Artika | ?m | 6s | Cove Properties | Brian Allsopp

[archited]

That pseudo-grass is expensive, so I imagine it is there to stay -- advantages: no dandylions, no need to mow, doesn't need watering, and stays green longer throughout the year (although it would be interesting to know how it fares through a sequence of several winters).

 

[Tropical]

This turned out better than I had expected. That said, the fake lawn is nasty and I wish we had policies to prevent it beside sidewalks.

 

[ChazYEG]

That pseudo-grass is expensive, so I imagine it is there to stay -- advantages: no dandylions, no need to mow, doesn't need watering, and stays green longer throughout the year (although it would be interesting to know how it fares through a sequence of several winters).

It does handle winter fairly well, if it is high quality. The Commonwealth Stadium uses synthetic grass, as do all major football and soccer venues in the US and Canada, and it usually withstands quite a few years before replacement. Considering that most of them are a lot more stepped on than anything you'd see there, it should last long.

This turned out better than I had expected. That said, the fake lawn is nasty and I wish we had policies to prevent it beside sidewalks.

I don't have anything against it, as long as it's well executed and I'd rather have that than some poorly maintained "real" lawns we have around here.

 

[northlands]

What is there like 100 sqft total of grass space? The fake grass is fine, better than unkept browned out crab grass

I also think it'll be a lot less offensive once the trees grow and bloom

 

[archited]

I don't see why exterior grass-like carpet would be any more offensive than interior floral pattern carpet.

 

[TAS]

The planter boxes are a nice touch and a good amount of trees planted out front.

 

[jason403]

I really like the fake grass, especially in areas where foot traffic and dogs peeing make it impossible to keep a nice lawn.

 

[TimETown]

Interesting to read people's comments on the fake grass. I didn't know it was expensive.

A good time to quote Dolly Parton: "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap."

 

[thommyjo]

I'm a big fan of fake grass in these applications. Often the grass around buildings in edmonton is brown, killed by dog pee, or poorly kept due to minimal amount of it on development edges. This ensures a clean look year round. Grass is known for being horribly wasteful for water use and we would be a lot better off to have less grass used in our cities tbh. (Although it does help absorb rainwater and reduce flooding).

 

[roe_]

I'm a big fan of fake grass in these applications. Often the grass around buildings in edmonton is brown, killed by dog pee, or poorly kept due to minimal amount of it on development edges. This ensures a clean look year round. Grass is known for being horribly wasteful for water use and we would be a lot better off to have less grass used in our cities tbh. (Although it does help absorb rainwater and reduce flooding).

If they don't want to do the maintenance to have grass then the solution should be alternate landscaping. Synthetic looks cheap and gets dirty with debris that doesn't breakdown. Artificial grass is akin to planting a fake bed of flowers that are vibrant in February because tending actual plants is too much work. Just pick something else!

 

[CplKlinger]

If they don't want to do the maintenance to have grass then the solution should be alternate landscaping. Synthetic looks cheap and gets dirty with debris that doesn't breakdown. Artificial grass is akin to planting a fake bed of flowers that are vibrant in February because tending actual plants is too much work. Just pick something else!

Fake grass can look decent, but I agree that alternate landscaping is much better. The loss of native plants in urban areas hurts insects and other animals quite a bit; there's a reason native bee species are suffering right now. Alternate landscaping can not only look good with little maintenance needed in return, but it can also be a much needed boon for animals and insects.

 

[ChazYEG]

If they don't want to do the maintenance to have grass then the solution should be alternate landscaping. Synthetic looks cheap and gets dirty with debris that doesn't breakdown. Artificial grass is akin to planting a fake bed of flowers that are vibrant in February because tending actual plants is too much work. Just pick something else!

Not all synthetic grass is born equal and/or looks cheap. I think there's a misconception and prejudice that isn't fair. While I love the feel and look of real grass, a well executed and high quality synthetic has a lot of advantages as @thommyjo said, the grass monoculture drains a whole lot of water and power to be well kept and maintained.

 

[David A]

I think fake grass may be ok for certain small or odd spaces where other things don't work well, but it does need some maintenance too. In particular, once the snow is gone, it needs to be well cleaned and regularly. Also things can move/slump and need to be redone. If you don't do that it looks really bad.

 

[Tropical]

Fake grass can look decent, but I agree that alternate landscaping is much better. The loss of native plants in urban areas hurts insects and other animals quite a bit; there's a reason native bee species are suffering right now. Alternate landscaping can not only look good with little maintenance needed in return, but it can also be a much needed boon for animals and insects.

Agreed on all counts. I'm consistently surprised that clover isn't our go-to landscaping in these parts.

 

[archited]

There are probably a hundred or more natural ground cover solutions.