Low maintenance or no-mow lawn means synthetic turf for your backyard cricket pitch

Traditional turf lawns come at a significant cost and need mowing, fertilising, irrigation, and pest disease management, relegating them to the back of the pack in the low maintenance gardening stakes.

There are, however, some turf varieties such as zoysia cvs, that require less maintenance than some of the more traditional varieties.

For a truly low maintenance or no-mow lawn, a synthetic turf may be appropriate.

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The decision to install synthetic turf over natural turf can be a challenge but, when you weigh up the benefits of synthetics, the decision can be easy.

With its lifelike appearance and minimal maintenance requirements it's no wonder synthetics are cropping up more in gardens.

Synthetics are useful in areas where natural grasses just won't grow, such as heavy shade. They are also ideal for rooftop installations and other hard surface like pool surrounds.

Synthetic turf has some clear benefits including no mowing; lifelike appearance; no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides; no irrigation; durability; year-round green colour.

Before the garden purists cry foul, synthetic turf has come a long way since it was first introduced in the 1960s. As technological advances continue at a rapid rate, the range of synthetics will certainly keep improving.

For those who prefer the organic look and feel of a traditional lawn, autumn is the perfect time to get the lawn in order for the winter months ahead.

If your lawn was well maintained over the summer months with regular fertilising and watering, this will be an easier task.

You should aim to leave a sward length of about 25mm on kikuyu lawns and, for the soft leaf buffalo and zoysia varieties, up to 45 millimetres sward length.

This will ensure enough cover to prevent many of the flat weeds that invade turf over the winter months from being able to germinate and establish.

They say the grass is always greener on the other side, but you still have to mow it.

The increased lawn height also provides for a softer surface to walk and play on, and increases the duration between cuts.

On the other hand, flat weeds such as dandelion, cats ear, cudweed and plantain, are quick to invade a tired, water stressed and scalped lawn.