Prize-Winning Artificial Lawn

Mrs Brooker lives in Brentwood in Essex. She has a small garden but takes great pride in its appearance. However, she now has a knee problem and was finding it difficult to mow the lawn in her sloping garden. With her husband being blind she knew she had no choice but to abandon the idea of keeping a natural grass lawn. Initially, she thought her only choice was going to be a conversion to hard-standing but a visit to the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show changed all of that. There she saw an artificial lawn on display and was so impressed by its natural luscious look that it became the obvious solution.

After the artificial grass was installed, she proudly put a lot of time and energy into the planting of her borders and hanging baskets and subsequently entered and also won the Brentwood in Bloom competition. A wonderful accolade for artificial grass in our gardens!

Sadly, Mrs Brooker came under criticism from other competitors who accused her of cheating with 'plastic grass'. Well, the Brentwood in Bloom organisers were asked to comment and simply replied saying that Mrs Brooker had not broken any rules. Perhaps 'sour grapes' from poor losers we ask?

You can read the full story here courtesy of the Daily Mail. When you read the article, take a look at the number and the tone of comments posted by readers in reaction to it. There are a small number of negative comments such as:

”It's neat, and the little flowers are quite colourful I suppose, but, "plastic lawn" part, how on earth did it win a GARDENING prize? I'm gobsmacked!”

However, there are far more positive comments that outweigh these which have also scored higher ratings from readers, such as:

"I have got an artificial lawn in my garden and it looks fab you would never know that it was artificial! People have often stopped and commented on how wonderful it looks and it must take me a lot of up keep. I think Mrs Brooker's garden looks fab and she should have won!"

"I have got artificial lawn in my front garden. Its fantastic and looks great all year round. People stop and ask me how I get my lawn to look so good. My children and their friends love to play out on it, and the dog thinks its great too."

However, the best and possibly most appropriate comment posted was this:

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess."

May Day Discount Celebrations With Artificial Grass

Being the leading UK artificial grass manufacturer selling direct to the public, we know from customer feedback that our grass products meet the highest standards. Our 1 to 1 direct relationship, however, holds other benefits - particularly for our customers, because we are able to occasionally offer some fantastic discounts.

The month of May sees us continuing to offer a VERY special deal of 35% discount across the whole of our artificial grass range.

Why would we do that? Because being a British manufacturer with a British workforce, we are keenly aware that many families are finding the economics of running a home very difficult to manage at this time. Moreover, a home is not a home if you have a garden and cannot enjoy it.

May heralds the definitive arrival of Spring, a time when you need to get out and start to make something of your garden so that your family and your pets can enjoy this special time of year, hopefully looking ahead to warm, sunny days and bbqs!

So if you haven't yet thought of using artificial grass in your garden, now's the time to consider it. Get out this May Day Bank Holiday weekend and measure it all up, then check out our artificial grass online store for a free, no-obligation quotation.

Just think of it …

• no more mowing
• no more watering (helping you save on those hefty water bills)
• no more muddy feet and paws being dragged indoors on a wet day
• no more yellowing, discoloured patches when the weather is inconsistent.

All of that along with a 35% discount - it's got to be tempting!

Any questions please don't hesitate to call our Customer Service on 0800 6521281.

Making Artificial Grass - The British Way

How artificial grass is made is something of an enigma to most people and this is where we, as the UK's premier artifical grass manufacturer, can help de-mystify the process.

Our artificial grass factory is the oldest in Britain and our grass products have been used in just about every sphere of activity - from sports applications to people's back gardens and children's play areas to display purposes in supermarkets, grocery stores and trade fairs/exhibitions. So we know the product inside out.

Manufacturing artificial grass involves a number of specially trained staff all of whom have their own specific tasks in the production process. Essentially, manufacturing artificial grass splits into 3 key stages - the tufting operation (weaving of the grass carpet), the backing plant operation and the inspection process. Quality control checks play an important role in our manufacturing and we employ stringent and detailed checks throughout the process, using only top quality yarn, primary backing and latex.

The Tufting Operation
The collector board feeds the yarn through threading bars and yarn detectors down to the needles where it is stitched into the primary backing. As the tufted primary backing comes off the machine (having been checked by factory inspection staff), it goes through a lapping frame to be lap folded into lapping barrows. Lap folding is important as it helps preserve the quality of the tufting - rolling the product up at this stage would risk pile distortion or damage to the backing stitches.

The Backing Plant Operation
The tufted primary backing is transported to the backing plant in rubber wheeled, lapping barrows where it undergoes 'tip to tail sewing'. The latex coating is applied to the finished, tufted material and a special scraping blade (aka doctor blade) scrapes off the latex ensuring the correct weight per square metre. The product then goes into the ovens for curing and, once out of the ovens, is fed into the perforation unit. This is where the draining holes are punched into the material and then the final product goes to the accumulator. This allows the grass carpet to be stored whilst re-rolling and further inspection is carried out.

More detailed information on the manufacturing and inspection procedures we adopt in the manufacture of our artificial grass products can be found here.

We also have our own, specially produced video of how artificial grass is manfuactured.

Installing An Artificial Grass Lawn

Imagine looking out onto a luscious lawn that's soft and clean underfoot, green all year round and never goes yellow, hard or muddy. Moreover, imagine having that AND not having to get the lawn mower out ever again! This is the scenario with an artificial grass lawn.

Not only that, but by having an artificial lawn you will avoid using pesticides in the garden - something that has to be done very carefully to avoid potential environmental and human health hazards. The Pesticides Safety Directorate official website offers detailed guidelines on the subject.

We receive many enquiries from people considering the idea of an artificial lawn; indeed many of them are nervous as to whether their garden might even be suitable. In truth there are very few instances where it's not possible to have an artificial lawn installed.

If it's a small area with no odd shape to it, it's possible for you to install the artificial grass yourself. Just be sure to buy quality artificial grass such as our Lifestyle® Lawn grass and the correct type of tape and adhesive. Visit our artificial grass online store to see what we recommend. We also offer an Artificial Grass Installation Photo Guide that you can download plus a set of written Artificial Grass Installation Guides to choose from.

Conversely, if the area you want to convert to an artificial lawn is quite large and/or has an unusual shape or incline etc, then you should consider having a professional installation company do the work. As the UK's leading manufacturer of artificial grass have our own network of installers, stockists and distributors. You can search for a local installer on artificial-grass.com or alternatively feel free to call our Customer Service Department for advice - UK Freephone 0800 6521281. If you want to see a professional team at work, we even have a Slide Show of the step by step process undertaken in a recent artificial lawn installation done by one of our installers.

Full Of Glee - Artificial Grass Success

We're approaching the time when people are inclined to look back at the year and reflect on events. Where Artificial Grass Ltd is concerned, we are delighted to say that 2007 has been a great year. Our thanks go to all our customers, distributors, stockists and installers as well as the AGL team and our UK factory.

March saw the company's launch into the residential market for artificial grass sales and the summer months saw a veritable queue of new distributors asking to sign up to the AGL network; in July our artificial grass products received favourable UK national tabloid press coverage and in and September the company made its first major Trade Show appearance at the Glee Trade Show. Staged at one of the UK's largest event facilities, the NEC in Birmingham, the Artificial Grass Ltd exhibition stand received many visitors over the 3 days.

The variety of visitors and the range of applications for which they were interested in using artificial grass surprised even ourselves - and that's saying something!

Here are some examples:

• Landscapers


• Homeowners - lawns, small putting greens, city life use such as roof garden terrraces


• Shops - for window dressing and displays


• Construction companies - for everything from housing development gardens, roadside verges to swimming pool surrounds


• TV Shows

The results from the trade show have been impressive - new stockists and distributors signing up, new orders placed and one contact resulted in a TV Garden Makeover that included artificial grass made in our factory. Screened in early October, the programme had many viewers resulting in a rush of enquiries about the artificial grass lawn which was featured.

Bringing 2007 to a close is our new artificial grass product Snow Grass - its launch could not have been better timed for Santa's Grottos and Christmas shop displays. Whether your Christmas is a white one or not, may we wish all our customers, distributors and website visitors a very Happy Christmas!

Lifestyle Lawn "As Seen On TV"

It's not every week that we get a chance to have our artificial grass featured on tv but recently we were invited to help with a special edition of "A Dream Come True" on the popular ITV show "This Morning" which aired this week.

Tanya Bannister, who has coped with serious illness for some time, was nominated for a surprise garden makeover and ITV brought in a specialist team with TV celebrity gardener David Domoney in charge to transform Tanya's back yard in a single weekend.

The redesign of the garden involved many people (suppliers and installers) with the planting flowers and shrubs, work on a new patio area and a beautiful new artificial grass lawn for which we supplied our Lifestyle Lawn Grass, a state of the art monofilament artificial grass of 30mm pile height that provides a durable yet soft, all year round green surface. The main reason for installing this grass was that Tanya would not have to worry about maintenance - a very important factor in her situation. Anyone coping with serious illness or disability has to think of maintenance issues if they have a garden and our artificial grass is a great solution.

When the makeover was complete, Tanya returned from a weekend trip and her delight was clear for all to see. Supplying the grass for her lawn was something we were very happy to do. The lawn especially looked beautiful - as you can see in the picture - but then we would say that!

Water Shortages - An Interview With OFWAT

The WHICH magazine recently published an interview with Regina Finn, Chief Executive of OFWAT, the watchdog for the water utilities industry. There were some key points in her interview which we felt would be of interest to our readers and we have summarised these below:

1. When asked how people can be encouraged to save water, her recommendation was water metering (an issue we covered in our "Don't Waste Water in the Garden" article). As she says, you pay for what you use and water meters make usage transparent. However, this raises another point and a potential difficulty in relying on water metering alone - if only some rather than the majority of people make the effort to save water by cutting their consumption and using water meters, then those who don't will probably face much higher costs being passed on.

2. The question of transporting water from the North of England to the South where the dry drought like conditions are strongest was raised. Her reply was that at £15 billion the cost is too high. So if you live in the South of England there is no ready alternative other than higher prices and carefully conserving water usage.

3. How much of a role a will new technology play in helping fight water scarcity? She replied by grouping together climate change, new house building and water scarcity. In other words all these forces for change acting together.

We think her views are fairly realistic and it is encouraging to see the British government recognising the challenges ahead relating to water usage. However we do think that as water becomes more scarce, those who do not cut down consumption will pay a heavy price. Installing artificial grass and thereby reducing your usage of garden water is surely going to be one of the ways to make sure that you do not pay more for your water than your neighbours do.

For more detailed information you can read the full WHICH report here.

Artificial Grass & Swimming Pools

As the weather grows warmer we can expect to see more swimming pools installed in our gardens. Everyone knows how much fun a good pool can be but a little planning beforehand can help your garden cope with this new addition. It's quite usual to have a non-slip border around the pool (eg. rubber tiles) to help provide a soft surface for any falls or bumps. It also copes with the splash-back area as chlorine in water can damage a lot of materials.

However, once you get beyond the two or three feet of rubber tiles what do you do then? Think about the wear and tear from the sunloungers and when you come to mow the lawn how difficult it will be to keep the grass cuttings out of the pool. One solution is to install artificial grass as an outer border around the pool.

Advantages will include:-

1. Soft and warm surface to walk or lie on.
2. No mud patches where the grass is worn away by many feet or busy sun loungers. Less mud in the house and the pool!
3. Porous surface which will cope with any excess water.
4. Hard wearing and easily replacebale when damaged.
5. Suitable for covering hard concrete and especially where there are cracks in the surface.
6. Minimal maintenance needed.
7. Multi colour choice.
8. No grass clippings to go in the pool.

Altogether a rather neat way to complement the investment in your swimming pool.

Will We Have to Mow The Lawn All Year Round?

According to latest reports, scientists are now arguing the possibility that many of us in the UK will soon have to mow the lawn all year round.

The National Environment Research Council has said that, as a result of mild winters in the last 5 years, around 35% of homeowners in the UK are now mowing their lawns in winter.

To put this in context, 20 years ago grass would only grow during winter in milder areas of the UK such as the Scilly Isles.

When the temperature is above 5 degrees Celsius grass will grow and this January (2007) was the second mildest on record with temperatures reaching 5.9 degrees Celsius. Out came the mowers!

If the thought of keeping the lawn mower going continually over 12 months doesn't appeal to you then it's time to consider installing artificial grass and start enjoying the extra time you will save.

(This article is based on data reported by WHICH magazine)

Don't Waste Water In The Garden - Use Artificial Grass

The impact of global warming is brought home to us every day from different sources within the media. The Daily Express special feature this week on how artificial grass in the garden can combat drought problems is a good example and recent feedback from our own artificial grass customers suggests serious concern about the need to save on water, especially in the garden.

So what are the statistics on water usage in the UK?
We did some research and discovered that:

- During hot weather garden watering accounts for 50%+ of the UK's water supply, compared to 6% in normal weather conditions

- Outdoor watering (medium sprinkler or handheld hose) uses 19-38 litres (5-10 gallons) per minute

- Watering your garden/lawn for 1 hour = 1,140 litres (300 gallons) of water

So how can we save on water?

Even if you cut down on your outdoor watering to just 15 minutes 4 times per week, you would still use over 1,000 litres of water (300 gallons). A staggering waste.
We believe there are 2 realistic options for saving water. One is voluntary, the other enforced.

Voluntary
Take control of your garden and water usage by installing an artificial grass lawn. It needs no watering so for every year of its use you will literally save thousands of litres of water. (Photographed above: an artficial grass lawn)

Enforced
Water authorities will have to consider making water meters compulsory - and they have the evidence to prove their case. In the 1980's water metering was trialled in 11 areas of the UK and subsequent years showed an average reduction of 11% in water usage in the homes concerned.

Our advice is don't wait for a water meter. By installing artificial grass you will not only save on water but enjoy lots of other advantages - save time on mowing, save money on pesticides and weedkillers and have an all year round green lawn to look at.