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An
Artificial Lawn - does it work in a dogs' play area?
This
photo was taken on the 29th January, at the end of a wet week.
It shows our side garden, which is the play area for 5 very
lively dogs, 3 Border collies, a collie cross and an exuberant
greyhound. All of them number amongst their hobbies, chasing
round the garden after each other or a ball, and digging, but
just look at the lawn - immaculate.
The secret?
Its
an artificial lawn, similar to Astroturf, and specially made
for hard wearing areas like tennis courts, football fields and
where animals and children play. Its wonderful!
It dries out immediately, is anti- slip and none of the dogs
has attempted to chew it or dig it up. Their balls roll freely
on it, which means they can entertain themselves rolling them
round the garden, and they love to lie on it even when its chilly
outside.
The kitchen floor stays clean, as there's no mud out there and
not only is it pleasant to look at, but it never needs cutting.
So - are there any drawbacks to this garden miracle?
We have found that weeds can seed themselves round the edge.
They are not growing through from below, and are very easy to
lift out, and are not a problem. Moss also has invaded round
the edges, and as soon as its warmer I will be applying an organic
mosskiller. As the grass is a form of plastic, it is possible
to scrub gently, and I am hoping this will remove any dead moss
and algae.
People always ask - what would happen if the dogs fouled it?
They do, all the time. Our dogs are not allowed to use the village
streets to foul, or even pee. They are expected to use our garden
instead . When they are taken out it is to exercise and entertain
them [ and us]. The artificial lawn is very easy to clean up,
its slightly stiffer than grass, so solids can be lifted cleanly.
Its porous, and laid on a thick bed of sand over prepared soil,
so drainage is excellent, and we hose it down in dry weather.
Unlike natural grass, it can be disinfected regularly with a
variety of disinfectants [not bleach!], and a solution of biological
washing liquid watered on will kill any smells at source. I
do find that the concrete surround is starting to grow algae
in patches, but I think the solution there will be to paint
on a solution of yoghourt and water, to encourage it to grow
evenly.
We had it laid by a landscape gardener, he dug out the remains
of the old lawn, flattened it as if to lay turf, and then put
down a sand bed. The artificial turf was a roll end from the
manufacturer, and was rolled out like a carpet, then flags laid
over the edge on the path side, and the other edges concealed
under concrete. The concrete was taken right up to the chain
link fencing to prevent digging. The contractor was careful
to lay the flags so that they were at the same level as the
lawn. It took 4 men three and a half days to do the work, and
the total cost including the roll of artificial turf was several
hundred pounds less than the cost of flagging the area, which
was the only realistic alternative. Attempting to reseed or
turf would have been a waste of time and money, as even if we
had succeeded in establishing a new lawn, 5 determined diggers
and racers would soon have reduced it to the same sorry state
that the previous lawn was in.
Would we use it again - definitely, the best money we've spent
in a long time.
Robbie Beechey
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