Mr Gregory’s grandchildren play on that lawn. Picture: Phillip Gregory/Instagram
An Aussie dad’s prized lawn has survived a secret suburban battle with a dog that repeatedly pooped on it – and has now been crowned the country’s best.
Father of three Phillip Gregory – going by the name True Australian Lawn Addict – has been named winner of the Yates National Gardening League’s Lawn of the Year, landing a $10,000 prize. But behind the celebrations, he’d been waging a very unglamorous turf war to get there.
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The Yates Gardening NGL final leaderboard. Source: Yates Gardening
Phillip Gregory’s best lawn win has been celebrated widely including on television. Picture: 9News/Instagram
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“It’s official – I’ve won the @yatesgardening NGL and been crowned Australia’s best lawn with a nice prize to go with it. “Really can’t believe it… absolutely love it,” an exuberant Mr Gregory told fans after topping the leaderboard with 9.6 points, pipping six rivals just 0.1 percentage points behind.
But even the best lawn in Australia can’t escape the most universal suburban drama: a neighbourhood dog pooping on your hard work.
“Once again a dog from down the road is using my lawn as its toilet,” he said. “I’ve left it because the person lives in my street, but this time I think I’m going to have to say something… it’s getting ridiculous.”
Mr Gregory, whose pride and joy is his lawn, shared outrageous video footage on social media to highlight the problem and seek advice on how to navigate the delicate neighbourhood dilemma weeks before the competition.
A neighbourhood dog picking out a spot to unload on. Picture: Phillip Gregory/Instagram
Caught in the act of defacing the championship-level lawn. Picture: Phillip Gregory/Instagram
The post sparked a flurry of humorous and outraged reactions, with followers suggesting everything from bagging the mess and leaving it in the owner’s mailbox to calling the council – or, more jokingly, “throw it on their roof.”
Mr Gregory told followers he planned a “friendly chat” with the owner before involving council rangers.
Despite the suburban chaos, Gregory is far from a casual lawn owner. He did not respond to questions ahead of publication, but in an interview with ABC Perth after nabbing the top prize, the 52-year-old revealed the extreme level of care behind his award-winning patch.
He mows his wintergreen couch every day – sometimes just to clear stray jacaranda petals – and says the secret is simple: “Keep the soil happy… if you’ve got worms coming up, then you know you’re doing all right.”
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Phillip Gregory’s lawn is so smooth it has been used as a putting green. Picture: ABC News Perth/Instagram
He’s fine with people walking on the lawn and has even turned part of it into a putting green, but tyres and dogs are where he draws the line.
“I get very annoyed if I see a tyre track,” he said, adding he’ll spend two to three hours grooming the blades back into place.
Which is why the repeat dog-pooping attacks struck such a nerve, showing even the country’s most pampered lawn isn’t safe from random deposits. Followers are still waiting for the sequel.
The issue has been raised across multiple forums over the years, with a Bunnings forum asked for successful remedies to stop owner’s own dogs pooping in certain areas of the yard – to which the group’s responses ranged from a fence, to citrus trees, training and positive reinforcement, and disinfectant products to discourage them to remark. There was even the old wives’ tale of ”fill a clear plastic soft drink bottle about 3/4 full with water and place in the area you don’t want them to cr*p”.
An Animal Guide put out by the Young Lawyers of the Law Society of New South Wales has two mentions of defecating – one, that owners are responsible for defecation in public areas; and the second warning councils could issue a nuisance dog order if the animal repeatedly defecates on property other than where it is kept.
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