Real DFW yards, before and after
In Timarron, the only turf you can install is a putting green
We would rather tell you this before you call than after we have quoted you. Timarron is Southlake’s largest master-planned community — seventeen neighborhoods including Bent Creek, Cascades, Clubhouse Estates, Strathmore, Brenwyck, Highlands, Northwood Park, Wyndsor Creek and Wyndsor Grove — and its Design Review Guidelines, revised April 2025, state that yard areas designated for turf must be sodded with St. Augustine, Bermuda, Zoysia or hybrid varieties, and that artificial turf is not permitted, with the exception of putting greens. Sports courts and putting greens are allowed where they fit the topography of the lot, subject to Modification Committee approval. So in Timarron the honest answer is a backyard putting green, or nothing. Outside Timarron the picture is different and we quote normally. If you are not sure which applies to your address, ask us and we will check the governing documents before we book a visit.
Southlake is not Blackland clay, and that changes the build
This is the thing most turf companies get wrong about Southlake. Sample the soil survey across the city and you do not find Houston Black — you find Gasil, Silstid, Birome, Rader and Crosstell. Alfisols, not Vertisols. Fine sandy loam and fine sand over a clay-rich subsoil, because Southlake sits in the Eastern Cross Timbers rather than the Blackland Prairie. One of the city’s own subdivisions is named Cross Timber Hills. Practically, it means Southlake yards drain faster at the surface than Plano or McKinney yards and are far less prone to the shrink-swell cracking that wrecks a badly built base east of here. It also means a base spec copied from a Collin County job is the wrong spec: sandy loam needs compaction and edge restraint handled differently, or the base migrates.
What a Southlake install involves
- Governing documents checked first: Timarron prohibits artificial turf outside of putting greens. Carillon and Clariden Ranch do not publish guidelines publicly. We read the actual documents for your address before quoting.
- Cross Timbers base spec: sandy loam and fine sand over an argillic horizon behaves nothing like Houston Black. Compaction, edge restraint and migration control are the priorities here, not shrink-swell mitigation.
- Twice weekly, year round: Southlake runs a Stage 1 conservation schedule all year — even addresses Wednesday and Saturday, odd addresses Thursday and Sunday, automatic irrigation only between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. on those days. Hand watering by hose is allowed any time, any day.
- Acre lots, real volume: the water pain in Southlake is not the peak rate, it is the minimum charge and the sheer irrigated area. A 1-inch meter starts at $44.00 a month before a drop goes on the lawn.
- Tree preservation checked: Southlake protects trees six inches and up, and while most residential lots are exempt for their own trees, lots inside a platted tree preservation area are not. We check the plat.
- Putting greens done properly: if a green is the only thing your association allows, it should at least be a good one — roughly eight inches of compacted base, real contour, cups and fringe. See our putting green page.
Where we work in Southlake
Timarron and its seventeen neighborhoods, Carillon, Clariden Ranch and the Cliffs at Clariden Ranch, Shady Oaks, Kirkwood Hollow, Cross Timber Hills, Stone Lakes, Southlake Woods, Monticello, Coventry Manor, Chapel Downs, Versailles, Myers Meadow, Timber Lake, South Ridge Lakes, Harbor Oaks, Winding Creek and Carroll Meadows. Timarron dates from around 1990 and has the tree cover to show for it; Carillon is a 285-acre mixed-use development with 404 single-family home sites and a much younger canopy. Worth knowing: if your property is on a water well you are exempt from Southlake’s watering restrictions entirely, and the city asks you to post a sign saying so.
Southlake specifics
Can I install artificial turf in Timarron?
Only as a putting green. The Timarron Design Review Guidelines dated April 2025 state that artificial turf is not permitted, with the exception of putting greens referenced elsewhere in the guidelines, and that turf areas must be sodded with St. Augustine, Bermuda, Zoysia or hybrid varieties. Putting greens and sports courts are permitted where they fit the lot’s topography, subject to Modification Committee approval. Outside Timarron, Southlake’s own landscape ordinance applies only to non-residential and multi-family construction and does not mention artificial turf, so the constraint is your association rather than the city.
Does Texas law override my HOA on this?
No. Texas Property Code Section 202.007 protects drought-resistant landscaping and water-conserving natural turf; it does not name artificial or synthetic turf. HB 2269, which would have barred associations from requiring living grass, died in committee in June 2025. A Southlake HOA can lawfully prohibit synthetic turf, and Timarron does. Read our HOA guide for what the statute does and does not cover.
What are Southlake’s watering restrictions?
Twice weekly year round under the Stage 1 schedule. Even-numbered addresses water Wednesdays and Saturdays, odd-numbered Thursdays and Sundays, with automatic irrigation permitted only between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. on those days. Hand watering with a hose and nozzle is allowed any time on any day, and properties on a private well are exempt. Enforcement escalates from a yard sign and letter to a citation from Municipal Court on the third offense. Southlake’s wholesale supplier is the City of Fort Worth and it follows Tarrant Regional Water District guidance, not NTMWD.
Is Southlake soil really different from Plano and McKinney?
Yes, materially. Southlake sits in the Eastern Cross Timbers and its soils are Alfisols — Gasil fine sandy loam, Silstid fine sand, Birome fine sandy loam — rather than the Houston Black clay that dominates Collin County. Sampling across the city returns no Vertisols at all. It drains better at the surface and cracks less, but the base needs different compaction and edge restraint. Anyone quoting you the same build they use in Frisco has not looked at your dirt.
What does Southlake water cost?
On a one-inch meter the minimum is $44.00 for the first 2,000 gallons, then $4.92 per thousand to 10,000, $5.65 to 25,000, $6.50 to 40,000 and $7.47 above. A two-inch meter starts at $136.30. The peak rate is actually lower than McKinney’s — what makes Southlake bills large is the fixed minimum and the size of the irrigated area on acre-plus lots.
Is turf good for dogs in a Southlake backyard?
Yes. We install pet-rated turf with high-flow drainage and antimicrobial odor-control infill specifically for dog homes. Urine drains straight through the backing instead of pooling, so it doesn’t create smell or mud. Hose it down and it’s clean. Pet yards are some of our highest-rated installs. See our Southlake specific page on pet turf in Southlake for the full build spec.
Does it get too hot for kids and dogs in Southlake summers?
It can get warm in full sun. Cooling infill, available as an upgrade, keeps surface temps comfortable, and a quick rinse cools it instantly, which we cover in our Texas turf heat guide.
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