Can artificial grass be used in conjunction with a regular lawn?

There is no issue with using artificial turf alongside your regular lawn. Some homeowners prefer to keep some natural grass in their garden, particularly in children’s play areas – although artificial grass does make a perfect surface for children at play. But, should you wish to, there is nothing to stop you combining a natural and artificial surface.

How to combine natural and artificial grass

Your artificial lawn will need to be separate from the natural lawn to some degree, since you will have to lay a base for the new astroturf. You will need some sort of edging to keep the sharp sand base contained, and many people use pressure treated wooden edging to achieve a neat look. You can, of course, seed your natural lawn right up to the edge of the artificial turf, but it may be sensible to have a demarcation at the border. You don’t want to accidentally run your lawn mower over the edge of the natural grass and scalp your beautiful new astroturf lawn. You can use a brick demarcation line or a path. Just as long as you are aware of the change in surface to avoid damage.

Zoning your garden

Another reason for some demarcation is that your natural lawn may not precisely match the colour of your artificial lawn. Rather than have the two butting right up against each other and highlighting any differences, mark a boundary. Some people like to keep an area for animals to use, and artificial grass is idea for this. Since it can be hosed clean, you don’t need to worry about dog urine burning on your natural lawn if you train your dog to use an artificial grass area. If you are zoning your garden for different uses, consider using paths to break up the area.

Improve your natural lawn

A natural lawn needs a fair amount of hard work to keep looking as good as an artificial lawn, so be prepared to increase your lawn maintenance if you want to reduce the contrast between the two. Feed and weed your natural lawn, and cut it regularly to ensure that it matches its smart new neighbour. Your artificial lawn will need little to no maintenance, so your workload will probably lessen overall. Combining natural and artificial lawns gives you the best of both worlds, and it is easy to achieve a highly effective look with just a little planning.