Archives for October 2017

I bet from the heading you are like where is this story going? What type of person runs around “Commando” on their lawn.? And what disasters happened to them….

Well, as you may know, I have a 9 year old son and a 15 year old son. So you can imagine the conversations that come our of the back seat of the car sometimes.

Like yesterday. As we are driving along and I’m singing to the music with my daughter who has wrangled the front seat from her two brothers  somehow (its amazing what a quick tongue and a fast run can do for a girl), the boys in  the back seat think we cannot hear them speaking.

So my youngest asks his older brother what going “Commando” means. My oldest blushes a little and says it when you don’t wear undies under our shorts. Then added, “Don’t do it. I don’t want to see anything. No one does.”

I just keep my awesome singing going and pretended I didn’t hear. I did notice this morning that they both came down looking for undies.

It made me think about “Commando” though. Not that I am thinking of going the no underwear to work thing. Oh No. I was thinking that its the preparation that no one sees that can make a huge difference.

Like wearing underwear to ensure your comfort throughout the day. Or putting on the right underwear to go with your outfit.  In my case, to suck all my flabby mummy- tummy in and create “shape” when I wear a nice dress.

Well, ensuring you have the right soil under your turf is the same.  You use your soil to create shape in your lawn. Putting down a good organic nutrient rich soil will ensure the long term health of your lawn. It will attract microorganisms into the soil to create pathways for the health of your lawn. A good fluffy soil will drain lots of water away, but hold enough close enough to the roots. Then by putting the right turf down in your lawn, your backyard will be greener for longer. Isn’t it great to have the best greenest lawn in the street? When you order your turf through us we provide you with an installation guide as well as an aftercare guide. Give us a call now to start you off.

And all it takes is you putting down your lawns “undies” first to make sure your new turf preforms to its highest standard. Take my boys advice. Don’t go Commando for your lawn.

 

Chat soon

Sare

We have now lived in our house for 5 years. Over this time we have painted and not painted some rooms. Mostly tiled the whole house and carpeted very few rooms. And mostly just “discussed” what we should do with our yard. The Turfman usually just brings home some turf to try out at our place and we work around it. At the moment we have a mish mash of every variety Coastal Turf offers on our yard. I can tell you how each variety works under several conditions because I have all the lawn varieties in all types of different places. Like in the shade. In the sun. High traffic. Low traffic, and may favourite area, around the clothes line.

Like most parents, and in my house, me the mum, seem to do a lot of washing. I once saw a Meme on Facebook saying something along the lines of according to how much washing I do,  there must be several other people living in my house who I haven’t met yet.  I really really must have like 4 extra people in the house. All who wear clothes randomly and only have one leg, so we can only wash one sock at a time.

I am in my work boots most of the day, in two matching socks. Either down the farm, or in the office I have my big heavy safety boots (and big fluffy socks) on the protect my feet. And like all work shoes they are not like walking on clouds all day. So when I get to come home and slide off my boots, put my TWO socks in the laundry, I love to walk on something soft and comforting. Now our house, as I mentioned before, is mostly tiles, so there is no real relief from walking on the carpet.

But my clothes line has beautiful soft Blue couch under it. My exciting go getter mum and wife life is so reflected that I come come, feed people (some are mine, some are just there. But hunger anyway so I feed them), and then go on with house work. Like clothes washing.

Clothes lines are meant to be in full sun. I married a farmer. And even though we work and live on a lovely large farm, our house block is small. Because really, all that space can be used for growing turf. For other people to enjoy. So my clothes line is located between the shed and the water tanks. And gets maybe 6 hours of sunlight per day if I am lucky. It  does get a good wind going thorough though which does dry clothes quite quickly.  And when I get to hanging out the washing at the end of the day, I love to take my shoes off and walk bare footed over the super soft grass. I have a combination of blue couch right under my line, and Palmetto buffalo just off to the side.

The blue couch is so super soft and comforting on my bare tired feet. As I hang out everyone else’s one sock and my two washed socks, I am happy in my bare feet. It gets only Mum traffic, as the kids and husband don’t like venturing to the clothes line, in the fear that they may be asked to help. So it has stayed lovely and soft for me. I hardly ever water it. Occasionally I will let the washing drip dry, and it does rain; Sometimes. But for 5 years with little to no care from myself it has stayed my true blue lawn. The boys do mow it about every 2 weeks, and thats about as much care as I give it.

Just around from the clothes line is a small area of Palmetto that is spongy and green. This is my secret area that the kids cannot see from the house when they stand and call me because the clothes line blocks their sight. And I know they hardly ever walk past the line to see if I am there. So it is here on my little Palmetto sanctuary that this summer, after I hang out my washing, that  I shall be hiding with my iPad, and if I’m really going to get excited, my book, for a little while. Enjoying the sun, and my lovely lawn patch. Just for me.

Chat soon. Probably best to send emails if its clothes hanging out time and I’ll get back to you from the patch.

Sare

Its at this time of year, when its raining and wet and your yard starts to get really muddy, that you really appreciate the humble lawn. It’s the green carpet that cleans your boots as you walk along. It’s the soft mat that comforts your kids as they fall upon the ground. It is the saver of your carpets when your family walks from outside.

But when you don’t have the clean green outside, you really start to notice other peoples yards. This is when the “Best lawn in the street” competition really comes into play.

When there is brown and sticky mud around your lovely home your walk to the bus stop takes that so much longer with the kids.

Here is a little story…

As you walk the kids down the street to the bus stop under your umbrella, you splash past lawns that are patchy and have huge puddles forming in the yard. All the water from their yard is starting to run all over the paths, making a great time for your toddler to splash your once dry pants. You and your toddler glance over at your neighbours lawn.  All of a sudden you imagine your little ones in their bright yellow gumboots making a huge splash in your neighbours yard creating a mud pool for them as well. You hold your little ones hand just that little bit stronger as you walk by. They struggle as you walk and your school child complains that it really is too wet to go to school. You cant see the day getting any better, cause when you get home you know that you have a day with a  toddler stuck inside. No amount of Paw Patrol is going to make today better.

Down the road, as you near the bus stop you walk past your new neighbours lawns which have Coastal Turf signs. Their lawns are  magical green lawns of pure brilliance. You start to imagine what your home could look like with the beautiful lawn around your place. The first lawn is soft and an emerald colour. Its fluffy and almost calls for you to take off your shoes and walk across it. Even in the rain. No puddles on this lawn. From your memory you think it is a blue couch lawn.

The next house along has a thick leaf lawn. The kids bounding our of this home look like they have a lovely spring to their steps as they bounce across the lawn. Their shoes don’t appear muddy or grass stained when they arrive to the bus stop just ahead of you. You look down at your shoes and see the mud from home. The kids mother runs out after her chatting two and hands them a lunchbox with a kiss, with a little running toddler behind talking quickly about how his boots make a great sound on the grass. She smiles at you in the knowing ways mums smile at each other when their kids are too “busy” to organise a lunchbox into their own bag. “Lovely weather, isn’t it?” she says to you.

“Oh yes. I’m really not looking forward to having my little one inside all day,” you reply, as you cast your eyes back over her thick green lawn, “What a beautiful lawn you have.”

“Thanks. My husband and I installed it a couple of weekends ago. I’m so glad we got in just before the rain. It’s Palmetto Buffalo from Coastal Turf is great. So easy.”

The bus pulls up with little splash, because the beautiful Palmetto lawn has absorbed the run off.

Your child blows you a kiss as they jump on the bus, and your little one starts to play with her new best friend at the bus stop.

“Hi, I’m Mary. Hey, why don’t you come in for a coffee. The kids can play in the back yard in their boots and jackets if you want. It can’t hurt the grass. And I love not having any mud inside anymore.”

You smile with relief at having adult conversation this morning, as well as giving your toddler time outside without fear of muddy feet. You definitely decide to get Coastal Turf’s number while you chat with your new Bus stop Mum friend.

So give me a call and we can arrange a brilliant green lawn at your place.

Chat soon

Sare

Its world Mental Health day today the 10th October.

And really you are thinking why would a Turf farm think about Mental Health. Well, not only do we really appreciate our employees (who are more like family members) but because your lawn has the unique ability to change your mood.

This is one of those subjects I find really interesting and enjoy reading  about. The way that we see something and it instantly makes us feel happier, calmer and more fulfilled. Its called Colour Psychology. Colours are meant to have effects on moods. Thats why fast food restaurants are red. Red makes you feel hungry.

where as Green, makes you feel “better”.

From www.verywell.com

“Color psychology suggests that different colors can evoke psychological reactions. For example, color is often thought to have an impact on moods and emotions. Sometimes these reactions are related to the intensity of a color, while in other cases they are the product of experience and cultural influences…. How does the color green make you feel? For many people, it immediately brings to mind the lush green of grass…Perhaps because green is so heavily associated with nature, it is often described as a refreshing and tranquil color.”

It seems Green Grass can also make you feel safe and happy.

From Pennington.com

3. Natural grassy areas can in still feelings of safety and may deter crime.

University of Illinois research in inner-city neighborhoods found that grassy areas that provide greenery but still preserve openness may deter crime. Residents who lived near open grassy areas perceived these areas as safer than other open, non-grassy areas, and they reported feeling safer. Outdoor graffiti, vandalism, littering, violent behavior and violent crimes were reduced in neighborhoods with open grass areas.

Pennington.com also stated

14. Natural grassy outdoor areas can improve physical and mental well-being.

Lawns and exposure to natural outdoor greenery can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, reduce muscle tension, improve attention and increase feelings of happiness and serenity.4 For children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), play in grassy outdoor areas has resulted in significantly better functioning and fewer symptoms than play that occurred without exposure to such spaces.11 Additional benefits are still being discovered.

So its not just me who the green stuff on our farm makes me feel better. It has the potential to make every feel happy.

Give us a call today and we can help you feel happy with your new lawn, and improve all of our mental health.

Thank you, Chat soon

Sare