Unless you’ve been watering your lawn religiously these past few months, chances are it’s not looking so good right about now. The lush green blades of spring have given way to the dried out yellow spikes of August. But there’s an easy way to turn your grass green again without watering.
My front and back lawns both got an emerald makeover this month, and it only took two hours per lawn. The solution? Grass paint.
Here are some grass paint FAQs, plus before and after pics showing how it turned out for my lawn. Spoiler: I LOVE the results of grass paint.
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Grass Paint FAQs
Does Grass Paint Look Fake?
Realtors sometimes use grass paint to give homes a quick curb appeal boost, but I always assumed it would look a little fake. At least I’m pretty sure I saw a few bad lawn paint jobs back when I was house shopping.
But I was really surprised by how well my lawn turned out. Looking at it, you can’t tell that it’s painted. (Unless you saw how bad it was two weeks ago.)
The only way you’d know it was dry would be if you gleefully ran up to it barefoot, expecting the softness of a fresh bed of grass and instead encountering the pain of a thousand needles under your feet.
Don’t do that. It’s definitely crunchy, dried out grass underneath the green. But it LOOKS so pretty!
Is Grass Paint Safe for Pets and Kids?
I used this Endurant Concentrated Turf and Grass Colorant. It is eco-friendly, organic and nontoxic to pets and kiddos!
It dries in about an hour. They recommend waiting two hours before you or your crew walk on it, just to prevent green stains.
Does Grass Paint Damage the Lawn?
One thing I was worried about was the long-term health of the lawn. Would painting grass damage it and prevent it from coming back to its usual green self this fall?
According to the grass paint companies, no. Colorant does not damage the lawn. It is nontoxic and usually made with fertilizer, so it can actually help the lawn. And it’s only being applied to already dead grass blades, not the fresh green ones that will come up again when the rains return.
But some people do question how regular painting might affect the health of the lawn and soil after many applications. For my lawn, I’m planning to use grass paint just once or twice per summer and leave the lawn “naked” the rest of the year to make sure it can work its photosynthesis magic.
How Long Does Grass Paint Last?
This grass paint promises to last up to three months, depending on how fast your grass is growing and how brutal your weather is.
My lawn has only been painted for a couple weeks so I can’t testify to how long it lasts. But we’ve already had both rain and blazing hot sun, and the color is still holding up beautifully.
How Do You Apply Grass Paint?
First gather your materials.
- Grass paint (I used this one)
- Water
- Measuring cup
- Hudson sprayer (and a rag to keep the tip clean)
- Protective gear (sacrificial clothes, shoes, gloves, mask and goggles to keep the stain off of you)
- Lawnmower to prep the lawn
- Drop cloths as needed to protect the area around your lawn
Wait for a dry, warm day, and mow the lawn to get it ready for paint.
Cover any patios, decks, fencing, etc. near your lawn. There shouldn’t be a ton of overspray, but it’s better to be safe.
Read the directions on your grass paint container and, if it’s a concentrate like mine, mix it accordingly in your hudson sprayer.
Start on the far corner of your lawn, spraying row by row and working backwards so you don’t step on the fresh paint.
If you decide to give your lawn a second coat, start at a different corner and work perpendicularly from your previous coat to get the best coverage.
Grass Painting Tips
- Go for Concentrate: I recommend a concentrated grass paint so you can add the water yourself, rather than paying money for a bunch of water and very little paint. The one I used is so concentrated, it can cover 10,000 square feet of lawn, which was more than enough for my front and back lawns.
- Use a Disposable Measuring Container: When it’s time to mix your concentrate, your measuring cup will get stained, so you might want to use a disposable container. You can first measure water in a good measuring cup, pour it into the disposable, and mark that level with a permanent marker. Then use that disposable every time you measure concentrate.
- Take Care When Mixing Concentrate: The concentrate doesn’t just stain grass. It can stain your deck or patio. So make sure to mix it somewhere safe, like in a patch of bark dust, in a dirty old shop or over a protective tarp.
- Adjust the Spray Tip: You can adjust the hudson sprayer tip to whatever works best for you. Some people recommend the conical spray tip, but we liked the flat spray tip better for this.
- Carry an Old Rag: The spray tip may clog periodically. Carry an old rag with you so you can easily clean off the tip and continue painting.
- Consider Other Sprayer Options: Got a lot of lawn? You might want to try a battery-powered backpack sprayer to make quick work of it.
- Drier Lawn, Better Coverage: We noticed our super-dry back lawn accepted the paint more quickly than our semi-dry front lawn. The back lawn only got one coat, while the front lawn got three coats (although that was partly to max out the curb appeal factor up front).
Here’s to Lazy Gardening
I noticed some people on the internet refer to painting grass as lazy gardening. I’m 100% fine with that if it means conserving water and saving myself a bit of grief in the yard.
Who’s joining me in the lazy gardeners club?
