While much has been written about drought tolerant lawn varieties, the truth is that without water they still turn brown - even the grass on the other side of the fence.

So one budding entrepreneur has taken it upon himself to rid the evil scourge of brown lawns by painting them. Yep...that's right...with paint! I can hear your comments already - "but that will kill my lawn?"

Nuh uh! In fact, if you've ever seen the Superbowl, an AFL game or a series of Cricket you'll have noticed that their turf always sports the motif of their major sponsor - painted on with paint.

John Iman, the founder of Always Green Grass Painting, took the procedure to new lengths by aesthetically rejuvenating dead lawns desperately in need of some cosmetic miracle. The paints used are environmentally friendly and although contain traces of ammonia, this quickly turns into nitrogen and fertilises the lawn.

While it certainly won't improve your lawn, apart from the aesthetic appeal, the procedure won't kill it either. The brown blades of grass are dead already and once the rains kick in the lawn will spring back to life and produce new green lawn through the paint.

I know most gardening purists would baulk at the idea but if you had to face 3 - 6 months of a dead brown lawn, would you be tempted to make your lawn the envy of the street? For me, if it came down to saving water or keeping my pride, I'd go with the former.

Link found via Weburbanist.com

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As lawn mowers get more and more bad press, properties shrink in size and keeping a lawn healthy seems to contradict every thought on environmental harmony, maybe it is possible to see artificial lawn in a new light.

When I was offered to review Artificial Grass Ltd, a UK site selling this product, my initial reaction was not a positive one. But I knew I owed it to readers of this blog to be more open in my views on what products and services are out there.

Now, don't get me wrong, you won't be seeing it at my place anytime soon. Certainly not while the Sir Walter soft-leaf is wooing the neighbours, anyway. But, I can concede that there are places that artificial lawn would be suitable and probably more so than natural grasses.

What if you suffer from chronic allergies? Many grasses are highly allergenic and can keep sufferers indoors for days, if not weeks. For the elderly, having a soft undertread and the visual aspect of lawn is now a possibility where they would have needed to hire a contractor in the past just to maintain it. And, then there are those postage stamp lawns which seem a waste in upkeep and could easily be replaced with some artificial grass.

So, while there will hopefully always be real lawn to manicure and dote over, there are more than a few applications where the 'real thing' is more nuisance than a help.

Artificial Grass Ltd. has a good range of lawns for different situations. If you want the putting green - it's possible. If you want something a little more 'family-friendly' it's also possible. And you're no longer stuck with the same dark green that we mocked at the shopping centre. Variegated colours and tones make the lawn almost appear real but with less hassle.

The site offers some great helps as well including some Guidelines for Measuring, a list of local installers (albeit in the UK), and some answers to frequently asked questions.

An artificial lawn won't suit every garden, but it might suit yours.

Sponsored post. Read my view on sponsored posts.

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While couch grass and buffalo's have led the way in lawn grasses for some time, there's a new generation grass that's touted as taking the lawn industry by storm. It's zoysia grass and you can read all about it here.

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Finally! The sigh of relief is huge. My reel mower has finally been fixed and road-tested on our lawns. How did I survive with out it?

It went into the repair shop just before Christmas and I was soon told that it would never work again - the engine was officially STUFFED! We were suddenly inundated with options and weren't sure what decision to make. We could spend a minimum $3-400 on buying a brand new rotary; we could buy a reconditioned reel mower starting at $800+ or we could invest in a brand new reel mower at a wallet sucking $1300. John, the mower repair man, also offered us another reel mower (in worse condition than ours but it still worked) for a mere $150.

Then, like a bolt of lighting from the heavenlies, an idea formed in my small and improminent mind. If it was just the engine that was no longer working perhaps we could replace that with a new engine? Very possible! The cost: $350.

We originally bought this mower from a listing in the local classifieds for $300 and it had given us at least one good season. So to add on another $350 would mean a reconditioned reel mower for $650 compared to the $800+ the shop were charging. Pretty good deal, huh?

Continue reading "My Reel Mower is back!!" »

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MY REEL MOWER IS FINALLY FIXED!!

If you had read my earlier lawn post appopriately titled Lawn Snobbery you would have already understood my misery of having to use other inferior products (namely rotary mowers) to keep the grass short.

Not that they did a good job! Or maybe it's just my bias away from rotary mowers. My lawn ended up being shredded rather than manicured and the tips torn to pieces by an uncompassionate machine that works back to front. Who invented these things?

It's okay though. All that's finally behind me. I'm off to the repair shop on Saturday morning to pick up my rejuvenated beauty. Oh, it's going to be bliss to mow again.

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The concept behind aerating your lawn is fairly simple. It rejuvenates your lawn by removing areas of thatch, making your soil less compact and allowing your lawn to less restrictive for water penetration.

Over the life of your lawn you will notice that its continual growth will cause some of these problems to become apparent. Left alone and ignored your lawn will eventually die or struggle to grow and will show signs of stress. Before these signs become visible and the view of your lawn detracts from your garden you will need to provide some maintenance with te use of a lawn aerator.

But which one should you use? Take a look at some of these examples.

Continue reading "Using your Lawn Aerator" »

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Why the great debate? Certainly these two options can co-exist, right? Possibly. Some people are dogmatic about their choice of lawn mower and for very specific reasons, which they're usually happy to quote - ad nauseum.

I think both mowers can have a place in our gardening shed (that is if you can afford the expense) or at the very least be used at different times for our lawn maintenance. They both have different roles to play and so long as you can appreciate their differences then gardeners can respect both pieces of equipment.

Reel Mowers

Reel mowers (or 'real' mowers, as some like to suggest) mow your lawn in a vertical rotation. They lift the blades up and then cut their tips and are best at keeping a perfect law looking perfect. With the roller on the back of the reel mower it can keep your grass flattened and level which always looks great.

However, reel mowers fail to level out the lawn. They will ride straight over bumps and can't cope with much debris in the way.

Rotary Mowers

Rotary mowers mow in a horizontal rotation. The blade, positioned under the engine, is designed to cut the blades at a particluar level determined by the operator. This is great when you're trying to reduce spongyness in the lawn or when you're attemptiong to level it.

However, while cutting at a set level is one of its strengths it can also be its downfall. For instance, if you're trying to mow around an edge of your garden and the border falls away into a garden bed you may find that the rotary mower can cut deeply into your grass. It doesn't allow for mistakes.

While most of my mowing is done by a reel mower, I have and will continue to use a rotary mower at times for specific purposes. They both have a place in the garden shed.

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I always thought lawn snobs were other people!

You know the ones I'm talking about. If the lawn hasn't been mown in the past 2 days, it's getting a little too long; weeds never see the light of day and 40L bags of fertiliser are stacked in the shed in case of emergencies. They have edge trimmers, brushcutters, and a selection of mowers that can handle just about anything. And, they have signs on the verge warning you that this is a REGISTERED LAWN and should you fail to heed the warning and step onto their crisp blades of green - you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

In my teen years, I always desired to drive my hotted up XF Falcon across those lawns leaving an indelible stamp of unnaproval on these lawn snobs.

Today, it's different. I'm actually facing the realisation that I'm one of those hated snobs. No. I don't have signs on the verge and I can wait a week before I feel compelled to bring the mower out. The problem is just that - I can't bring my mower out because the engine died just before Christmas and it's at the repair shop.

I had to HIRE a mower!! Yuk! It would be the same as having to wear someone else's undies. There are things you just don't do.

To make matters worse - it was a rotary mower. My poor blades of Sir Walter. It took massive chunks out of my grass taking great delight in ruining the lawn I've been tendering for the past 12 months. Did I mention I HATE rotary mowers? I have a new philosophy on life - if you don't have a reel mower, use pea gravel.

OK. I admit it. I'm a lawn snob. Hi...my name's Stuart and I haven't cut my lawn for 2 days now.....

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