Modern Synthetic Lawns > Classic AstroTurf

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Written By Peter Morris

The Past

Do you remember going to a friends place as a kid and their parents would have blue Astro turf around the raised hot tub or even up the wall ! Oh yes you do! OMG - platform shoes and a floral shirt with big old collar lol !!! - it wasn't that long ago!!!

Oh yes - sun bleached and BLUE !

We've come a long long way since then.  I remember sitting with a friend of mine on Chelsea Piers here in Manhattan - or at least one of the piers in that area.  We were watching the kids play with some friends and our conversation turned to landscaping and synthetic lawn.

- he was like - "no way not for me if it 'ain't real I wouldn't want it "

- I'm like - "you realize we are sitting on it "     And we were. 

This lovely lovely lawn we were sitting on was completely synthetic. It had small rocks and pebbles that had been brushed into it.  It felt like you were sitting on a lovely well kept little rolling hill.  He was utterly astonished.

The Present

A lovely synthetic lawn that mimics a real one perfectly !

Do we use it on our terraces - absolutely !  It looks amazing, it feels incredible and avoids the issues of putting a live lawn on a rooftop. 

A spectacular little oasis with a Faux lawn

To keep a beloved fescue lawn alive on a rooftop is a constant challenge and a constant expense.

Actual real lawn needs 8-10 inches of soil below it to give it a fighting chance.  It needs to be mowed weekly, fertilized and treated constantly for the amazing amount of insects and diseases that go to it like a magnet ! Not to mention - mowing on a rooftop is an issue - you don't want something flying over the edge of a terrace as it is hit with a lawn mower.

Then there is the irrigation system it requires and that needs to be adjusted several times a season to keep up with the changing weather. Pop up sprinklers need to be installed to ensure correct coverage for irrigation.  The excess water will land on pavers and they in turn will turn green - requiring cleaning, and bleaching once a month.

A synthetic lawn can be expensive to install.  But the one time costs are small compared to a live lawn.  Once it is in place it just needs a shampoo once or twice a year and a vacuum every now and again - and voila !!!! - Your rooftop lawn is back and looking good !!!

looking good to me !

For a care free lawn on your fabulous rooftop garden our Design Team is there to help !

Don't delay - Call today !

PLANT SPECIALISTS

GREENING NEW YORK FOR OVER 52 YEARS !

Article written by our Staff Horticulturist, Peter B Morris, BSc, MSc, MBA

All photographs used with permission @SHUTTERSTOCK and some of our gardens too!

Peter Morris

Peter was born and raised on a beautiful green island in the midst of a tropical rainforest. He was introduced into the world of plants at the age of six when his grandmother, an avid Spanish gardener herself, asked him to help her grow seeds for her pepper garden. He was hooked! By the time he was a teen, he had his own rose and orchid collection numbering in the hundreds. Botany was in his blood, and that is what he set out to study.

His passion brought him to NY in the late seventies to further his education. His tenacity allowed him to work full time at Plant Specialists while he completed a MS in Plant Biology. As a manager at the time he felt unsatisfied with his knowledge of business and business processes. Peter felt compelled to learn, so he then pursued and completed an MBA in Quality Management within a few short years.

Peter’s other passion is teaching. His natural ability is quickly consumed by our staff in all subjects in Botany, Horticulture, and Landscaping. He created an immense reference library of more than 3,500 plants providing an invaluable resource for our staff.

Peter’s breadth of knowledge and wisdom allows him to effectively diagnose the needs of plants. Sometimes just by walking into a garden he can create a prescription that fixes even the hardest issue. He is our Staff Botanist, Diagnostician, and all around Mentor. Recently, he has put his immense knowledge and skills into developing a new department that focuses on Plant Healthcare. As he puts it, “Magic through Science”. The PHC staff that surround him have avidly consumed his teachings. Substantially developing their own plant wisdom, many have taken on difficult plant health issues with spectacular results.

Plant Healthcare has been an instant success with customers! The proper treatment of insects and diseases including Organic methods has made pest control a necessity for every plant. Correcting hormonal imbalances caused by planting in containers or refurbishing soils leached of nutrients by irrigation systems are big challenges PHC has become quite comfortable addressing. The scientific approach to the complex demands of keeping plants healthy in our harsh city environment has made many a customer say WOW!

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