Is real grass worth the effort?

Is real grass worth the effort?

A new study has found that we Brits spend two months of our lives mowing the lawn – that’s a lot of time with the lawnmower! Combining the front and back garden, this may not come as a surprise for many since it always seems to take all day to finish the job!

Cutting the grass with a mower is only the start of it; trimming around the fence and shed is an ordeal of its own, dragging out an already arduous job much longer than we’d like. I don’t think this is what the Government was hoping for when it asked us to start being green!

The survey found that the average gardener will treat their lawns 2.4 times per month, and spend around 60 minutes performing the task. This roughly translates to two and a half hours every month we’d love to spend actually relaxing in the garden!

The time alone is not the only factor which makes this job so troublesome. Back and joint pain is common for even the healthiest of people, while those with joint problems can find mowing the lawn to be too painful to contemplate.

Worth the results?

But is this pain really worth the results at the end of the day? We hope to see our garden as a vivid land of bliss, with soft blades soothing our feet and a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy with the family.

However, here in Britain, the weather is so interchangeable that it’s almost impossible to achieve a perfect result without professional help. In summer, lawns transform into dry, yellow masses of dead grass, which can irritate those susceptible to hay fever as well as offend the eyes!

Sure, we get a decent amount of rain all year round which, for a day or two, can make our gardens flourish. However, you can always get too much of a good thing, and often the downpours will leave our gardens overgrown or patchy, meaning you have to repeat the back breaking job on an almost daily basis to keep it looking clean.

Not to mention what can happen to the grass once the kids are let loose in it – my eldest is constantly pulling up the blades, leaving patches across the lawn and muddy hands and feet running around my house!

What’s the alternative?

Is there any chance of escaping this routine? If you’re willing to explore the alternative, there are options out there meaning you can keep your green lawn and reduce the effort dramatically. Paula Rodham from Hi-Tech Turf commented upon the survey, saying:

“Some people love to mow the lawn and that will never change, but for those who hate the task an artificial lawn is a great solution. With the unpredictable seasons we now have, artificial grass takes away the chore of having to mow, feed and nurture the lawn whilst also having to second-guess the weather.

“The result is an attractive, lush lawn all year round.”