The real grass vs synthetic turf debate pretty much comes down to personal preference at the end of the day.
Our Experience with Laying Real Grass Ourselves
We have laid our own real grass as broke property owners when we were much younger. It was our first home and the lawn was trashed when we bought it. We hired a compactor and we had it all delivered, we spent a good 3 days laying the lawn! We then rented the property out not long after to live with the parents whilst we built our new home. Our beautiful lawn got trashed, several times, but with some TLC, it is still alive!
Once we moved into our newly built home we lived with sand for many years. We prioritized travelling over finishing our yard, but also what we wanted to do was going to be very costly. We planned to put in exposed aggregate and synthetic turf. It was expensive, and it was something we needed to save for.
Our Experience with Synthetic Turf
Fast forward a few years, we paid a pretty sum for our ‘concrete jungle’ landscaping. It looks absolutely amazing. It was low maintenance. Though we were so good at growing weeds that we managed to grow them IN our fake lawn!
Whilst it looked great, and we had next to no maintenance on the synthetic lawn, it also had it’s flaws. It got ridiculously hot in the sun, which isn’t ideal when you have young children. The hose would come out to ‘water’ our fake grass so we could cool it down. This was a downfall and probably not very waterwise… just so the kids could play outdoors in summer.
We had a couple of dogs over the time we lived with synthetic turf. It would hold smells from our dog’s urine and we would often need to ‘clean’ the grass where his poop had left poop on the grass blades. Thankfully we found that a washing powder with enzymes sprinkled on the grass & hosed in did wonders for the smell! But it was a regular maintenance job we needed to do.
We installed a good quality synthetic turf, so has had quite a good lifespan already. It doesn’t look like it will need replacing any time soon, thankfully! Be wary of buying lower quality synthetic turf. Many brands don’t age well and need replacing quicker than the better quality turf.
And back to natural grass again…
We purchased our home out in Carabooda a few years ago now. The biggest drawcard for us was the beautiful outdoor area, with a large grass area for the girls to play. It has a cubby house with a swing set, a bonfire pit and plenty of trees to shade. We have even installed a ninja line between two trees, over the grass, that they can climb on.
Over the years we have had many cricket games, sumo bounce matches, chasey and general fun enjoying the grass area. We didn’t realise how much we missed having real grass until we had it again… even with all the maintenance. Dave now mows the lawn with a ride-on mower. It takes a good day to do all the grass maintenance, but it looks amazing!
Here are some facts about Natural Grass vs Synthetic Turf;
- Natural Grass is much better for the environment. It improves the water quality for the water that makes its way back down into our groundwater. Grass acts as a natural filter, where synthetic grass causes run-off.
- Natural grass reduces soil erosion. It doesn’t need to be pegged down and won’t be at risk of flying away during a storm.
- Natural grass is good for mental health… I think it is something to do with the smell of grass and nature. (Rather than the synthetic smell that comes with fake turf).
- Natural grass reduces CO2 levels and generates it’s own oxygen – winning!!
- Real grass absorbs the heat, where synthetic turf can be up to 3 x hotter than natural grass. That is huge when we have several 35 degree + days in a row!
- Synthetic grass has a shelf life, and will always end up in land fill once it no longer looks or performs how it should do. Along with the cracker dust underneath and silica sand on top. We are in an age of trying to care for our environment. I’m not convinced synthetic turf is doing our environment any favours.
- Many people prefer real grass over synthetic turf, which means well cared for turf could add resale value to your property, or assist to getting the property sold quicker.
Maintenance of Natural Grass vs Synthetic Lawn;
- Natural Lawn will require maintenance with regular mowing, regular watering and regular ‘feeding’.
- Some lawns are hardier than others, some will need more love than others to keep them in tip top condition.
- If your lawn is getting hard traffic in one area, verti-mowing or coring may be required to give the roots access to grow and get water down properly.
Lawn care will differ for each type of lawn available. The best way to find your best lawn for your conditions is to chat to your friendly lawn farms/lawn retailers.
So, there is our comparison & experiences on natural grass vs synthetic turf. We hope you have found this helpful.
If you are looking to install natural turf, send us a quote request with your yard measurements and pics of the area, so we can give you an accurate quote.
