Probably like all families, we have some weird and wonderful chats at our dinner table. I’m a Mum and a turf farmer, with a landscaper husband, and 2 teenagers and a 22 year old. We are lucky enough that they all still live at home. So discussions at dinner really range from the weird to the wonderful. One thing we can never all agree upon is which is the best variety of turf.
If you ask me, I love the Aussie blue couch. I just love it. My favourite hasn’t changed for 20 something years now. The soft thin leaves that comfort my bare feet as I walk across the lawn just gives me a little bit of joy. My husband installed the blue couch under my clothes line.
So I get to admire and experince its soft leaves everyday. The lawn loves when the washing drips onto the dark green leaves and offers its a little drink. As I am a lazy lawn owner. I don’t want to be out watering all the time. I forget to fertilise at home ( have done it at work, so tick it off in my head) and mowing is something I think you should do with a large tractor, not something you push. That is why I love the Aussie Blue Couch. It thrives on my neglect.
Tony the Turfman, husband, turf installer and landscaper extraordinaire, loves a buffalo grass. Specifically the Sir Walter. He loves its tough robust leaves that repair quickly, making it perfect for active areas. He has installed a buffalo patch under our basketball hoops. The Sir Walter takes a beating from feet and balls, and occasional dogs trying to help as well. Although it is a little more thirsty than the Aussie Blue couch, it handles the shade like a champion. I must admit, for this area, it looks great, and is perfect for the active area of our home. Turfman says that it is one of his clients favourites as well. Growing thick and lush in the shade, and the sun. The Sir Walter stays green and lush, even in yards with kids and dogs. It is hard to bounce a ball off though.
Our eldest son, all of 22 and who is so sweet and training to become a baker, had the luck of having my mum around when he was little. So he got to hang with Grandma rather than coming to work with Mum or Dad. Probably why he is a baking now and not turf farming. As he got older and stronger though, he helped on the farm a fair bit with my Dad and I, and often went to install turf with The Turfman. So, he has a bit of turf growing and turf laying experince. He says that his favourite is the Coastal Mix. This surprised all the rest of the table.
He told us the story of when he was laying turf with The Turfman when he was in his late teens. They went to a house that had a Mum at home with her little kids. The back yard was all dirt and mud. He remembers the kids watching through the window as they installed the turf. And how happy their faces were when they came outside to play on the grass for the first time. Then he said, with emotion overwhelming his face, he remembers the Mum crying a little, while telling him and the other boys cleaning up it was so wonderful to see her kids so happy. “So coastal mix makes families happy.” he simply stated.
Our daughter is our middle child, who absolutely adores plants. Her whole room is covered in house plants that grow and entangle her room. The nursery is her favourite place to visit on the weekend. Her dream is that oneway someone will open a nursery bookshop. So when the Turfman and I asked for her opinion on the best turf variety, I think we both thought she would side with one of us. But instead she went with the Pacific Zoysia.
Very good friends of ours have the Pacific Zoysia out on their front lawn. Their lawn collects the afternoon sun, and it has always been one of the kids favourite areas to play on. Our daughter and her not blood cousins often preformed gymnastics on the lawn for all the adults to enjoy during Friday evening drinks, or played soccer or football on the lawn. Their Pacific Zoysia lawn was always a place that the kids never wore shoes. She remembers the lawn being soft, good to fall on, and a beautiful colour.
Our youngest son is 16. And as many of you know, 16 year olds, especially boys after they get their license, go from being your sweet little boys, to large gangly beings that rest their heads on top of their mothers to show how tall they are, and often loose the ability to be able to hold conversations. When we asked him for his input into our conversation, we were excited to hear actual words and full sentences come out of his mouth. Rather than the usual grunts, and “yeah Bruh”.
My baby, who is over 6 foot now, tells me his favourite is the Wintergreen couch. We all looked surprised. “Really honey? Why?” I asked truely interested. In his deep almost manly voice, between mouthfuls, he told the table “Because it is the lightest turf slab to pick up.” Ahh. Yes it is. The wintergreen couch can be harvested sooner than the other varieties, making the slab lighter and easier to install. As the youngest, he says he had come with me to more deliveries, and has helped out more on the farm. (Disputed by the other two, but that is a whole other dinner table conversation). He did also say that he likes that softness of a wintergreen lawn, especially on the school oval. It’s great for a game of football.
You would have thought that out of a group of 5 people, at least two of you would agree on one of the turf grasses being the best. But we are all very different people. And therefore all have very different opinions. I think what it really means is that a lawn is personal preference. There is no Right or Wrong lawn. Just what is best for you. Check out all the different ones here.