Some Johnston County home and businesses owners are “going green,” and their doing it the synthetic way.

Shane Ferguson, owner of Carolina’s Putting Greens, said that North Carolina’s drought troubles has lead more people to replace their natural, grass lawns with synthetic grass.

“Well, the benefit is being prepared,” he said.  “Last time, everyone who wanted grass didn’t have the opportunity … their yards were drying up, and everybody was in a panic. So now they are able to have a synthetic lawn.”

A synthetic lawn costs about $8 per sq. yard. But according to Ferguson, it can pay for itself in about five years because it needs no chemical treatment or upkeep.

Deacon Jones, owner of Deacon Jones’ Cadillac in Smithfield, recently had about 7,200 sq. feet installed at his dealership on Brightleaf Boulevard. He said he did it because it was too troublesome to irrigate a grass lawn.

“It looks real,” he said. “Most people have to actually touch it before they realize it’s not.”