Don't Waste Water in the Garden

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.

Link of interest: Chicago Movers | Jersey City movers | Buffalo Grass Seed

Wimbledon and the new turf

If you're a Wimbledon fan, we have a piece of fascinating local history to share with you. Our artificial grass factory is in Maryport, Cumbria and just up the road is the seaside town of Silloth, which faces Scotland across the Solway Firth.

Back in the 1920's it was Silloth that the Wimbledon groundsmen would call upon to supply new turf for the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championship. The grass was extra fine with a quality second to none, hence Cumberland (as it was then) acquired a first-class reputation for sports turf. What's more, the Silloth grass was in fact sea washed turf it and it's been said that when Wimbledon's new grass was delivered it often came with live shrimps embedded in it!

Today this area of Cumbria no longer supplies the hallowed Wimbledon turf but we feel we're playing our part in taking the tradition of providing quality grass for sports to a new level. Artificial grass is used for many sports including tennis and the grass produced in our factory is shipped out to many sporting facilities such as tennis clubs, soccer stadiums, five-a-side centres and schools throughout the UK and Europe.

Building roof gardens

During the height of the summer the streets of London can become unbearably hot and sticky. You long for an ice cream or a cool drink and somewhere shady to sit and catch a breeze. For the lucky residents who have access to a flat roof there is now an important alternative solution. More and more home owners are building roof gardens or green roofs to help them live in style during the hot weather.

Although there are examples from the earlier part of the 20th century, it was not until the 1960’s that the use of roof gardens began to literally grow upwards. As well as having an amenity value, a roof garden offers substantial environmental benefits - for instance:

1. It can lower the temperature above a building, often substantially. Basically a city can raise the atmospheric temperature by reflecting sunlight - a phenomenon sometimes referred to as 'the urban heat island effect'. Having a green roof helps counteract this.

2. Insulation - a roof garden can help keep a building cool in summer and warm in winter, so fuel bills are reduced.

3. Wildlife - even on high rise apartment blocks a green garden can provide a stopover for tired birds and attract insects with plants.

If you want to enjoy the lifestyle which comes with a proper roof garden there are 2 choices:

The “Heavyweight” Route

This involves layers of waterproof membrane, constructing drainage channels if needed and then laying natural turf over the top. Of course, you could venture into hydroponics to try and minimise the weight and there are special soil mixtures available to help but basically you are looking at a lot of weight , a lot of installation work and possibly even strengthening the roof.

The "Lightweight" Route

Use planter pots, tubs and bedding to carry your plants and lay artificial grass. This way you will have less maintenance and the whole project will be easier to construct. Not only that, but all the worries about how you compost grass cuttings 10 stories up won't even cross your mind!

Many city dwellers are already doing this with the likes of Lord Linley setting a headlining example when he had artificial grass installed on the roof garden of his central London residence.

So next time you are trying to catch a breeze in a hot dusty city, look up .... you'll probably see beautiful roof gardens offering a cool solution to a busy city life.

The need to save on water | Artificial turf

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.

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.

Artificial Grass for Flying Pets

All the world loves pets ... or so it seems. In United States especially, there is a growing number of people who want only the best for their pets - from pet care to pet fashion and more.

According to the latest reports, there is even a new, dedicated, pet airline company. Yes, you read that right ... an airline just for pets! They offer lots of information on why they came into being, how they will take care of your prized pooch or moggie and they even offer tips on how to prepare your pet for travel.

So what has this to do with artificial grass? Well, at some US airports they have even created what they call 'pet relief areas' (aka doggie bathrooms) so that dogs can 'lift a leg' in their own special rest area before boarding their flight! Apparently, the idea came about because of the need for designated "bathrooms" for service animals.

Reagan and Dulles airports have no less than 7 of these 'pet relief areas' outside the concourses where they use real grass but Dulles also has 2 areas actually inside their concourses, specially fitted out with artificial grass.