10 Grass Pavers for Driveway – All You Need to Know

We are familiar with golf mats and courses, which are used to make grassland entirely. However, grass in a golf course makes the movement of a golf cart, containing stuff to play golf sports, daunting.

To ease the golf cart journey, a solid path surface is mandatory. If we use asphalt or other materials, it differs in look from the entire grassland. Our grass pavers are an acceptable solution and provide a seamless golf course scene.

Following the Journey of Rainwater

When rainy days come, we can hear the rhythm of rain similar to someone playing drums overhead. Suppose you are venturing outside and rain directly pouring on you and your surroundings, you might have witnessed the journey of rainwater closely.

The rainwater drops on asphalt roads or driveways dissolve Petro-chemicals existing in asphalt material. Similarly, other surfaces also add various pollutants in rainwater during its journey to drainage or nearby stream or river.

Once We Had Permeable Earth Surfaces

A century ago, our roads and driveways were made of cobblestones or stone grits/gravels. Such natural materials were creating permeable surfaces to absorb the rainwater drain.

Our rush to modernization has turned our roads and driveways into impermeable surfaces using asphalt or cement-concrete slabs.

Of course, it had reduced the maintenance and cost a lot in the long run but resulted in an invisible land & water pollution, which is harming our ecosystem a lot and slowly that we even cannot see it.

Now, We Strive for Permeable and Pollution-free Surfaces Everywhere

Today supporters of green planet movements and environmentalists are favoring permeable surfaces for the sake of saving the planet for the next generations of human beings.

Many states and local authorities in the USA and elsewhere have created laws to boost the creation of permeable surfaces in private areas.

They usually force the citizens to keep at least 40% of outside areas of a building permeable, and capable of absorbing the excess of rainwater to recharge the ground and stop further pollution.

What Are Green Options to Create Permeable and Pollution-Free Surfaces in Your Landscape?

Yes, I don’t bother about the public spaces here. My focus in this post will remain on private landscapes like front-yard or porch, back-yard, and outdoor gardens belonging to private properties.

As per my opinion, the following are green options to create permeable and environmental-friendly surfaces in your landscape:

Crushed stone grits
Natural stone gravels, pebbles, and boulders.
Cobblestone pavers with wide grouts filled with sand.
Stone pavers with wide grouts filled with either gravel or grass.
Open-cell Pavers are made of synthetic, cement-concrete, or natural stone materials. Yes, hollow natural stone pavers are now available in the market on custom orders.

To be straight and brief on discussion, I’ll focus on only open-cell pavers filled with grass, not grits or gravels.

In the present market, open-cell pavers made of cement-concrete blocks or synthetic resin/plastic-like load-bearing but flexible materials are trendy. So, you can select any option that suits you for your landscape’s aesthetic, design theme, and budget.

Possible Application Areas for Grass Pavers

Sure, I can produce a long list if someone asks me about all possible application areas for grass pavers. Although, I just confined to mention some important and trendy areas for application.

Grass Pavers for Large Areas:

We can apply grass pavers or open-cell pavers in-vehicle parking like large and wide areas in your outdoor plot or in front of your garage or patio.

Grass or Turf Block Pavers for Limited Areas Like Grass Driveway:

To be specific, I would say grass pavers for driveway like limited and specific areas to reap off certain benefits. For instance, against stone grits or gravels, grass pavers made of any sturdy material remain stable and fixed.

Gravels have the possibility of a rut due to thinning of the layer because vehicles’ tire movements and load can displace the tiny gravels easily. Interlocking and combining the weight of open-cell pavers provide a hard-wearing grass driveway in an eco-friendly way.

Grass Pavers for Paths

The ideal size of one unit of grass paver is 20” X 20” in square shape. It acts as a stepping stone tile or slab when you think of a stepping stone path or walkway.

Turf Block Pavers for Swimming Pool Drainage

Pool coping stones and pool deck pavers cannot offer drainage solutions for the water splash. Instead of using iron or cement filters, you can use grass pavers either filled with grass to match the adjoining grassland or gravels to offer dry and permeable options.

Open-cell Pavers for Golf Cart Paths

We are familiar with golf courses, which are used to make grassland entirely. However, grass in a golf course makes the movement of a golf cart, containing stuff to play the golf sports, daunting.

To ease the golf cart journey, a solid path surface is mandatory. If we are going to use asphalt or other materials, it differs in look from the entire grassland. Our grass pavers are an acceptable solution and provide a seamless scene of the golf course.

Grass Pavers for Roof-top Garden

Are you living in the urban landscape and experiencing a scarcity of open & free land to meet your dreams of having a garden? Roof-top gardens are viable solutions for urban areas.

Of course, maintaining a roof-top garden is tough particularly, when heavy rainstorms drain your top layer of the roof garden. I think grass grid pavers could be an effective option to prevent soil erosion on the roof-top garden.

Grass Pavers to Prevent Soil Erosion & Water Log in Your Landscape

Logged water after heavy rain can rot the plantation in your outdoor garden. By creating permeable surfaces using grass pavers you can prevent possible damages due to waterlogging.

Similarly, by creating paths, driveways, walkways, and boundaries of the patio like solid surface utilities, we can stop further soil erosion and simultaneously recharge our groundwater to support more greeneries in our landscapes.

Benefits of Grass Pavers in Your Driveway

I think I’ve already mentioned some of the benefits of grass pavers in the section of their applications. To be short & sweet, I’d like to mention some points here.

Grass pavers cut the stormwater runoff considerably.
These pavers also prevent soil erosion.
Grass block pavers allow easy seepage of surface water into the natural ground reservoirs. Thus, it increases the water-table significantly.
Living grass in the turf blocks keeps the soil aerated.
Natural grass in grass pavers keeps the surface cool during the high-heat period, thanks to water transpiration and evaporation.
The most important advantage of grass paver is its natural beauty because of the grass growing in it. It keeps the ambiance cool and eye-soothing.

Cons of Grass Pavers in Your Driveway

We know very well the cons of grassland where we have to face some issues, such as:

Growing weeds
Needs of regular watering and nourishment using fertilizers, compost, and minerals.
Pesticide expenses
Shorter lifespan than stones, asphalt, and concrete block alternatives.
Grass pavers have often low load-bearing capacities compared to stone and asphalt alternatives.
Grass block pavers are not ADA compliant, as it creates a bumpy surface.
Finally, high-cost of material, installation, and maintenance.

How to Install Turf Block Pavers?

Do you wish to minimize heaving and cracking while creating a driveway from grass pavers? How the stuff is solid underneath the grass pavers is the key that really counts.

You need at least six inches of the thickness of the subbase.
You have to top a layer of clean rocks of one to two inches on the subbase.
Your base layer must have at least four inches of thickness.
Out of 4-inch base, ¾-inch clean rocks to make the driveway stable to pass heavy vehicles.
The grass paver system goes on top of that.
You can use a polyurethane liner near any foundation walls or concrete that needs to be protected from water flowing back.
Fill the gaps of grass grid pavers with fertile soil to support the growth of grassroots in it and go beneath.
Plant the grass sod of your choice and water it regularly to take its roots in a grip in the soil and begin sprout.

Which Grasses Are Better to Use in Grass Pavers?

It is an inviting question, and I would like to mention a few grass varieties applicable in different contexts here.

The first and foremost thing is to avoid seeds to plant directly into the soil. It takes longer to sprout and grow but it eventually results in a harder and deeper root system.
If you’re looking for instant gratification, sod it. Cut square or triangle to fit in the cells and lay that soil with roots and steams.
If your area is arid or semi-arid, prefer buffalo grass, which is a drought-tolerant variety to sustain with minimum needs of watering.
For a completely arid climate, it is better you fill the cells with gravel and let grass take roots in the soil underneath.
Zoysia, Bermuda, and St. Augustine varieties are sturdy enough to pass a truck loaded with two tons of steel!
You can try ornamental sedge for alluring grass pavers.

What Is a Practical Alternative to Grass Pavers?

Indeed, a question! For centuries, the human race had used cobblestone and stone bricks or blocks to create walkways and driveways with permeable surfaces.

The flagstone is a traditional choice for the stone driveway to create sturdy and long-lasting driveways, paths, and patios.

We can leave somewhat wider gaps or grouts between the flagstone pavers and plant the suitable grass varieties based on soil type and local climate. It lets you reap all benefits of natural stone driveways besides making them permeable and eco-friendly.

We are accustomed to the ultimate advantages of having a cobblestone driveway in our landscape. With some careful planning and design, we can plant different grass varieties in between the cobblestone pavers. It will adorn your path with a green and charming look besides creating an innovative pattern in your landscape.

World of Stones USA is a hub of natural stone driveway pavers like flagstone and cobblestone made of different types of stone genre. You can pick the best quality at the best price.