New Company Offers Green Spray-Paint Service for Dead Lawns

by Stephanie Rogers · View Comments

All those banks trying to sell off foreclosed homes with dead, brown yards have a new, convenient, guaranteed non-eco-friendly option available to them: spray paint. Chances are, you’ve seen the sickly, unnatural blue-green look of grass that’s been spray-painted in order to appear alive on the side of the highway once or twice. Now, a company called Greener Grass Co. is offering the same service for foreclosed homes.

From RecordNet, via BoingBoing:

For between $175 and $225 per yard, Terlouw uses a motor-powered 50-gallon insecticide sprayer designed for treating orchard trees. He waves his magic wand and in broad sweeps, a la painting a house, makes tired, if not expired, turf sit up and sparkle like Shirley Temple.

“Looking good from over here,” hollered Chad Lam, a homeowner watching Terlouw spruce up a brown lawn across the street. “I’m glad to see that happen. It gives us all a lift around here.”

Terlouw, who formerly had a window-cleaning business, said he got the idea for the new business from football games.

“They paint logos on football fields,” he said. “Why can’t we do the same for homes?”

Yeah, because surely potential buyers will be totally fooled that the foreclosed home they’re looking at has a bright green, totally alive lawn. Just ignore that crunchy feeling when you’re walking on it. Seriously, this really is ‘putting lipstick on a pig’. And what’s in this stuff? It’s undoubtedly seeping into the soil and going down storm drains. FAIL.

Link [RecordNet via BoingBoing]
Photo credit: Craig Sanders/The Record

Tagged as: Bizarre, Jerkass, Pollution

Cleaning Lady

Nice and usefull post, thanks, this is one for my bookmarks!

Tim Keff

I think green lawn paint is a great idea for those who do not want to expose their kids and pets to toxic fertilizewrs as well as the run off that goes into water table & lakes with fertilizers. Many parts of florida are in a water restriction now (November 2008. which means brown lawns, this allows for a nice rich appearance that some neighborhoods require inspite of restrictions. But the idea is not trickory, it is so the homes can show their best. You don't sell a home when it looks like it has been trashed. Just look how some of the tv shows dress homes up to be sold. Smaller furniture makes a room look bigger, is that trickery?

kay

what is the correct surface prep and nontoxic paint?

lawn paint

for all of you that dont understand anything about lawn paint let me school you! for starters painting lawns with the right product is perfectly safe ,non toxic,echo friendly,saves our water and our power,cuts down on polution, no mowing saves gas,no blowing save gas,stop that for three to four months a year and look what just happend we save on fuel(millions) and polution(ozone gross poluters) and water/power(millions) over all if more people did more of this the correct way we could give our housing developments curb appeal and possablie keep thiefs from prowling around a vacant home .this would lead into our home values,I will end with this i have been painting fields for pro&college sportsturf for 15 years if you watch ESPN,CBS, football or soccer you would be surprised at how many of those fields are green paint and up close look just like real healthy live lawn,here is the problem ,if you dont use the right paint/die and prep your surface right it can be very toxic and look very cheap and fake,so if you are doing the job do it right there are few field painters out there dont make us look bad.

Dorothee Royal-Hedinger

I agree with Leslie, people should be growing food in their lawn space if they can or they should have native plants that are made to thrive in that climate without extra watering.

cori

Ok I have done some research into this spray painting lawns. My neighborhood is plagued by forclosures. We now have 3 houses in a row whose lawn are dead and ugly. Granted I am sure nothing replaces the look of a heathy green lawn but I am so sick of looking at my yard next to the dead yellow. It make my street look unkept. The paint these people are using are Eco friendly. I cant afford to go around watering the whole street and there is no one living there so who is supposed to "till it up and replace it"??? Think before you speak

Leslie @ the oko box

Regardless of what's in it- it is the stupiest idea I have ever seen come to reality. Lawns are bad enough- but if it's dead, then just till it up and plant native plants that can withstand the drought and keep the ecosystem right. Or try growing herbs, food, whatever- make stone path and build above ground gardens.. Lawns are the biggest waste- pollution & useless space & historically a middle finger to the poor.

Carla

I have seen that once or twice before and it always looks fake. I wonder how healthy that is: for the environment and for the ones who spray it, or the children and pets that would roll around in it. A better idea would be to plan drought resistant plants.

"And what’s in this stuff? It’s undoubtedly seeping into the soil and going down storm drains. FAIL."

Exactly what you said!