Struggling for ideas to spruce up your garden?
Whether you’ve got a high-maintenance grass lawn that has seen better days or a patch of concrete that looks dull and inviting, artificial grass can help you add color, vitality, and practicality to your yard spaces.
Artificial grass is very low maintenance, highly durable, versatile, and affordable enough for large or small backyards. Although the upfront costs are higher than real grass, synthetic turf pays for itself after five years and continues to look fantastic for many years afterward.
Whether you want to delight the children, entertain your pet dog, make a comfortable and convenient space for the family and guests or satisfy your love of sports, artificial grass can help you do the lot.
Here are some of the best artificial grass garden ideas to spruce up your back, front or side yard…
Artificial Grass Garden Ideas For All The Family
Many of the best ideas with artificial grass will be loved by the whole family…
1.Run artificial grass around an inground or above-ground swimming pool
There are as many different types of swimming pool designs as there are backyards—and artificial grass works equally well with all of them.
If you have the space, this recent example from a client shows what’s possible:
If you’re more pushed for space or looking for a low-budget swimming pool, you can still use artificial grass around an above-ground pool. Stock tank swimming pools like in the following example usually come in eight- or ten-foot sizes:
The best-quality pool turf professionally installed provides a perfect surface around a swimming pool. It is sun- and chlorine-resistant, lush underfoot, with good drainage. Artificial grass also means minimal maintenance and no mud or grass clippings trailing back through the home or into the pool.
2. Switch from real grass to artificial grass for a perfect picnic area
Love family picnics?
Artificial grass backyard lawns offer a year-round verdant carpet of grass for the family to sit on and enjoy their favorite fare in the sunshine.
Artificial grass looks and feels increasingly realistic and though it may get a little hotter than real grass in the summer, you can put the garden tools away and avoid the constant watering, mowing, fertilizing, and more associated with keeping real grass lawns looking the part.
Instead, you get a picture-perfect backyard lawn with no effort.
If you’re worried about the effects of food or wine spills on synthetic grass, here’s what you need to know about how to clean artificial grass.
3. Add stone pavers for a pathway
Pathways across lawns add practicality and style. With artificial grass, you can install elegant pavers with beautiful turf strips between them.
The turf strips are much easier to look after than real grass as they require no cutting, trimming, edging or watering and they remain looking lush and green all year without any effort.
The contrast between the neutral colors of the stone and the vibrant green of the grass is a popular design choice for many homeowners.
4. Replace concrete or gravel with a vibrant green space
Did you opt for a low-maintenance concrete or gravel yard years ago but want to spruce it up?
Artificial grass is now better quality and more affordable for homeowners, so it’s a more viable option for adding style and color to an otherwise drab space.
Installing high-quality artificial grass retains the low-maintenance appeal but it looks a lot better than plain concrete, as in this example:
Even in high-traffic areas, artificial grass will stand up well to wear and tear, as it is highly durable.
5. Add a bocce ball court
Bocce ball is a game suitable for all the family played on a long rectangular court. It blends elements of bowling, curling, and shuffleboard. The official size of the court (86 feet by 13 feet) is usually scaled down in backyards.
One great garden idea is to install a bocce ball court using artificial grass or with artificial turf surrounding the court.
With an artificial grass bocce ball court, all the family can enjoy a skillful backyard game all year round on an all-weather surface!
6. Build a bar or entertainment area
Love sitting out sharing a few drinks with family or friends? Maybe you like to entertain regularly by your poolside bar?
Or perhaps you want something designed for all the family to sit together and enjoy quality time together in the yard:
Whatever the design, artificial grass fits the bill for outdoor entertainment areas. It’s easy to keep looking pristine and can be cleaned easily if any spillages or accidents occur.
7. Design a backyard firepit
An alternative to a bar, entertainment area or balcony-style sitting area is to go a little more “primitive” and introduce a little fire into the backyard vibe.
A firepit is a place for family and friends to sit and chat or simply to sit alone and contemplate life for a while.
A popular addition to backyards across the country, firepits now come in many different designs and fuel types. If you don’t fancy a real wood firepit, gas or electric models are common alternatives.
Either way, artificial grass works as the ground surface and contrasts well with the stone or metal firepit structure. Just make sure that with real-flame firepits, the artificial grass is far enough away from flying embers as artificial grass can melt when exposed to flames.
8. Add artificial grass in your side yard
Why limit the use of synthetic grass to the backyard? Because the synthetic variety needs no sunlight to flourish (like real grass does), it can be installed in those “awkward” garden areas that see little sunshine, like a side yard:
In such locations, artificial grass is the perfect answer, remaining green and lush and adding color and beauty to an otherwise problematic area. This can add curb appeal and value to your home if professionally installed and combined with other artificial grass garden ideas.
It’s interesting to note that the lack of requirement for sunshine is one of the main reasons why artificial turf often replaces real grass in professional football and college sports stadiums across the country.
9. Convert the front yard to artificial grass
Backyard, side yard, and front yard. Some homeowners use artificial grass surfaces in all their outdoor garden areas.
Front yard design ideas for artificial grass are many and varied—from a small patch of lawn by the driveway to turf strips between pavers.
In some municipalities, turf is even used on curb strips by the road or parking areas.
All of the benefits of artificial grass apply equally to the front yard as the backyard—no mowing, water usage or gardening equipment is required, while the patch of turf retains an immaculate appearance all year round.
10. Design a driveway using artificial turf strips
You can drive on artificial grass and it can be used effectively for driveways when combined with stone, concrete, gravel or pavers:
Bear in mind that the extreme weight of most vehicles can be detrimental to artificial grass if you park for extended periods on lawns without any additional support for the vehicle. The turf fibers flatten and the area may lose some of its visual appeal.
For a clean, modern aesthetic, combine artificial turf strips and stone or concrete pavers for your driveway. This looks fantastic in almost any type of combination while also standing up to the inevitable wear and tear and vehicle weights.
11. Add an artificial grass wall or backdrop
Artificial grass can be used vertically as well as horizontally! Artificial grass backdrops or turf walls are an increasingly common sight in homes, gardens, and commercial properties around the country.
The realistic emerald green of synthetic grass can add a splash of color to an otherwise drab space, brightening it up without requiring much ongoing effort from home or business owners.
12. Design an outdoor dining area
If you and the family like to eat alfresco and enjoy the weather—but don’t want to sit on the lawn—a temporary or more fixed outdoor dining area can allow you to enjoy that pleasure together.
With temporary outdoor dining, the furniture you bring will flatten the turf for a while but one of the beauties of the best artificial grass is that the blades bounce back after you remove the weight.
For more permanent outdoor dining arrangements, consider a setup something like this:
Artificial Grass Garden Ideas For The Kids
Artificial grass is very kid-friendly, as you can see from these garden ideas…
13. Design a backyard play area with swings and slides
Playgrounds can prise children away from the TV, computer or smartphone screen, often providing much-needed mental and physical stimulation and getting them outside and active.
The extra safety demands of play areas shouldn’t discourage parents from installing play equipment in the backyard. Backyard playgrounds must be installed with a shock absorbent layer when the ground is prepared under artificial grass. This, however, requires the know-how of a professional installation team.
If the proper processes are followed, your play area will provide a safe, convenient, stimulating area in the back or side yard that the kids will love—without having to drive to public playgrounds.
14. Add a trampoline area
A trampoline in the backyard is another garden idea that will delight the kids. In-ground trampolines provide amusement, exercise, and fun for children of all ages and don’t cost much to install.
The area around the trampoline can be synthetic grass, which will, help keep the trampoline itself clean and hygienic—while maintaining a lush and natural feel under bare feet.
15. Make a chess or checkerboard from artificial grass
If you don’t have the space for a playground in your back garden, it can be fun to design a giant artificial grass chess or checkerboard instead. Here’s an example:
A design like this can spark interest among children in games that work the brain—and budget-conscious homeowners may even be able to use offcuts from other artificial grass projects to create their checkerboard design.
Artificial Grass Garden Ideas For Sports Lovers
Artificial grass first saw the light of day as AstroTurf in the 1960s and 70s on sports fields because of its ease of maintenance and cost-savings.
To this day, it works well in many types of sports…
16. Design a personalized backyard putting green
For golf enthusiasts, a high-quality backyard putting green was once a pipe dream because of the high maintenance costs and specialist knowledge required to keep real grass greens looking and acting the part.
That’s no longer the case. A personalized backyard putting green is more affordable now because of the improvement in the quality and availability of artificial grass that perfectly mimics the performance of real putting green grass—with very minimal maintenance and no water required.
Whether you want a simple green with a couple of holes or an expanded area that includes chipping, sand bunkers, and even water, synthetic putting green turf makes that vision possible.
Discuss your putting green design ideas with a professional artificial grass team and there’ll no longer be the need to drive to the local course for putting or chipping practice.
17. Create a mini-soccer field
This one is likely more for the kids but a mini-soccer field is another popular artificial grass garden idea for homes that don’t need to worry too much about space.
Whether it’s for two-a-side games or simple shooting practice, you can set up a goal or two and not worry about keeping the grass short enough to play on. It’s always the ideal length with artificial turf.
Many soccer stadiums around the country use artificial grass because of the many benefits it offers.
18. Install a volleyball court
Don’t have the space in your garden for a soccer field but love volleyball?
The whole family can enjoy backyard volleyball tournaments in all weathers with an artificial turf volleyball court.
The turf will withstand the heavy foot traffic it receives from players and always remains the perfect length for a game at any time of the year…
Artificial Grass Garden Ideas For Dog Lovers
Worried that your pet dog will struggle with artificial grass or that the dog pee odors will be overbearing? Don’t be…
19. Create an exercise space for your pet dog
A dog run can be a standalone structure taking up considerable garden space or a scaled-down version perhaps attached to an existing structure in your backyard—or even along a side yard. There are so many design options for dog runs with artificial grass.
Dog runs provide a safe and convenient place for your best friend to run, play, and roll all year round regardless of the weather.
Replacing real grass with artificial turf makes a lot of sense when you have pets. Dogs can quickly ruin lawns with digging while the mess from the garden can be trailed back through the house on wet paws.
With synthetic pet turf, these worries are non-existent. The main concern for homeowners with dogs and artificial grass is how to deal with pet pee odors. But dogs can pee on our artificial grass because our pet turf is installed with excellent drainage capacity and the antimicrobial infill helps to disperse any lingering odors, keeping it fresh and hygienic.
If there are ever any concerns about odors, you can learn how to neutralize dog pee odors here.
20. Add artificial grass around a dog house
Another popular garden idea using artificial grass for dog lovers is a personalized dog house. The structures can be almost any size, with durable pet turf laid in the spaces around it within an enclosure.
You might also add sand pits or other play areas around your dog house to further amuse your dog.
Other Artificial Grass Garden Landscaping Ideas
If you want to spruce up your garden with some landscaped features, try these ideas…
21. Add a pond to your artificial grass lawn
The emerald green of artificial grass looks striking against the water in a pond or other backyard water feature.
When you weigh up whether artificial grass or real grass is best for your home, water usage may be a consideration, especially if you’re in an area at risk of drought.
The synthetic variety saves a LOT of water so you may not want to consider a water feature in your yard—but a small pond needn’t use many resources if it recycles water and reuses it repeatedly.
22. Build a patio with artificial grass shaped around it
A patio made of neutral stone flagstones, wood decking or another natural material can look stunning with artificial grass shaped to its contours.
This idea adds to the required budget and needs hard landscaping but at Artificial Grass Pros, we can accommodate many major hardscaping ideas into our projects. This is one of our recent projects with a contemporary-looking patio and artificial grass combination:
This eye-catching outdoor space is spacious but remember, everything can be scaled down to the available space. Artificial grass is easy to shape around existing structures if you know what you’re doing during installation.
23. Add a rock garden to your turf area
A rock garden is another environmentally friendly idea requiring no water—so it’s very suitable for drought areas.
The natural colors of the rocks contrast with the verdant greens of the turf and a few well-chosen plants can add even more color to the space.
24. Combine artificial grass and pea gravel
Synthetic grass also works excellently in combination with pea gravel either at the front, side or back of the home—as well as in commercial properties.
Pea gravel is small, rounded pieces of gravel in neutral colors like white, cream, tan, and gray. This makes it easy on the feet and easy on the eyes.
Many homeowners use pea gravel in driveway areas, where it can also work alongside artificial grass, the small light-colored rocks contrasting with the lush and vibrant appeal of the evergreen turf.
25. A turfed rooftop terrace
This final artificial grass garden idea is not technically for a yard but will interest anyone living in or managing an apartment complex—or running a commercial building/business with a rooftop area.
Artificial grass works well in rooftop areas, adding a contemporary dash of style and color along with the practical benefits of turf (no water, little maintenance, high durability).
Rooftop terraces can include artificial grass walls, pots of flowers, and other design elements to spruce them up and create a lush urban oasis—almost impossible with real grass.
Beautiful Artificial Grass Gardens…
Synthetic turf can spruce up any garden.
In large spaces, where it can be troublesome to maintain real grass, artificial grass removes the need for constant cutting, watering, etc. It works on large lawns, around swimming pools, sports courts, putting greens, and so on.
In smaller gardens, side yards, and front yards, artificial grass works equally as well because of its realistic appearance, year-round visual appeal, durability, and long-term cost-effectiveness.
Beautiful synthetic grass garden ideas start by discussing your options with an artificial grass professional.
