Green Driveway: Playing with Perception and Reality
by Franke James
Already we are seeing an improvement in the behavior of unknown drivers. We are replacing our interlock driveway with a green permeable driveway for environmental and aesthetic reasons, however I can say that we are also delighted by this unintended spin-off benefit…
Previously our 34 ft wide interlock driveway was an open invitation to cars, trucks and all manners of vehicles to pull in and turn around, without even so much as a friendly wave goodbye!
Thankfully the transformation of our old interlock driveway into a new green driveway is changing more than just stormwater runoff. It’s also changing habits. (Not everyone will appreciate this behavior change though… I’ve seen a few cars using the neighbor’s driveways now to execute turns.) Our bright yellow ‘caution’ ribbon, warning of landscape construction, is scaring drivers off… But what casual passers-by do not realize is that my intention is to make our driveway disappear from sight. Forever.
Changing Perceptions:
Our front yard now looks like there is no driveway. And I want to keep it that way. In my mind’s eye I imagine green plant life from one edge of the property to the other, interrupted only by flagstone walkways to the house. To play with the optical illusion of being driveway-free (while still maintaining a legal driveway), we will be using a variety of visual ‘tricks’ as well as a fascinating technology that originated in Germany (where European governments have more stringent environmental and ecological regulations). It is now manufactured in the United States.
The technology behind our ‘driveway-free’ illusion is PermaTURF® (pictured above and below). By using this product, our driveway can look just like a green lawn, but actually be load-bearing. This allows vehicles to drive on it without causing ruts or damage to the grass.
Each plastic paver measures 13″ x 13″, with a depth of 1 1/2 inches. The main concept to understand is that grass seed and soil goes inside each honeycomb cell. (You can place other materials in the cells such as ground cover, or even gravel and pea stones.) The opening on the bottom allows for grass root penetration and development. Once the grass has taken root and grown, the surface appearance is that of any lawn. In addition to driveways, it’s been used for parking areas, access roads, fire lanes and scores of other novel applications.
We considered using GeoTurf, which is a competitive product, however PermaTURF responded more quickly, and has more consumer friendly information on their website. There are also concrete products such as Turfstone which allow grass to grow in between them.
Change is in the Air:
Returning now to the concept of change, I received the following questions in an email from Anthony, a University of Guelph student. He is interested in building a green driveway too:
“Thank you so much for going through all this extra work to do something you know is right. I’m 23, and live in North York as well (when I’m not in school at Guelph)… If I can put up a compelling argument for my parents to let me rip up the rest of the driveway and put in a permeable surface, I might actually be allowed to put one in our driveway as well. By you doing all this work, it makes it so much easier for people in the future, like myself, who want to do the same thing. If you have the time, I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me…”
Question 1. Have you decided what you’re going to plant, and will it not need to be mowed?
FJ: I’m still doing research into the best grass or groundcover to use. It’s a combination of technology and plant knowledge. As we are using PermaTURF, I have to find a grass that works well on the soil/gravel/sand base they ask for PLUS is drought-tolerant. So much grass in our neighborhood is brown. If I plant ground cover it would not need to be mowed, but grass would. We have a hand mower — so it’s ‘no sweat’ to mow a little grass.
Question 2. What will happen in the winter when it snows, is it possible to still shovel the driveway?
FJ: Two parts to my answer –
i. Permeable driveways do not need to be made of grass or groundcover. There are other materials (such as stones, pebbles, barks) which will let the rain soak into the ground. The City may have an issue with gravel — however — the PermaTURF site says that stones are sometimes placed inside the honeycomb grid. This would greatly reduce the amount of gravel that would be displaced.
ii. We do not own a car anymore so we are comfortable with ‘experimenting’ with this. For some people it may be too impractical. The cost of grass seed is very low. If we don’t like it in the future we may replace the grass with stones. (But I think we’ll love it as the front yard will look green from edge to edge.) And as we don’t have a car, we are going to enjoy the expanse and luxury of ‘unshoveled’ snow in the winter… Except when guests come, of course. The PermaTurf protects the grass root system allowing it to shoveled — or lightly snowplowed — in the winter.
Question 3. I’m just thinking, should I be worried about my Mom and Sister complaining if they have to walk over the surface in high heels?
It will be like walking on a green lawn. Stiletto heels will sink into it… As a woman I’m willing to tolerate this… But some women will definitely complain. I spoke with a lady in the area who has an interlock honeycomb driveway (grass grows up in the middle of the diamond) that appears to Turfstone. It was installed by the prior owner who was an architect. She said her female friends always complain about walking on it and she is planning on replacing it.
Question 4. Are there any other difficulties other people have brought up to you that I need to consider before I decide to do this as well?
FJ: I think you’ve raised the key issues. Personally I think that permeable driveways are the best thing for the urban environment and we are thrilled that we are able to do this. It will be good for the environment (allowing rain to soak into the soil, reducing heat island effect, supporting more plant life which offsets carbon emissions). The fact that we are going to use grass or groundcover will be viewed by some as impractical — but we are willing to experiment as the upside is more greenery and beauty for our property.
It’s very important that you separate the idea of a permeable driveway from a green permeable driveway. If you decide that grass/groundcover is too impractical for your use, then use another permeable material. The permeability is the critical part, not the grass issue.
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We’ll have to wait to hear whether Anthony is successful in persuading his parents, but I am also interested in hearing from anyone else who is considering building a green driveway. In our case, it would improve the neighborhood… Now just imagine if it became a hot trend!
Please email me at franke@frankejames.com
Green Driveway: Playing with Perception and Reality © 2007 Franke James;
Photography, illustration and writing by Franke James, MFA
Green Driveway credits.
July 11th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
I think this is a very useful and pragmatic assessment of this technology including the high heels aspect which I would not have considered- not all green solutions work for everyone and there are tradeoffs. Our drive (which received new asphalt last year) is steep and I think a grass drive would be slippery in winter. The snow issue is real. In Rochester you become an expert in shoveling snow and shoveling grass is a real pain. It might plow however but you’d risk stripping off the grass.
Permeability is the real story here- in an urban environment I’d seriously consider this solution. I look forward to seeing some before and after pix when the grass grows in- probably in the fall with the dry summer we’re experiencing here in Lake Ontario Land.
July 11th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Thanks Martin! Good points.
To anyone who is reading these comments, Martin writes a terrific climate change blog called Burner Trouble.
July 11th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
After reading your post, I was curious why you didn’t decide to go with Turfstone?
July 11th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Good question — We considered Turfstone, but we prefer the look of PermaTURF. It creates the illusion of a green lawn. Turfstone is very obviously concrete with grass growing in the middle.
July 16th, 2007 at 1:50 am
Franke,
I feel like an ostrich with my head in the grass. I have never heard of such a thing as Permaturf… Perhaps not being a home owner keeps such things away from my radar. I am completely intrigued. Will have to do some sharing, I know a few folks that this would really rock their green sensibilities. What an example you are!!
Mother Earth
July 16th, 2007 at 9:30 am
What a great idea! I’d love to see more photos as progress is made and the grass grows in. I’ll have to spread the word to friends here in Bellingham, WA. Keep up the good, GREEN work!
Tara
—>Hey Karen–this is a great blog
…I will have to stop in more!
July 30th, 2007 at 1:25 am
This product is exactly what I have been looking for as my son’s car constantly tears up the lawn. is it available in Australia?
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:53 am
Franke,
I like the idea of you spreading the word and like you I am very excited see as this great project unfolds
Mother Earth ( aka – > Karen!)
http://www.bestwellnessconsultant.com/
August 28th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
I’ve actually been studying this a bit lately. Permaturf and Turfstone both came up in my studies. For those with concerns about walking on a permeable surface in high heels (or, in my case, missing the ability to play basketball in the driveway), there are yet a few avaiable options in permeable pavements. These are most certainly not as aesthetically pleasing, however.
Both asphalt and concrete can be made permeable now. It has to do with the size of aggregate in the mix, mostly. These newer methods allow water to drain through to the earth below, and also help the pavements resist from cracking in winter freeze/thaw periods. Any ashpalt or concrete contractor can lay our pour permeable pavement, it’s just a bit of a pain in the ass (as it doesn’t lay flat or pour as easily).
August 28th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Thanks Tim! Appreciate you sharing your knowledge. See the next article in the Green Driveway series: How to Build a Green Driveway in a Long Weekend. ~ Franke
September 26th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Read the Toronto Star article today. It mentions the City will ‘monitor the performance’ of your ‘pilot project’. What are they worried about?
I’m on the usual small Beaches lot and your solution certainly seems attractive at first blush. It’d be great if you could comment on whether, if the system became widespread, it’d look like we’re parked on our front lawns.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
Yes I kind of wondered at that comment too… Are they worried the PermaTURF will break? It won’t. It is strong enough to drive trucks on and has been used for a decade in the US. Go to their site for more info.
To answer your next question about the aesthetic appearance of parking on what appears to be grass… well it will look like grass. Ideally you’d have a garage to park your car in, so it wouldn’t be visible. But most people use garages (if they have them) for everything except cars! You may want to look into Turfstone (Google it for the info). It is a concrete product that allows the grass to grow up between it. It can look quite nice if you take care of the grass. I will be posting my 7th article in the next few days about the Green Driveway project and the grass we’ll be using. It’s called Eco-Lawn and it puts down deep roots — about 10 to 13 inches. This article that you posted to is the 5th in the series.
Let me know if you decide to build a Green Driveway!
April 21st, 2008 at 9:44 am
We currently have an asphalt driveway that is in an advanced stage of disrepair. I would really like to tear it up and my goal is also to make the front of my home green from side to side (although we are trying to eliminate grass in front and stick to gardens, in the back we have planted eco lawn and perrenial rye).
My concern, however, is that we are in an older section of town and have no sidewalks, so my daughter has no safe place to skip, ride her bike, scooter, hopscotch etc.
A nearby school has what I suspect would be turfstone, appears to be honeycomb pavers with grass growing up the centres, would it really be inconducive to play… it seems to me that it would be the equivalent to hard packed earth.
I am hoping that this system can work for us, if not, do you have any suggestions.
Kara
August 26th, 2008 at 6:26 am
What a brilliant idea. My husband and I are looking at having to expand our driveway, as I am no longer a road warrior and have found work closer to home. Which ultimately means that there will be 2 vehicles using the driveway. This meant we would were considering ripping up some more lawn and putting in cement. But this is a great concept. This would mean we would still visually have one standard concrete driveway with the second parking spot being a visual continuation of the lawn. so we would not lose the curb appeal of our old Victorian house.
I do have one question about the shoveling and removal of snow. Did you use a shovel or a snow blower last year to move the snow? We live in the snow belt in Ontario and get dumped with lots of snow.
I was also wondering would you recommend putting in a central walkway (pavers) down the centre of the lawn, to that you could catch and contain any oil or AC leaks that a vehicle may have. One thing I hate to say is that I find the cement driveway is a great way to find out you have a leak that needs to get fixed. So I wasn’t sure if you recommended putting in a line of pavers down where the engine would be?.
Thanks
Kristine
August 26th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Kristine,
Thanks for your comment and questions. Please check out two more recent posts in 2008:
Are Grass Driveways the new trend?
http://www.frankejames.com/debate/?p=108
In it I talk about snow and snowblowers. (Note that we don’t have a car though cars have parked on our grass driveway without doing any harm.)
In the comments following the post, I talked about concrete — and why it’s better to have the pollution from the car go into the grass, than concrete.
excerpt:
You can read the whole comment here:
http://www.frankejames.com/debate/?p=108#comment-38358
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My visual essay Paradise Unpaved tells the whole story of our grass driveway in words and pictures: http://www.frankejames.com/debate/?p=98
If you build a grass driveway please send me a photo and tell me about it. Your name and location does not have to be disclosed.
Cheers,
Franke