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."

A Summer Soaking & Muddy Feet

The advantages of artificial grass are manifold but one particular benefit that we in Britain should not ignore is in wet weather conditions.

As many people now realise, wet weather is not restricted to autumn and winter storms or the odd spring shower but, in line with global warming predictions, our typical British summer seems to be getting ever wetter. Cumbria where our factory is based is a great example of how you should always carry a raincoat or umbrella in the boot of your car!.

Many public places in the UK endure 'high footfall'; these include city park paths, playing fields, annual public events such as the Hampton Court Flower Show and everyday visitor attractions such as Diggerland. When wet weather prevails, visitors to such places may have to endure muddy areas, resulting in muddy shoes trailed back home or into the car. Unless you go prepared wearing hiking boots or wellingtons (not exactly the in-thing at Hampton Court!), you may even find your shoes get ruined. With artificial grass being permeable and virtually maintenance free, it is an ideal choice for these 'high footfall' areas.

A recent article in the Guardian's "What Is The European Monsoon?" highlights the problems caused by British summer deluges, referring to the thousands of Wimbledon and Hampton Court Flower Show visitors who were sent scurrying for cover this year. Makes interesting reading.