Fake lawns a growing trend

People who have a passion for a perfect lawn but hate all the work involved are turning to a new alternative: fake grass.

Its nickname is the "lazy lawn" and it looks pretty convincing.

Darcy Richards, who runs Perfect Turf in Airdrie, says the no-maintenance ‘lawn’ is an increasingly popular choice among homeowners.

"It always looks better than the neighbours. No matter if you've been gone for two weeks, if you haven't touched it for two years, it always looks perfect," he said.

But perfection can cost big money, Richards admits — up to $10,000 for a typical backyard.  

"People stop and feel it. And even sometimes then, you know, still have to ask, because the feel of it is that real now too," he said.

Landscape designer Lyndon Penner is not getting on the fake grass bandwagon. He’s not a fan of perfectly manicured lawns to begin with. But a fake lawn is just heresy, he said.

"If we lose that connection to the earth, we're doomed. And if an artificial lawn is the precursor to living in a plastic world, I'm just going to get in a boat and row somewhere else," Penner said.

"This trend to move away from things that are natural to things that are plastic, things that are artificial, I don’t want to live in that world."