Types of Turf | Turf Online

There must be hundreds of different turf brand names in the UK alone.  But does that mean there are hundreds of types of turf? At Turfonline, we think there are 4 basic types of turf.  Read on…

Looking around the supermarket or the garden centre – or even the DIY store, I can see that most “things” come in different packages.  There are branded products, own brands, cheap ones, expensive ones, posh packaging, no packaging – the list goes on.  But as a wise man once said, people don’t buy “things” they buy what those things can do for them.

In the DIY store, I didn’t buy a drill, I bought something to make a hole with.

That tin of paint was to help me stamp my identity on my home.

The plants I bought in the garden centre were to produce tomatoes for me to eat, the flowers were to make my home beautiful.

Still with me? Good.

What is the reason for buying turf?

When you choose turf, you’re choosing something to do a job for you.  Maybe you want to

• Cover up that mud patch in the garden
• Get rid of the veg patch that you don’t have time to cultivate
• Provide the children with a safe play surface
• Add kerb-appeal to a house you want to sell
• Tidy up the area beside the shed where you used to “hide” junk
• Create a practice green and improve your bowling
• [Insert your project here]

There are four basic types of turf

Depending on your budget, the design of your garden and the amount of time you want to spend maintaining your lawn; you could choose one of four types of turf.

1. Fine Turf

By fine turf I mean turf that has been grown using a mixture of fine-leaved grasses.  Typically fescues and browntop bents.

Fine turf will give you a beautifully textured lawn.  As soft and smooth as velvet.  Perfect for a bowling green or a golf green.  On the downside, it’s not cheap to buy and you will need to be really disciplined with the maintenance regime.  As beautiful as it is, this is not great for a family lawn.

2. Shade Tolerant Turf

Another specialised turf that only recently came onto the market in the UK.   Shade tolerant turf does what it says on the tin.  It grows nicely in dappled shade or low-light.  Beware of deep shade though – the grass plants do need a certain amount of sun if the plants are to survive.

Use shade tolerant turf in the lea of a shed or a fence, under trees and around the shrubbery.  It’s moderately hardwearing.  Grows slowly so needs less mowing and doesn’t mind sun either.  If your lawn is partly in the sun, partly in the shade, this turf is ideal for you.

3. Classic lawn turf

This turf normally contains some dwarf perennial ryegrass.  That means it’s relatively hardwearing, but it doesn’t look at all unkempt or rugged.  In fact it’s quite classy.

This is the turf to give your home kerb-appeal, impress the neighbours and make you feel proud of your garden.

It’s easy to care for and will cope with a bit of neglect but the better you look after it, the better it will behave.

Highly recommended for all but the most specialised projects.

4. Budget turf

There’s nothing wrong with budget products.  In fact I quite like them.  Budget turf is usually hardwearing, rugged and easy to care for.  It’s what I recommend to make lawns for children and lawns for dogs.

If you’re buying from a reputable turf grower, you won’t find broadleaved weeds in your budget turf.  The only thing to make it different from the classic grades is usually the roll strength (classic turf tends to be matured in the field for longer which makes it easier to handle).  Sometimes the colour is a little uneven in a budget turf but will the children mind? I don’t think so.

Between you and me though, it’s well worth comparing quotes for budget and classic turves.  For the average domestic garden, you can probably pay as little as £20 more to get a whole lot nicer lawn.

So there you have it, four types of turf.  Which one will you choose?

Fine Turf

Shade Tolerant Turf

Classic Lawn Turf

Budget Turf