Finding the right balance between curb appeal and ease of maintenance is a constant struggle for many businesses.
When the climate is harsh and water budgets are tight, the balance becomes even narrower.
Factor in human behaviors like the tendency to walk across plantings and many businesses find grounds maintenance to be more trouble than it is worth.
Yet letting the landscaping be ground down to dead plants, rocks, and sand can result in loss of business or tenancy.
Green, grassy spaces are more welcoming and contribute to feelings of peace and plenty. Yet that very grass, that springs up everywhere almost unbidden in some climates, can become an almost impossible conundrum in areas with poor soils or sparse rainfall.
The solution, fortunately, is permanent, beautiful and maintenance free.
Artificial grass installation may have a higher initial cost than throwing some grass seed around, but once the work is done you will be left with a green, beautiful surface that will survive drought, dust, and even trampling with far less wear and tear than a real lawn.
Groundwork: How The Area Is Prepared For Artificial Grass
Setting your landscape up for the installation is an important and exacting step of the process.
Since rocks and compaction below the artificial turf can cause it to wear out faster, it’s advisable to have the area thoroughly raked. Next should be weed fabric, preventing existing weed seeds and roots from sprouting and coming up through the turf.
Then, a layer of fine gravel or decomposed stone is applied—properly leveled and tamped to ensure a flat, attractive installation.
With this groundwork in place, not only will your artificial lawn last much longer, but the fine gravel layer will help improve drainage beneath the porous layer of artificial turf.
This meets many local ordinances for permeable surfaces to help prevent flooding in downpours.
Installation: Making Artificial Lawns Look Real
Professional installers have precise and exacting methods of installing the artificial turf and securing it to the ground, ensuring that it will not curl at the edges, form wrinkles, or lose integrity at the anchor points.
After the artificial turf is secured in place, fine silica sand is used to fill in the spaces below and within the grass layer, helping to keep the texture consistent. The surface is then brushed, causing the silica to settle below the visible layer of the artificial grass.
This layer of silica sand is important to give the surface the support and the non-abrasive foundation it needs to last for many years.
Maintenance: The True Beauty of Artificial Turf
Once the artificial turf is in place, its real advantages quickly become clear.
Where living grass is subject to problems like disease, weeds and dehydration, the artificial grass will be easily kept in beautiful condition with occasional light maintenance.
When the turf begins to look dusty, a gentle brushing with a rake or broom is usually all that is needed.
If any edges begin to come up and show signs of being damaged, it’s simple to staple or nail them back to the ground below.
No weekly watering, no mowing and weed eating and edging, no pest control or weed treatments or fungicides. The turf is no harder to take care of than the carpet in the office—and does more to improve the appearance of the building and its environs.
Environmental Responsibility
The grass lawn is an ongoing topic of debate throughout many climates.
It is problematic for the ecosystem in many regards, from its damage to pollinators to its competition with native species to its water demands. And the runoff of chemicals used to keep it green can cause even more contamination and be harmful to many species of wildlife and plants.
Using artificial grass means that your lawn is even more environmentally friendly than an asphalt parking lot—since it has a more porous surface, leading to less runoff and allows the earth’s natural drainage to continue without interruption.
Install Artificial Grass in Your Commercial Landscape Today
If grounds maintenance is a thorn in your side and your facility’s operating costs are higher than you hoped, consider artificial grass in your landscaping.
It will be one less variable, one less regular expense—while always showing up with beauty and tidiness, year after year.
