Maui, HI — Looking for some creative, out-of-the-box ideas for your garden? You might start with a ”living wall” that puts your garden on a vertical plane and doubles as an art piece. To add a new dimension to an existing garden, consider plants that can suspend in the air or graft to a tree or rock.

If you’re tired of mowing the lawn, explore the option of installing synthetic grass, which looks like the real thing and reduces your water bill.

Synthetic lawns are used as backyard putting greens and are installed at playgrounds. SYNLawn’s products (which range from $2.50 to $5.89 per square foot, not including installation costs) are made with materials ranging from nylon to polypropylene.

Let’s take a closer look at these ideas, which work well in Hawaii yards.

Synthetic grass

In the past, when people thought of fake grass, they envisioned tacky, bright green and bristly turf. But with new technology, fake grass now looks like the real thing.

Installing fake lawn can also be considered ”green” since there’s no need to water.

Architects who use synthetic grass actually get points toward Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, according to Jim LoBianco, president of Maui-based SYNLawn. Some water municipalities even offer rebates for fake lawns.

”More homeowners are installing it, especially given the increase in water rates,” he said, while some are just tired of mowing the lawn.

Synthetic lawns can be hosed off or cleaned with a leaf-blower.

The lawns are used as backyard putting greens and are installed at playgrounds.

SYNLawn’s products (which range from $2.50 to $5.89 per square foot, not including installation costs) are made with a wide range of materials ranging from nylon to polypropylene.

The lawns come with a backing made of soy-based polyurethane rather than petroleum-based polymers, and newer materials do not require the rubber crumb infill used on football fields. A fade warranty lasts up to 12 years.

One of LoBianco’s recent clients is Disney, which installed SYNLawn’s highest-end offering — the SYNBermuda premium 200 — near its conference center at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa at Ko Olina.

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