Do your kids say funny things about you at school? My 10 year old son has a habit of talking without thinking it through. Words flow out of his mouth quicker than he can scan it through his mind to make sure it sounds right. (Sometimes his Father has a similar problem.) 

A bit of background information for this story. I work physically on the farm. Every day. I am not one of those ladies that can sit in the office all day. I need to be outside, stacking the turf, digging holes, talking with clients, and generally being a farmer. I love it. Not a lot on my kids Mums are like me though. Most of them work inside, have perfect nails and hair, and always pick their kids up clean. I usually come to school in the truck with turf on the back, mud on my face, and dirt under my nails. My son used to be embarrassed, but he starting to embrace my working look. I secretly think it is because on the deliveries that he comes with me to, people say how lovely it is to see a young man out helping his mum.

 Thank you sooo much to all those lovely people who embrace our family business. 

Secondly every time I have seen my kids teachers in interviews, I make sure I look like everyone else Mum. I do not go straight from the farm in my work clothes. I go in interview clean face and a touch of make up. If I’m really trying to impress I might even wear a dress.  

Two of my little kids (12 and 10 years old) go to a small school where quote often year 5 and 6 come together. Luckily on Friday was one fo those days that my two kids were in the same room, or I wouldn’t have known about this story. 

So on Friday Mrs M (My 10 year olds teacher) starts to ask all the students in her class to describe their Mum in 3 words. 

According to my 10 year old, most kids had words like lovely, wonderfully, caring. Now he is really keen to impress his teacher and his older sister about how knowledgeable he is. So he started to think of better descriptive words for his Mum than his sister would be able to.

 Mrs M  comes to my son and says , “Ok Marcus ,your turn. Describe your Mum in 3 words “. Very proudly he stands up and says loudly “Bossy, Passionate, and Dirty!”  My 12 year old said Mrs M’s face went into a little screwy, like she was trying not to laugh. Other kids started to giggle. Then he thought about what he said. Then he realised; and he started to blush. 

“Oh no. I mean she is always covered in mud from the farm. She loves her family and her job sooo much. But she always telling me what to do! “ He blurted out. 

I’m not sure what his teacher thought.But I do not think that running a family farm and business was the first to come to mind. I think several other professions may have skipped across her mind. 

Turf farming and creating family lawns is a dirty muddy business. But it is full of laughs and fun. I get to work with my Dad, my husband and my kids, creating family lawns. Kinda like being a mum of 2 boys and girl; Its messy and loud, but full of laughs and fun. 

So thank you to all the people who support our family business. And know that not only are you giving my kids funny things to say at school, but a work ethic and love of the outdoors. Which we hope to pass onto your family when we help you create your backyard. Having a grassed yard to play in is a special gift that any family can give their children. Rolling around on the grass creates strong happy memories and bodies. 

Get in contact with us today so we can help your family get a wonderful green lawn to play on, and my family funny stories to say at school. Next school interview I am going like this!

 My husband was given a singlet-shirt a couple of years ago for Christmas which says “Suns Out. Guns Out!”. And being a landscaper, his arms are really well defined. They look good. So he always wears his singlet shirt, no matter what season it is, on a sunny day and he strolls outside to do something. At the moment I know all my family is just so happy to see the sun. And it really makes you look for things to do outside.

This is the perfect time of year to feed up your lawn before it goes into a more dormant state over winter. Almost the equivalent of fattening up to get you through. Your lawn, is looking for a big winter feast to give it all the stock pile of fat for its long sleep. Especially if you have a Empire lawn. It is about to go almost into hibernation, so it will be looking to have a last hu-ra before winter. The Couches will be looking for a top up of nutrients, and the Buffaloes, well they are just hungry little lawns aren’t they. With their cute little thick leaves, they are always looking for a good meal. 

At Coastal turf we have special blends of both Organic fertiliser and Manufactured Fertiliser, that we can match to your lawn variety, to maximum the winter colour and growth. You can use one or the other, or combine the two for a super Winter wonderful feed. Spread the fertiliser and then give it a good drink to get all the goodness right down into the roots. Ask about ours specials. 

I have tried this with my own body. Sitting and eating lots of delicious Organic cheese, cakes and other delights with a beverage or several to stock pile for the winter. But it turns out for people its totally different. Although I do like to sleep in through Winter, I do not hibernate. I do not need to stock pile fat storages in my body for winter. But it is lots of fun. 

So this weekend, my Husband will be wearing his “Guns Out” singlet,  while he is fertilising our Front lawn, and the larger backyard of the farm, with a beverage or two in my hand, I will sit on the grass, sampling the softness and thinking about how lovely his strong arms are. 

Send me an email to get your best fertiliser for your lawn, either delivered to your place, or pick up from our farm. Or if you want the Guns Out singlet at your place, give the Turfman a call to get him to fertilise your lawn too. If your lucky, Turfman may have his ‘Guns Out”. 

I am a mum of 3 kids. Yes I am the Mother who is teetering on the edge of insanity. I’m about half a glass of wine away from it though. I’m hanging on.

I have a 10 year old, and 11 year old and now a 16 year old. Riley turned 16 on Sunday. And like all Birthdays I always make birthday cake for the Kids. I could totally go on that Nailed It show. I have great visions of cakes, but they do not always work out. Riley and I sat down on Friday night to discuss which cake he would like for a 16th. I though, you know, something mature, grown up, EASY. But no, he wanted a Luigi cake from Super Mario Brothers. (I did go for the easy style though. Decorated with M&Ms) And as you do sometimes when you look at the future, you think back on the past. We started to look at all the other 15 cakes we had done over the years, the parties we have had, and the people who have joined us.

And being Turf farmers all his life, a lot of Riley’s birthday parties have been on our lawn.  And it made me realise how we use our lawn so differently over the years.

When the kids where babies, and I couldn’t stand the sound of crying babies inside anymore, I would put them on the pram and push the pram backwards and forwards across a stick on the lawn. They loved the bumping (in helped with wind pain) and I was outside in the air. Which seems so much more cope-able than inside four walls.

When the kids were toddlers, the lawn was a sanctuary for us all. After hours of picking up toys and cleaning and then re-picking up toys and re-cleaning, there was no better place to go with them than outside on the grass. In summer I gave them a tiny water pistol and they squirted each other, and watered the lawn. In winter they could still go out with bare feet and run around with a ball or a tube of cardboard (this could easily a a sword or an instrument. Depending upon their mood). Our lawn was also very very valuable when the kids were toilet training. It seems that doing a wee on the grass is so much more entertaining and worthwhile for boys than in a toilet.

When they started school and where finally old enough to get the big kid swing set with the slide, our lawn and backyard became a place of squealing fun and excitement. When they were old enough for a trampoline, the lawn being thick and fluffy enough for bare feet to run across, meant that no shoes were abandoned outside.

Then as my kids got older and so did the neighbours kids, our lawn become an area of parties for everyone. Family and friends would come and we would sit, eat, drink and talk for hours while our kids played on the lawn. There is no better mother stress relief than talking with friends, knowing that your kids are happy and safe. Of of course wine and cheese.

As my  three kids grew and left me to go to school, they started to play school sports and then Saturday sports, so our lawn become a training paddock. The lawn was soft and comforting enough for football tackles that caused them to crash to the ground. But tough enough to take the beating of little feet, balls and sticks. Our grassed yard was great for the kids to learn how to pass a hockey ball, throw a football, and more importantly catch a ball. But the best part of having three kids on a lawn altogether, is that it teaches them to be good winners, and better losers. Our lawn was a great place for our family.

And now that I have a “mature” 16 year old, and two kids who think they are teenagers, our lawn is still home to running races, hand stands, football tackles, and it on occasion, becomes a camping ground for sleepovers. Lucky it is still thick soft and beautifully green.

There are so many memories that we have formed with our lawn. So many smiles, laughs, tears and joy have been on our patch of green. And I know that none of these memories could have been formed anywhere else. Our lawn is an intricate part of our family. Our family needs our lawn.

Let our family come and create a place of Joy and Green for your family. A place where memories can be made, and happiness shared.

(Sorry Riley would NOT let me put pictures of him on here. But I snuck in little kid ones because I kinda miss those days. Chat soon!)

Well I believe I am possibly a little heavier after the Easter long weekend. I may have partaken in a little too much Chocolate, Hot Cross Buns, and possibly a little too much beverages. So I am putting myself out there for more physical work. I am going to be the one hand delivering turf and possibly installing as well. I need to get rid of a little extra weight that I have found on the weekend.

And the best way to get me out and about is to have a special on our beautiful Blue Couch.

Coastal Turf has paddocks of Beautiful Blue couch available for the Easter Commonwealth games Season. Blue Couch is a very soft, deep Blue-Green, fine textured, leaf grass, that is native to the Far Northern NSW and SE Qld. As a native of our area, Blue Couch understands our weather extremes, extreme heat, and extreme wet, then extreme dry. Staying greener for longer, and recovering quickly.

Like the name suggest, sitting on a Blue Couch lawn is like sitting on a soft comfy couch. Blue couch is one of the most salt tolerant turf grasses available, and the most drought tolerant. Blue Couch requires a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight a day. Blue Couch is the perfect lawn for those sunny areas around your home where you love to spend time without your shoes on.

Call our Office now to secure your new beautiful Blue lawn at this special rate of $4.99 a sqm. 0266763695 . Or send me an email and I will get back in touch with you. Delivery available at extra cost. Or pick up from our farm at Round Mountain

And also if you decide to DIY and install your own lawn, I will provide you with step by step instructions to also help you loose that little bit extra chocolate that may have cream its way into your life as well.

One week until Easter. This in itself is pretty exciting. Its a four day weekend that is full of chocolate! What a fantastic time of year. One week until Easter means one week until Qld school holidays. And then on the 4th April beings the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

On the Gold Coast our lives may take longer than usual at the beginning of April. Our drives may take a little longer to get to the shops, to our friends and the fun places we usually go for school holiday shenanigans. So going to the park will take a long time and finding a car park will be an adventure in itself. Going to the movies will mean leaving an hour before you would usually, booking a day in advance, and then trying not to loose the kids as you walk through large crowds. And please do not get me started on where you will be able to buy lunch!

So this Easter, I think the best plan for us locals of the Commonwealth Games, is to out down some fantastic new lawn areas, so after the kids have watched some of the Games, either live and in person, or better yet on TV, we can send them outside to preform their own set of games on your lawn. Most of the games played on grass are played on different varieties of the Green Couch. The Wintergreen couch, which is fantastic as a domestic lawn, will preform like a Commonwealth Athlete for you over the years. A little time this Easter weekend, will mean a life time of a happy green lawn to entertain your family and friends.

And most importantly, a place for the kids over the school holidays. Its cheaper, easier and way more fun for the whole family , rather than having to battle to Gold Coast traffic and crowds.

Rugby Sevens!

This year on the super soft, yet touch, green couch, the Rugby Sevens will be battled out. The Men and Women of Rugby will be running, yelling and tackling on the soft green couch. The couch will comfort their strong, and most probably bruised, bodies as they come crashing onto the field. Now, if your family is like mine, they get quite, how can I say it, “physical” when they watch sport. There is jumping, and yelling and quite a lot of excitement. So when the game ends, the best idea for our family, is for me to send them outside, with a ball. Especially with these day games. I would suggest installing some beautiful green couch on your lawn. Create your own little field of dreams for your teams to battle it out for the gold hanging around their neck. Its going to save your couch and furniture. And most importantly, your sanity. Mow it high and leave a good leaf coverage to cushion bodies.

Shooting, Wrestling, and Gymnastics!

After a wonderful kick around of the ball, your family will probably settle down in the heat of the day to then sit down and watch a bit more of the games. They may have a quick look at the Shooting. If they are like my son, they may decide to whip out their own Nerf gun and have some target practice. “Not inside!” seems to be the most prominent words that come out of my mouth. I will absolutely be sending them out to practice their shooting for the next Commonwealth Nerf Games outside on the lawn.

Then comes the wrestling. Oh yay the wrestling. As much as I try to explain each and every day that the wrestlers on TV, at least at the Commonwealth Games, are professionals who train everyday and know how to fall to protect themselves; all my boys hear is my usual saying “Not inside!” And out they will go, onto the green couch to wrestle in relative comfort on the lush thick soft green couch. Again mow it high to cushion crashing bodies.

I am blessed (most days) to also have a daughter. And her friends that also appear at my home all the time. And they want to watch the Gymnastics. Which is amazing. Those people are skilled beyond compare. But they have been training since birth I think! No ones that flexible and coordinated with out at least some training. But the girls at my house, by the end of maybe 30 mins of watching amazing skill and talent, believe they have through osmosis from watching tv, got all the skills of the Gold medalist. They will tumble their way outside preferring cartwheels, roundoff and possibly a ribbon dance (but not really successfully) on the green couch lawn. Thank goodness for the soft comfort  of the lawn again. It will soften the physical blows of the crashing down of little bodies. I will be giving the mower a day off during the gymnastics.

Lawn Bowls

I suggest sitting your family down, calmly taking a glass of something refreshing, and watch the passive aggressive stares of people as they try to calmly roll a bigger ball down at a smaller ball. This is much better than fighting the traffic and the crowds and the heat.  Then I suggest, as you will already have a beautiful soft green couch lawn, go out with the family and set up a few balls, and bowl them down.

With your beautiful Green Couch lawn, mow it really short to allow the balls to flow easily across the manicured blades. This will give you a faster roll.  This should be relaxing. In the beginning. Now this is a sport that I wish my kids could preform with a little less vigour. Lawn bowls is not know for attracting loud people or violence. But they have never played it at the Turfman house. Usually we start quite calmly. And dignified. And then it gets down to a tape measure to see who’s ball is closer and progresses back to the wrestling spectacular.  Then I am happy that we left a smaller patch of the lawn a little longer. Not as many bruises.

For a beautiful Green Couch lawn this Easter and beyond, get in contact with us today to arrange delivery and or installation for the perfect Commonwealth Games spectacular at your place. Less Crowds, but all the fun!

I am even considering having the groceries delivered for 3 weeks.

I have a 11 year old daughter, in Year 6 this year. And I thought that this year would be all clear sailing. Pretty much just fun and games all year. No stress. No Naplan. Hollie is school captain and I thought the most stressful thing we would have to think about was getting her to school on time. How silly I am. Almost as soon as she walked into the school this year, all the kids were talking about where everyone was going to high school the next year.

So in term 1 week whatever we are in, I never know, I am now stressing and talking about High School in almost all my conversations. Where should she go? Which one is best for her? How do I know?

I already have an older son at the local high school. Riley has Autism, and the long hard journey we took to find the right high school for him felt like to took 2 years. Really it was probably only 8 weeks. We chose his High School because it was the best fit for him. The people were amazing and the support programs had real life success stories. But just because this is the best fit for Riley, doesn’t mean it is the best fit for Hollie.

I have 3 children. Each of my children are VERY different. Different personalities mean different dedications to different things. Riley loves his computer and video games. Hollie loves science and maths. And my youngest Marcus loves football. But mostly watching it. Being so different means that nothing is a one size fits all for our family. Especially not dinner time. And definitely not leisure time.

So I wouldn’t try and make Hollie and Riley sit through a football game, no more than I would ask Marcus to preform a science experiment. Hollie and I have started looking at all the local High Schools, and some not so local, to find her the best fit. And as annoying as it could possibly be to have them all at different Schools, I always try and find the best fit for each individual. Hollie and I were talking in the car this morning before the bus, and she asked why we were trying all the different schools.

I said because all of you are different. And I want to match the best fit to each of you. My kids have all grown up on the turf farm. They know the difference between a Buffalo and a couch. And how the couch needs full sun because of its thin leaf. And the buffalo loves shade. My kids are visual learners. They fully comprehend if you can show them and then relate it back to what they have seen.

So I said, “ You and the boys are as different as Couch, Buffalo and Zoysia. You wouldn’t put a couch in the shade would you and expect it to grow?”

“Of course not! There is no way a couch would thrive,” she said. “Is that what you do at work? Find the right grass for different people?”

“Thats my job. I want to make sure that people get  a beautiful green lawn. And that means a different grass for different people. “

“You should put that on your website, “ she told me as she and the boys ran to get on the bus, waving goodbye.

And sometimes you have to listen to your daughter. So I am.

I probably am not capable of helping you to make the right decision when it comes to High schools for your children. I more confused than I was a week ago. Every kid is different. And only you as their parent can fully know them and make the best decision you can for them. But when it comes to your lawn, I can Absolutely help you choose the best lawn for your place.

I can help match your tastes, the amount of shade,  and the amount of wear and tear  to the best variety of turf for you. Also making sure we can work in a budget for you as well. And we have Brent on the Gold Coast, and Tony on the Tweed Coast to come and install your new lawn. Taking all of the stress out of your new lawn.

So although I cannot stop all the stress in your life, especially if you have kids,  be they teenagers, tweenagers, toddlers, big or small. I can help you choose the best lawn to send them out onto.

Get in contact and let me help you choose the best Green for your lawn! 

Going Green this year? Planing on making less impact on the environment around you and create a better place for our children? Going to use less electricity ? Want to take deep breathes of clean fresh air even single morning?

Then putting a beautiful Green lawn around your home is the next best step for you to Go Green!

Is the Heat island effecting your home?

Ever heard of the heat island effect? This is where unnatural products, like pavers or concrete, which butt up against your home, create a huge amount of heat, which is then transferred into your home. Meaning you have to turn on more fans, more air-conditioning. Using more electricity. Creating more carbon into the air.

But by having the natural products, like a turfed Lawn, up against your home, the grass absorbs the heat, and cools your home. Meaning less electricity costs to your pocket, and a huge benefit to your Go Green Plan!

A breath of Fresh Air

Do all the traffic past your home create a bad taste in your mouth, and a burn in your nose? All the carbon that is injected into our air making it hard for you to want to take a bog relaxing breathe?

Well a green lush lawn will absorb carbon and store it underground. And in the morning, your lawn will provide you beautiful fresh air to enrich your lungs. Going Green means your life is enriched.

Going Green for Gold

So how does Going Green get you Gold? Well, firstly it puts so much more money back in your pocket than paying for your electricity.

And your home will increase in price, usually $70,000 extra for a home with a well kept lawn. And thats a lot of Gold for your green.

It looks nice too and feels great to know all that your doing to help- everyone.

Palmetto Buffalo Turning Green into your Gold.

I heard on the radio this week that International Womens Day this year was all about a call to action for Women to join the Sciences. But I say, Women join the Horticultural sector. Its way more fun!

You get to play outside, in the mud, and sun an cool air. You get to get your hands dirty. You get to have a work out without going to the gym. And mud is great for your skin.

And if you really enjoy the sun, being outside, as well as having a little bit of Horticultural Science behind you then Women, come over to the turf industry!

But if you just want to dabble in the Turf Industry, then install your own lawn. Forget the Gym for a week! Eat whatever you want! And get the muscles anyway!

Spreading your soil across your new lawn will mean your arms and legs and gloots will look amazing. You can skip leg and butt day at the gym! And I feel you have earned that glass of white. Take the time to appreciate your work. Take a couple of dirty selfies (dirty as in messy, not the other kind. PLEASE only the messy kind).

Get your new Coastal Turf lawn delivered. Look at the brown soil, and smile knowing you will never see it again. The beautiful green lush turf will replace it very soon. Why not call in your Gal Pals and together lay your new green lawn carpet. Its always more fun to chat and giggle while you lay your turf. So the satisfaction you will get from creating your own beautiful lawn will far surpass any gym work out you do. And in most cases its a hell of a lot cheaper than a Gym membership as well.

And after you lay turf people encourage you to enjoy your victory with a BBQ and a refreshment. At the gym, they don’t. We want  you to celebrate how awesome you are at exercising and creating beautiful spaces.

Go Women in Grass! Have fun in the mud and create a beautiful home! Isn’t that what we are all good at? Being just, you know, amazing.

😉

I truely believe that although your family is a really important part of all of our lives, having a great solid group of female and male friends is super important. And having that group be diversified beings results in fun, giggles, laughter and love.

I am usually the boring one in our friend group. My friends are all really interesting people., with what always seems to me to be really exciting interesting lives.  They tell me I have an interesting life, but all I really know about at the end of the day is making sure my kids are still alive and happy, my husband is feed and reasonably happy (depending upon how much he annoys me) and lawn grass. Thats not that exciting. Well in saying the it can be when I have to navigate the lives of a Tweenager, teenager and a big 10 year old.

But I do have friends who are super amazing and fun. And they are the perfect people to talk to so I can get away from  the daily stresses of being a Mum, Wife and Owning your own business. And always great to sit down with to have a chat, and possibly a glass of wine. The kids can frolic up and down the street, on the lawn or just not in our general vicinity. We all have “big” kids now. Which is great. So much less stressful and enjoyable. Give them a ball, a bike, a scooter, and some food, and they all play together with little interference from the “Grown-Ups”. 

In one of  our recent debriefs of our lives, one of my magic friends found this article about Earthing. From what I understood Earthing says how important it was to all of us to walk bare foot on the natural products, like soil and grass, to earth our body, relieve stress and in general get in sync with our surroundings. All of us work in shoes. Me in boots, several of my friends in high heels, and some in flat, need to be comfortable work shoes. We all walk and work hard. Easily getting in our 10,000 steps per day. And we quite often become out of sync with our surroundings. Or thats what we decided anyway.

So after our 3rd, possibly 5th glass of wine, we decided that firstly, that our husbands can all come and pick us up and take us home. Secondly and most prevalent, we decided we should all earth ourselves. So we took off our shoes, and walked outside onto my friends beautiful lawn. Which quite fortunately for all of us, was installed by Tony the Turfman, supplied by Coastal Turf. So the beautiful Blue couch lawn was soft, and comforting and inviting for our bare sore feet. And it turns out – very Earthing! We synced ourselves to the natural earth around us. We could all feel the stress leave our bodies, and become more aware of what was around us. Our breathing slowed and our conversation flowed.

It was also much cooler outside on the lawn in the shade, than inside my friends house as well. So we all sat down, chiefly to ensure we could totally sync ourselves to the earth, and also because it was a beautiful place to sit and watch the kids.

Cheese and wine on the lawn was a perfect Friday afternoon combination to ensure we had earthed ourselves, and mentally re-invigorated ourselves on the lawn. So I can vouch that Earthing does work. We all felt better after our earthing, and time on the lawn.

So get in contact with us to get a Earthing area for you and your friends (and family too if you think they need earthing) to enjoy and then refresh for the week.

At the moment there is this real trend in gardens and in our homes to make everything look old, but at the same time new. I guess kinda recycling or maybe upcycling.

Like when people take pallets and make them into chairs. And then other people like the look of the pallet chairs, but not the splinter asbestos feel of the pallets. So they make a chair out of wood store bought wood and then die it and stain it and beat it to make it look old. Or get the wrap around plastics  to make it look old. So people want there areas to look like they have always used them, but want it to be comfortable and flashy at the same time.

And maybe that’s what instant lawn or turf is. Trying to make your yard look like it has always had beautiful lush lawn. And I guess that unlike having to go to all the trouble of a pallet not pallet chair, installing a new lawn is a lot easier. And I think way prettier and more functional. You can do so much more on your lawn than on a chair. In fact everything you can do on the chair you can do on the lawn. And way more. And probably a lot more comfortably. so head over to our varieties page and see which one would be best at your place.

And I know that your lush new/old lawn will get so many more compliments from friends and strangers than a chair. Unless you put the chair on your lawn and they compliment the way your lawn makes your chair look.

Sare