What is the best, most cost-effective synthetic grass to install in my backyard?

Question

I'm sick of all the lawn maintenance headaches!!

Answer 1

Grass is very beneficial to the environment!!!! I know it is a pain in the butt to take care of, but there are options!

1. You could hire a lawn care company to take care of it for you if it is that much of a headache! May be worth the cost!

2. When you reference 'synthetic turf', are you referring to astro-turf? That is even worse and potentially even more expensive than real turf!! It is not porous so it will allow water to collect on top of it, which can cause other problems. It will not allow anything to decompose on top of it (so dog poop Willl be there until you clean it up). It is hot, very hot. And I am sure very expensive to replace if it needed it!

3. I like the idea of putting down mulch, or stones if you absolutely do not want grass. It is low maintenance, but does have disadvantages. You may need to reapply mulch or stones every year (mulch) or so. Stones hurt when you fall on them. Weeds will grow up through it, even with weed fabric, so you would have to apply roundup or something to kill the weeds. (Weeds wil be a problem no matter what!)

Those are some suggestions. Also, check this out too (cl, you too!)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP079

Answer 2

Not to mention how bad lawns are for the environment (water, fuel used to cut, etc...) All of the synthetic grasses I've seen get REALLY hot in the sun, so they would be fine if you didn't plan on running around barefoot. I would also suggest looking into grasses native to your region. There's not a lot of maintenance on them, and it's definitely the "landscape fashion" nowadays to use natives.

This is the best link I could find now (at work)...it's a start:
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/garden/article/0,20633,783782,00.html

Answer 3

A couple of big dogs in the yard will take care of that problem.
You could cover it with concrete and paint it green.
There are a lot of ground covering foliage you could plant that will take care of itself. Extend borders around trees and shrubs and plant more trees and shrubs with extended borders (with mulch of course). You could end up with stone walkways and just spray grass killer on it from time to time.
I don't like grass, it's boring to look at, so I wouldn't recommend any kind of grass.
Maybe someone who installs astro turf will answer your question.

Answer 4

It's expensive, try putting down lawnscape fabric (to prevent growth) Then just cover with Mulch and rocks and such. A rock garden! Or you could do the lawnscape fabric, and get a moss to cover. (If it is shady) good luck!

Answer 5

I would ask the Brady Bunch