i have never had it and haven't seen too much of it (saw it on a 'dog run' which actually looked pretty nice!)

i think the green would look nice where you want it and it would also be nice to have something that stayed put- unlike mulch and pebbles/rocks!

from the picture, i like the bottom right square the best! :)

Looks like the grass you are considering is high quality and natural looking. Do you know how it should be maintained?

My neighborhood is horrified with a guy down the street who put in fake grass. It's this plastic, shiny looking stuff that looks like one of those grass welcome mats. He has to power wash the deer poop.

I know someone who will be using it in Palm Springs (very, very high end home under construction), so I know the product has changed considerably since the old AstroTurf days. I am curious about how it should be maintained. Any idea?

i know our landscaper told us that the owner of the dogrun turf used sometype of special antibacterial/antimildew spray on it... and that it was laid on a bit of a raised platform so it could drain- pee and rain...

rockybird, what would yours be installed onto??

I see it in my neighbourhood in Boca when I am out walking, it looks great I think, I can always tell it's artificial but it's laid on a bed of dirt and sand and is perfect looking. I would use it in a heartbeat.

My only concern is how slippery it gets when wet.

I got a quote to do our front lawn area a few months ago ... but then it started raining in So. CA! If it looks like we are going to continue in a drought then I will probably get the artificial grass installed. It won't really save us much on water use, because I would use that water to keep our backyard lawn alive and other trees/plants.

Many homes in my area are using artificial turf and it isn't always easy to tell it isn't real. I think it will be perfect for your yard. Be sure to choose one that has some green color variations in the strands and has some of the brownish thatch grass strands.

The ones I liked were by Tiger Turf (SGW Corp). The Marquee Pro Natural and Tacoma were pretty good mixes and perfect match for our lawn.

I think it would look great with a few areas cut out to allow a few plants that would survive the area. It would break it up and look more natural.

I did a whole large fence section with faux ivy expandable fence screens. Neighbor behind would not replace his dilapidated fence. It's nice with real plants in front of it and will look better once they grow a bit.

What does it feel like to walk on it barefoot? Or do you just not do that? Seems like it would be prickly.

Thanks guys!!! I did some research since I posted this. I called the company who makes the grass and it is cheaper for them to install it than the landscaper, so I am going to have the experts do it. I am not sure about maintaining it...the co. did tell me I can hose it off.

justerrylynn-that is a good idea - but I was hoping to use the grass spot to move the chaise chairs to in case someone wants to get out of the overhang. The only problem is fake grass gets hot, but I guess people will just have to wear flip flops.

3katz4me-I think it is prickly, but it cant be too bad as I see a lot of pics online of people's kids barefoot on it.

chispa-I read somewhere that some parts of CA get a discount for using fake grass. It's some sort of govt. program. I hope you guys get out of that drought soon.

busybee-I think it gets installed on a matt? I am not really sure, to be honest.

Rocky, your area doesn't look very shady! I can just see our CAM people having a stroke over it.

I saw a commercial the other day for "lawn mousse" (basically green dye or paint). I wonder if the CAM would let us use that?

Donna

LOL you are right msmeow! It doesnt look very shady! What is CAM? I dont know if I could go for the green paint!

busybee-that's the one I like the best too!

My brother got tired of all the dog walkers letting their dogs pee on his grass so he installed artificial grass. Honestly, you can't tell it's not real from the look of it. Here's a picture of his house with the artificial turf.

No matter how many times you see it online or how many samples you look at in real life ~Once installed it looks much more realistic.I think there's about 2-3 inches of subbase for drainage.

Decide how you want the turf to line-up with your patio. I would probably have the base of the turf equal to the patio~not the top of the blades.

I have the tallest blade with a lot of variation in color.

I think it's the DuPont Brand.

I love the look and idea of easy maintenance. I think it will look nice in that area.

Anyone have an idea of how much it might cost to have it installed in Southern California? I'm in Orange County and would like to get a quote for a small section near my pool where DD's playset used to be. Now it's just an ugly patch of decomposed granite that I can see from my living and dining room :(

The price is outrageous ~ Although there is alot of labor~

I put in an 11'x15' and it was 3000.00.

Since you already have some decomposed granite there~ and assumng it's compacted to drain well ~You should get a break on the installation.

I paid $18 a sq ft~ The cost of the turf itself probably runs at the most $4 a sq. They also had to bring in base material.

faux ivy expandable fence screens?

Ive never heard of that. I have a friend who wants to sheild a neighbor's fence.

Please forgive the hijack Rocky!

Mtn, about the ivy Screens...I bought mine on eBay after a little research. These were easy for me to install with horse shoe nails. I have to say though that for the first few months they looked too shiny. That dims with time. Do not open boxes indoors , the toxic smell was horrible.

Here they are along the ugly fence before grass,plants and outdoor lighting.

These are expandable so if you want fuller don't go as wide as I did or leave as much of a gap.

My plants are small right now so the gaps are funky.

I was lucky to score a few Bauhinia Galpinii (Red Orchid tree/bush/climbers that will grow on each end.

Here is the link. The company can be linked from there. I think they also do a double sided ivy screen.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/141343482187?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

This is what I started with before repairs. The whole house opens to this area.

Thanks for the info 4Boys. I was hoping it wasn't too expensive.

We're getting our house ready to sell so I'm not sure if we should spend that much to pretty up such a small area. So many other unfinished projects to spend money on (that we probably won't get back when we sell, unfortunately).

Definitely do the grass. For a small area no one will notice and it brings such a nice green to the yard. It may be too hot for your snakes though. :)

I watch the gardening shows on QVC (have great luck with their Roses), and they sold the ivy fence screen a few weeks ago. That's an excellent idea!

If that astroturf stuff makes the yard inhospitable to snakes, I want it.

K, I mentioned in another topic today that our news station featured my town as now getting rattlers. They hang out two counties west of us and further. The story was how they're now moving eastwards. Kill 'em all I say! The rattlers I mean.

Thank you guys!!! I do feel better about the fake grass!

-dedtired-your brother's house is great looking and the grass looks amazing!

-justterrilynn-I love your ivy screens! They look amazing and very real!

-4boys2-I will look into the dupont brand. Thank you!

-tnfarmhouse and 4boys2-it is cheaper in my town - i think $5-8/sq foot to install. It is definitely worth looking into.

-Oakley - loL! I am hoping the fake grass will keep the animals out of the pool on that side. Sorry about the rattlers coming to town!

I'm sorry but I am laughing out loud at Magda's comment about power washing the deer poop off the plastic grass!!! I've not seen artificial grass around here, but Rocky it sounds like you've done your research. I'll be interested to see how you like it.

There is a house near here that has the ivy screens. They have a tennis court and it's very close to a main road. They installed the screens on the fencing around the court. It doesn't look as good as Terrilynn's - but may be because you see it so up close. Plus, they don't have any real plants mixed in. I've also noticed a couple of times after a storm, they have parts of their "screen" down.

Where I live we have an infestation of chafer beetles. A lot of people are digging up their lawns and either putting in fake grass or doing xeriscape landscaping. Our next door neighbours did fake grass and it looks like a putting green. We will be doing xeriscape landscaping.