When it’s time to landscape a backyard, one of the most common questions is whether natural grass or artificial turf is better. Choosing natural or synthetic is a big decision that will significantly impact your yard’s look, feel, and maintenance requirements.
Making the right decision can impact how you enjoy your outdoor spaces. In this blog, we’ll discuss both options and weigh their pros and cons to help you make an informed choice.
Natural Grass
Natural grass is a go-to choice for most homeowners who want a lush, green lawn. It offers numerous benefits that appeal to those who want to create a beautiful, inviting yard suitable for entertaining guests, playing with children, and relaxing outdoors.
Advantages of Natural Grass
Countless natural grass species thrive in different climates and environments depending on your specific needs. Many people choose natural grass due to its:
- Environmental Benefits: Natural grass shares its main benefit with other foliage: It turns carbon dioxide into oxygen and acts as a carbon sink. This process improves air quality and provides a natural cooling effect.
- Cost-Effective: If you’re happy to start from scratch, grass seed is initially less expensive to purchase in bulk than large sections of artificial turf, which can be costly.
- Natural Feel: Nothing beats the feeling of walking barefoot on soft, cool grass. A lush backyard lawn provides the ultimate comfortable surface for relaxation and play for adults and children.
- Biodegradability: Natural grass breaks down quickly, and when it comes time to replace your lawn, old grass can be composted to reduce waste.
- Flexibility: With natural grass, you can easily update your landscape by adding or removing plants, trees, or hardscaping features without permanently altering pre-sized material like you need to with artificial turf.
Disadvantages of Natural Grass
While the advantages can make natural grass seem the obvious choice, some potential drawbacks may make you view it differently. The common disadvantages of natural lawns include:
- Maintenance: Natural grass requires regular upkeep such as mowing, watering, fertilizing, and weeding to keep it looking its best. This ongoing maintenance can be time-consuming and expensive.
- Water Consumption: Depending on your climate and the grass species you choose, natural grass can require immense amounts of water to stay green and healthy. These demands can be challenging, especially in dry seasons when many areas struggle with droughts and water restrictions.
- Pests: Natural lawns always attract various bugs, some of which can harm your lawn. Insects like grubs, chinch bugs, and mole crickets thrive in lush lawns and can quickly decimate a lawn you’ve worked hard to cultivate.
- Weather Sensitivity: Extreme weather conditions like hail, snow, and heavy rain can damage natural grass, leading to mud, brown patches, or bare spots. Weather damage can be difficult to undo and often requires replanting.
- Allergies: Grass pollen allergies are quite common, and even having grass near their house can trigger sneezing, coughing, difficulty breathing, and painful rashes in allergic people.
Artificial Turf
Artificial turf has come a long way since the 1960s when it was no more than a spiky plastic carpet. Modern synthetic grass, however, looks and feels remarkably close to natural grass, making it increasingly popular among homeowners.
Advantages of Artificial Turf
Many of the problems with natural grass can be solved by using artificial turf instead. They offer numerous benefits for homeowners who want the aesthetic appeal of a lawn without constant supervision. The main reasons for the increase in synthetic grass popularity include:
- Low Maintenance: Once installed, artificial turf requires minimal upkeep. Besides the occasional hose-down, this option doesn’t need to be mowed, watered, fertilized, or weeded to stay beautiful.
- Water Conservation: Watering large lawns can be unnecessarily wasteful in areas where water is a precious commodity. Artificial turf offers an alternative that never requires watering, making it the ideal environmentally friendly option.
- Durability: High-quality artificial turf looks fantastic for several years and may last 15-20 years with proper care. Synthetic grass may wear down over time but never develop bare or brown patches under heavy foot traffic.
- Consistency: Artificial turf stays green and uniform year-round despite changing weather. Many homeowners want a yard that maintains its appealing appearance no matter the season, and turf fulfills this desire because it isn’t impacted by extreme weather like natural grass.
- Versatility: Artificial turf can be installed anywhere, even in areas where natural grass struggles to grow, like shaded areas. It also provides an alternative for areas like rooftop gardens that could become dangerously heavy with natural grass.
- Allergy Friendly: Artificial turf eliminates sneeze-causing allergens for those with grass pollen allergies, making it more appealing to spend time outside. Depending on the quality of the turf used, it can even be soft enough for children with allergies to play on safely, providing the same comfortable surface that natural grass does.
Disadvantages of Artificial Turf
Artificial turf is growing in popularity because it has many incredible benefits, but several disadvantages can impact your choice. Some reasons homeowners choose natural grass over artificial turf are:
- Initial Cost: The upfront cost of installing artificial turf is significantly higher than natural grass, especially for large yards. However, you will save thousands of dollars on long-term maintenance, which may make the investment worth it.
- Heat Retention: Synthetic grass typically becomes much hotter than natural grass in direct sunlight, making walking and sitting uncomfortable. This issue is especially notable when families want to spend time outdoors in summer.
- Environmental Concerns: Modern artificial turf is often made with recycled materials, but it isn’t biodegradable and may contribute to microplastic pollution over time as it degrades. Turf is also difficult to dispose of when it’s time to replace it.
- Lack of Benefits: Unlike natural grass, artificial turf provides no environmental benefits, such as oxygen production and carbon dioxide absorption. While it looks similar, synthetic grass is still plastic and won’t positively impact your yard’s ecosystem.
Final Thoughts on Artificial Turf vs. Natural Grass
Ultimately, your choice between natural grass and artificial turf depends entirely on personal preference. Both options offer incredible pros and considerable cons that can affect your decision. By carefully considering your climate, free time, environmental priorities, and budget, you will be left with the option that makes the most sense for your needs and circumstances.
Contact Intu Nature for advice on either option or installation quotes. Our expert landscapers understand the ins and outs of landscaping, from lawns to lighting, to help you create the yard of your dreams.
