Petscaping: Artificial Turf
Do you, like me, have a dog, or dogs, and a section of your backyard that stays a muddy mess? I’m beginning to consider drastic measures to improve my landscape to include artificial turf.
Normally, I am one of those people that almost breaks out in a rash at the mere idea of fake anything, but I’m beginning to come around on artificial turf. Here’s why: I have a large dog. My backyard stays wet for days after rain. I don’t want to mow; I’d rather spend my limited time on more enjoyable activities. Finally, I have a city lot, so my backyard isn’t large and it seems like a waste to hire out.
I’ve considered other solutions like mulch, a stone patio, and pea gravel, and I am not discounting them, but they can’t be the whole solution. The problem is I still want some amount of grass. However, the more I plan my backyard to minimize muddy paws coming in my house and maximize the general aesthetic, there are only small sectors of grass. These sections wouldn’t be much bigger than a large room and would be interrupted by walkways and surrounded by planted garden beds.
With that in mind, I’ve been searching for hardier varieties that can stand pet traffic and urine. I’ve also been looking for varieties that do well in the shade and in full sun. My side yard is pretty wide, but it is shaded by trees in the morning and the house in the afternoon. Then there’s a section of my backyard that gets so much sun in the summer it grows twice as fast as everything else. The more I search, the more I stumble on the idea of synthetic grass. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is now manufactured to closely resemble actual grass varieties like rye, zoysia, a centipede.
Just this afternoon I watched my dog put more divots in the lawn as she runs from one end to the other because she hears a FedEx truck, and a permanent xeriscape solution became instantly more attractive. When I daydream about my Spring and Summer plans, which do not include yard work, a low maintenance landscaping like an artificial lawn is more and more appealing. On top of that, my yard furniture won’t rust or rot because this grass doesn’t stay damp like natural grass. Also, I won’t have to move it around for mowing nor will it kill spots of grass because it can’t get light.
Now that my lawn is waking up after winter, I am noticing a little army of weeds. I don’t feel like pulling them up, and I really rather not use herbicides that could hurt my dog and will end up in the Chesapeake Bay. Furthermore, my sinuses might even thank me because there will be a little less grass pollen attacking them. Plus, I also don’t have to worry about cleaning out grass stains from my child’s clothes.
I’m kind of liking the idea that artificial turf can be treated like an outdoor rug in that is vacuumed, broom cleaned, or hosed down. I can easily scoop up after my pet, and I won’t have to worry about yellow patches because she frequents only a couple spots. And unlike a natural lawn, ticks and fleas steer clear of artificial ones. But ultimately, I am near ecstatic at the thought of no more mud getting tracked into the house. The positives are beginning to stack up and overwhelm my aversion to fake.