Installation Spotlight: TifTuf Bermuda Excels
at a CoEd Community
Meet the Landscaper
William Smith started out mowing lawns at only 14 years old, and he soon expanded to include small landscaping projects. Today he runs a full-scale installation business with a team of eleven people installing landscapes and hardscapes in addition to grading and forestry mulching work.
About the Project
William Smith and his team at Clean Cut Lawns and Landscaping recently added curb appeal to Octiv Row, a new college housing community near the University of West Georgia in Carrollton. The new green spaces wrap around the eight-building complex, adding bright color and softness to the modern architecture.
Although beautiful, the grass will have to make the grade under punishing conditions—not only from the relentless summer heat and sun, but also from the feet of more than 160 active college students, traipsing back and forth to class and roughhousing on the grounds.
About the Grass
About the Grass“The plans called for Bermuda, which is pretty hardy, but the project is mostly in full sun so we needed a grass that would not only last a long time but would also be drought tolerant and be able to take the heat and sun.”
Smith chose TifTuf, a premium Bermuda developed by the University of Georgia for superior drought resistance. The specialized grass maintains quality and color while using 38% less water than other varieties. In addition to commercial spaces, Smith says TifTuf is also a popular choice for home lawns.
Smith mentioned resistance to foot traffic was another important factor in choosing TifTuf. “There are sidewalks throughout the area, but there’s a hangout, recreation area and people are always running back and forth on the grass, so it’s got to hold up a lot better than sod that we would typically put down.” TifTuf establishes faster and recovers from traffic quicker than other varieties.
Why NG Turf
Why NG Turf“We’ve used NG Turf for seven or eight years. They’re a great company with premium sod,” Smith explained. “We want to protect our investment, but also our customer’s investment. It pays to spend a little more on the sod up front rather than having to come back, spending a fortune in additional time and labor to replace it.”
Smith regularly checks up on past projects and says that five to seven years later the sod is still performing beautifully. “We do a ton of sod installation in the winter and early spring, and NG Turf guarantees the green-up. That’s a major thing for us. We’ve never had a call-back on it.
“We’ve used several different sod companies, and NG Turf is definitely the one we prefer to use every opportunity we get.”
