The lawn question divides Maltese gardens like few others. One camp calls artificial turf the only rational answer to a five-month drought; the other calls it hot plastic carpet. Both are right about something. Here is the comparison without the ideology.
The case for artificial
- Water: a real lawn in Malta drinks constantly through summer — realistically thousands of litres per summer for even a modest patch, at Maltese water prices. Artificial drinks nothing.
- Maintenance: no mowing, no feeding, no reseeding the patches that died in August. An occasional brush and rinse.
- Looks in the hard months: uniformly green in a heatwave, when every honest lawn on the island is straw.
- Small and awkward spaces: for the 15m² courtyard or the shaded side strip where grass never thrived, turf performs where turf-the-plant cannot.
The case for real
- Heat. The decisive physical fact: artificial turf in direct Maltese summer sun gets genuinely hot — often too hot for bare feet and dog paws in the afternoon. A living lawn transpires and stays walkable. The surface you installed for the children can be unusable at exactly the hour they want it.
- Life: real grass cools the air around it, hosts the small ecology a garden runs on, and smells like a garden. Turf contributes nothing to the garden's living system and sheds microplastics as it ages.
- Ageing: quality turf looks good for 8 to 12 years, then looks like old turf and goes to landfill. A lawn maintained is renewable indefinitely.
- Drainage and prep matter: cheap turf badly laid ripples, smells (dogs especially) and grows weeds through the seams anyway.
The numbers
| Artificial | Real lawn | |
|---|---|---|
| Installation, per m² (supplied and laid) | €25 – €60 | €8 – €20 (turf or seed with soil prep) |
| Annual running cost, small lawn | Minimal | Water, mowing, feeding: €150 – €500+ |
| Lifespan | 8 – 12 years, then replace | Indefinite with care |
| August condition | Green but hot | Golden unless watered hard |
Over ten years, the money roughly converges for small areas; the decision is really about heat tolerance, feel and what you want a garden to be.
The third options
Worth pricing before either extreme: a smaller real lawn — a green core you can actually keep alive, framed by gravel and drought planting; heat-tolerant grass species managed to survive summer semi-dormant; or no lawn at all, which done well (and it is often done beautifully in Maltese courtyards) beats both contenders on cost and character.
A gardener who installs both is the most honest referee — they know what each becomes after three summers. Post your space's photos, orientation and how it gets used (children? dogs? looked at from the kitchen?) on Qabbad's gardener page, and providers covering your locality will quote the options side by side, with maintenance costs attached to the living one.
Frequently asked questions
How much does artificial grass cost installed in Malta?
€25 to €60 per square metre supplied and laid, depending on turf quality and how much ground preparation and drainage the base needs. Cheap turf on poor prep is the combination that disappoints.
Does artificial grass get too hot in Malta?
In direct summer sun, yes — surface temperatures can make it uncomfortable or unusable barefoot in the afternoon. Shade, lighter-coloured products and rinsing help, but heat is the honest downside to weigh.
Can a real lawn survive a Maltese summer?
With deep regular watering, suitable species and acceptance of some late-summer fade, yes. Without irrigation, no — plan for gold by August or plan the watering.