<br />
a real grass lawn can be an eyesore for large parts of<br />
the year. You can walk on it when wet with no mud<br />
being trekked inside and those with allergies can finally<br />
enjoy lawn-time. It is great around a swimming pool to<br />
prevent bare feet landing on bees.<br />
It is easy to install, so soon you will be having a<br />
lawn experience with time leftover to go and have<br />
that latte.<br />
DRAWBACKS TO AN ARTIFICIAL LAWN?<br />
Nothing is perfect. It can still get weeds (blown in or<br />
dropped by birds) and moss, though nowhere near<br />
as much as on a real lawn. You can weed by hand or<br />
spray, or use a stiff broom to dislodge the moss.<br />
After three or so years, your lawn may be looking<br />
a bit uneven with humps and hollows and the seams<br />
may be pulling apart – this will be the sand moving<br />
underneath it. Time to lift it, rake it flat and consolidate<br />
the sand again.<br />
In the summer months, the grass can get hot. If this<br />
happens, particularly if kids are playing on it, then you<br />
can hose it with water to cool it down. Note that you<br />
shouldn’t get grass burn with the newer grasses.<br />
Because artificial grass is not a living thing and<br />
therefore acts more like paving, you may need a<br />
resource consent if it takes up a certain percentage of<br />
your section or covers a big area.
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