Artificial Grass Vs Real Turf

We take a look and compare Artificial Grass Vs Real Turf to see if there really is much difference between the two.

There are a lot of keen gardeners out there who love the smell of fresh cut grass and actually enjoy mowing their lawn and the maintenance that goes with it.

A lot of people love having living plants and everything else that goes with them. Some people just simply love real grass. The team at Wonderlawn love grass too, but it must be looked after. No one likes an overgrown lawn that consists of more weeds than grass. Or worse, a lawn that is patchy and dry, then instantly a muddy mess when it rains.

Artificial Grass Vs Real Turf

How does it look? A lot UK residents are reluctant to get fake grass because they think it looks too synthetic.  We know that there are many varieties of DIY artificial grass that do look luminous green and have an odd plastic shine to them. But, we’re so proud of our Wonderlawn grass products! We think they’re as realistic looking as it gets.

Does this artificial grass look real to you?

Urban Play looks like a trimmed sports lawn

Naturalle looks like wild natural grass

Luxury looks like a deep plush lawn

How does this real turf compare to synthetic grass?

Bounce back ability?

What on earth is Bounce back ability you may be asking yourself? Well it’s a fun term for how quickly your fake lawn stands back up after something has been resting on it.

Real turf may recover if something is left on it for anything up to a few days, after that, the lack of sun and weight will bend and break the grass till its dead. Synthetic grass doesn’t have this problem, well let me rephrase that: Quality synthetic grass doesn’t have this problem.

If you’ve ordered your free grass sample from a supplier, as we have, you will no doubt know that it arrives squished and flat. Wonderlawn doesn’t do this. It says upright, no matter what weights you leave on it. See our bounce back video example:

And that’s what we mean by “bounce back ability” Our grass is like no other out there. It’s a premium quality, life like product, that we’re proud to install in gardens all over the UK.

We’re finding that for more and more of our customers, maintaining a beautiful lawn just isn’t feasible, either due to health or time restrictions placed on them by a busy life. Which is why they call Wonderlawn to discuss their options and receive a free no obligation quote. Families just want to get out there and enjoy their garden! Not have to worry about mud and maintenance.

How expensive is Natural grass VS Artificial grass?

To lay quality turf on an average sized garden (50m2) you’re looking at:

• Skim off existing lawn, either with a spade or rent a turf cutter – £121.50 per day from HSS Hire
• Rotovate (or rotavate) and add some quality top soil – £70.80 per bag from Top Soil Shop
• Level, compact then fluff the top surface to give the turf something to knit into. Hire of rotovator – £48 per day from HSS Hire
• Turf selection: B&Q lists their turf at £280 which covers 58.52m2 (an average garden is 50m2), but the premium medowmat currently sells for £400 which covers 20m2.
• A Grass roller to smooth the lawn £15 per day HSS Hire
• Then you need your Grass feed or fertiliser, Vitax Lawn clear – Green up is currently £11.99 on Amazon, and covers approx 200sq meters, which means you can feed a 50m2 lawn 4 times.
• Possibly a weed killer, Weedol Lawn weedkiller is currently £14.99 on Amazon.
• Seeding – yes you may need to seed your freshly laid natural lawn if any bald patches appear, or just to thicken it up & help it take hold. £35.95 for Top Quality Grass seed on Amazon.
• Watering – The Royal Horticultiral Society recommends “watering once a week” and a “1 sq m (1 sq yd) needs about 20-litres (5 gallons) of water every seven days”. Your water bill is going to rise, especially if you’re metered.
• And finally you’re looking at paying for 2 days labour for 2 people. Building Sheriff lists this as £120-£180 per day in the north of England and £200-£300 in the south.

Total between £963.94 and £1883.94 – your quotes may vary based on your location.

How much does artificial grass cost to be installed?

Job Prices website lists the cost of artificial grass installation at £2050.

This is not for luxury artificial grass to be installed in your garden. It’s for a £10-£40 per sq meter grass to be nailed to a wooden frame. This is something we do not recommend. Most manufacturers will not give you a warranty on the base of this kind of installation, simply because it rots.

Wonderlawn’s installations can be guaranteed for 10 years, as we install the correct level base, as well as a commercial grade weed membrane and then use a specialist infill evenly distributed across your new lawn with industry standard machinery.

Then our final step is a high speed motorised brushing, which allows the infill to fall in to the correct position and supports the grass staying upright, in a uniform way.

And that’s it. You’re done. No more feeding, seeding, cutting. You’re just free to enjoy your lush, green, all year round lawn!

Artificial Grass lawn will not only cut your water bill, it will save you on maintenance costs and most importantly add value to your property by giving you a perfect, low maintenance lawn.

In summary

Artificial Grass Vs Real Turf will be slightly more expensive in the short term, but over 2-3 years artificial grass is more cost effective than a natural lawn. Fact.

See our full range of artificial grass products by clicking here.