He is addicted to grass – and proud of it.
A self-described lawn addict who was recently crowned the owner of Australia’s best lawn, has made a surprising confession: his award-winning yard relies on a simple $20 hack.
Perth-based father of three Phil Gregory, known online as “True Australian Lawn Addict”, recently clinched the inaugural title of Australia’s best lawn by Yates National Gardening League.
He was judged to have a near flawless yard of turf, judged by the colour, edges, uniformity, weed-free finish and a range of other metrics.
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Perth-based Phil Gregory is a self-described lawn addict.
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The award was the culmination of what has become a lifetime obsession for Mr Gregory, 52, who revealed he takes his lawn very seriously and considers it his main hobby.
Mr Gregory, a salesman for a food company, said he owns 10 lawnmowers and numerous other pieces of lawn care equipment acquired since developing his passion as a teenager.
The proud grandfather attributed his lawn addiction to a love of watching other people’s reactions to his yard.
“People don’t think it’s real, that it must be artificial,” he said. “It’s a great compliment.”
Even with all specialised equipment and knowledge, he said the foundation of his immaculate, award-winning yard came down a $20 lifter lawn food product.
Mr Gregory said he mows everyday.
It’s nothing niche or fancy – you could get at just about any Bunnings or garden store, he said.
The product, which attaches straight to a garden hose, is the cornerstone of Mr Gregory’s strategy to aggressively build up the soil.
In Perth, where the earth is notoriously sandy and prone to losing moisture, this lifter helps build a nutrient-rich foundation that encourages microbes and dramatically improves water retention.
“Soil is key to it all,” Mr Gregory said, noting that a common mistake people make is overwatering and fertilising the top of the leaves instead of focusing on the soil’s health.
Thanks to his meticulously built soil, he actually waters his grass less than the dead lawns down his street, easily thriving within WA’s strict twice-a-week watering limits.
He said he does a lawn reno once a year to change the soil.
His routine is relentless: during the peak growing season, he mows his couch grass every single day, keeping it incredibly tight.
By cutting it as low as 5mm, he forces the lawn to become so dense that weeds simply cannot penetrate it.
He also stresses the importance of autumn maintenance, heavily fertilising as the weather cools to keep the lawn vibrant and prevent it from falling behind in winter.
Despite the meticulous, obsessive care, his immaculate lawn isn’t just a museum piece — it’s a living, breathing part of his home.
Mr Gregory said his lawn is his primary hobby and spending time mowing is the perfect way to decompress after a stressful day.
He said he mows everyday.
The lawn brings immense aesthetic satisfaction, but it is built to be used: it features a golf hole, and his grandkids and the neighbours’ children frequently play on it.
When pedestrians hesitate to step on the pristine grass to avoid the street, he tells them to go right ahead, asking, “What’s the point of a lawn if you can’t walk on it?”.
The results of his discipline are so spectacular that the reactions from the public are unforgettable. Passers-by regularly mistake his yard for artificial turf or a “pool table” because the colour and uniformity are so surreal, he said.
The lawn literally stops traffic: Mr Gregory said he recalled an incident where a car slowed down just so the occupants could shout out in disbelief, “We can’t believe the lawn, that’s amazing”.
Even food delivery workers are stopped in their tracks. “Uber Eats people come deliver to my son, they then touch the lawn and say wow.”
English (US) · 