California's synthetic grass leader
Installers say artificial lawns, like this one outside a residence in
Victoria, B.C., can be an economical choice.
In a land that's always been gaga for gardens, frankly fake grass is
making inroads
London–For the English, gardening is more than just a weekend pastime
or a chance to get some fresh air. In some quarters, gardening ranks
higher than soccer players or Royal Family shenanigans when it comes
to national obsessions.
The Chelsea Flower Show, held in one of London's toniest
neighbourhoods each May, draws royalty, rock stars and the nation's
leading fashion and literary figures.
The BBC provides four straight days of wall-to-wall live coverage of
Chelsea, not out of a sense of service from a public broadcaster, but
because the prime-time ratings are there to justify the attention.
Britons are tuned in and turned on to their gardens like few others.
How then, to explain the sudden surge in demand for fake grass?
At the esteemed Royal Horticultural Society, which runs Chelsea along
with other major gardening shows, there are neither gasps of shock nor
sharp intakes of breath at the notion of fake grass.
Helen Bostock, a horticultural adviser who answers queries from the
society's thousands of members, says the horticultural society has
recently used artificial grass in one of its demonstration gardens at
Wisley Gardens in Surrey.
"We don't get that many inquiries about it, but I do think that is
because people somehow feel guilty for even thinking about it,"
Bostock says of the trend.
"It's as though they feel we'll think they are cheating."
But, she notes, the horticultural society's information leaflets
include details of four suppliers and she sees demand growing for a
variety of reasons.
"People have second homes more now, which means they have two gardens
to maintain."
She also points to the aging population as a market for fake grass.
"The maintenance aspect of a grass lawn is high and it is difficult
for people as they get older. An unkempt lawn can make older people on
their own more vulnerable."
Barry Evans agrees. His London company, Easigrass, has just installed
an artificial lawn at the home of an 87-year-old woman who was
struggling to keep up the maintenance.
"Her daughter lives in France and they thought this would be the best
solution," Evans says. The past year or so has seen demand for his
products soar, he says.
In his largely residential corner of southwest London, he deals with
hundreds of inquiries a week.
"I had one client install it about a month ago and now I've got four
other jobs from friends of her who came round and saw it," he says.
Evans and Bostock agree that the key reason is the better quality of
the fake grass that has recently become available.
In the demonstration at Wisley Gardens, Bostock says, "Most people
walked right by. They did not spot what was different about it. It is
very convincing."
The new generation of fake grasses includes different shades for
different climates and strands of brown grass to give it an air of
authenticity, Evans says.
His supplier also provides an underlay made of recycled tires.
Most people turn to artificial grass because they have children or
dogs and find it difficult to keep a tidy lawn, he says.
"People just get tired of a boggy mess every spring that you cannot
use," he says. "It's about reclaiming your garden as a room."
His clients are not limited to families short on time to mow on
weekends; his company just installed a fake lawn in a $12 million
house on Belgrave Square, one of London's most desirable addresses.
The newer fake lawns have improved drainage and do not stain, Evans
says. His grass comes with an eight-year guarantee, but most
artificial lawns will last 15 to 20 years.
"I don't know of too many gardeners who give an eight-year guarantee
on their work," he says.
A city-sized garden that is about 25 metres deep would cost about
$2,500 to have fake grass professionally installed, Evans says.
With gardeners charging $20 to $30 an hour just to mow a lawn in
London, he says a maintenance-free fake lawn looks increasingly
attractive to homeowners.
Award-winning landscape designer Tony Smith's company, Hortus
infinitus, uses artificial grass in its work on school playgrounds.
"We do a proper garden design and incorporate the things that kids
need, including grass to play on that is soft underfoot," he says. The
frequent wet weather turns real grass into a muddy mess when kids play
on it for hours, he notes, whereas fake grass drains well.
Smith says such is the appeal of the new artificial lawns on the
market that he knows of several colleagues in the competitive world of
garden design who have opted for it in their own backyards.
"I, personally, would much rather have proper grass because it is a
natural habitat for insects and animals," he says. In some situations,
he notes, fake grass is a sound choice, especially if it is replacing
paving stones or concrete.
On the question of whether it is a good idea to use a plastic product
to replace an organic one, Nick Heywood of Greenlinks, another fake
grass supplier, says his product offers at least two environmental
benefits:
"You're not putting petrol in your mower or using electricity, and you
are not watering it, so you are saving on water."
Heywood did mention that year-round green grass that is the norm in
Britain might stand out a bit should the trend hit big in Canada,
where most grass goes dormant over the winter.
Even so, Rob Hodichak, of Artificial Grass and Landscaping in Stoney
Creek, says his residential business took off three years ago because
of demand.
"Every time I installed a sports ground I'd have people involved in
the project asking me to install it in their backyard. Before too
long, the light bulb went on and we set up this residential division,"
he says.
The company now gets 10 to 15 calls a day and Hodichak says they sell
an artificial lawn a week at a cost of $3,000 to $15,000.
The product has a two-tone colour, he says, which means it does not
stand out too much from neighbouring lawns, and the cost is comparable
to interlocking brick and cheaper than installing a deck.
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