We've just had a plastic lawn put in. AMA

[Imdunfer]

As title.

If you're going to raise climate issues please make sure you have your facts right before you post. There is a lot of incorrect PR and social media comment about plastic turf going around at the moment.

No the borders have been "planted" with flowers that are ceramic and animals that are cast iron or rusted steel. I'm really chuffed with it.

But doesn't artificial grass need drainage?

Sorry, no, that would be outing to everyone whose windows overlook my garden.

Carbon aside, what about the loss of habitat for wildlife and insects? The microplastic and chemical runoff? Killing off the microbiome in the soil? The effect of urban warming or increased risk of flooding?

This thread is quite sad. OP came on because she thinks the most interesting thing about her is a fake lawn and that people might want to ask her about her lovely plastic garden carpet.

I want to ask about you OP. You ok? Your worth more than a high-density polyethylene rug you know x x x

why is it expensive? Mine just tears up! (was here when I moved in!)

I read an article about it and in it someone said we should treat these abominations as the equivalent of blowing cigarette smoke in a babies face.

It is such an awful thing to do-thankfully the people that just moved in next door ripped it out and reinstated real grass. It was so gross.

Can we see a picture of it?

I wouldn’t say they are the simple minded one tbh.

It’s ok for people to also make it conscious decision because they have busy lives and want/need to prioritise other things.

My best friend did admit that if she bought my house, she would want to put real grass back in. Big difference between our 2 lives is that she has 2 days extra a week off work than i do to what she wants while her kid is at school. Some people are more time poor than others.

It is also not as simple as it used to be to dispose of garden waste either.

No. This is one of the myths being peddled right now. It sits on a thin bed of aggregate. It drains better than natural grass, the water does not run off, it runs through. You could run a hosepipe on it and it would not make a puddle.

Sounds beautiful. There is so much selective hypocrisy here. I bet half the people judging a small patch of fake grass are currently sitting on plastic garden furniture surrounded by polyester cushions. 😂

The OP has already said they don't care about this.

😁😆😅😂🤣😂😅😆😁

Well as i said, our primary school has got the artificial lawn as well.

WTF???

Exactly this.

It doesn't take much square footage of fake grass to have a massive impact on the wee beasties living in your garden. It drastically reduces or removes movement, nesting and breeding. This means a lack of the small bugs. Even the heat of your hot lawn layer of plastic in the summer will kill off any bugs living around the edge.

These bugs are now out of the food chain, impacting the birds, hedgehogs etc . Now there are no bugs, the birds, hedgehogs etc are going hungry.

And the more idiots people who put down plastic there are, the more back garden habitat is lost, and the bigger the impact.

There are many other impacts too - like the increased risk if flash flooding (plastic cannot absorb water nearly as quickly as grass, despite any number of drainage holes). People living in flood prone areas really really shouldn't lay down large sheets of plastic - and if they do, then I wouldn't blame their insurance companies for not paying out!

But apparently that is all rubbish, and fake turf look soooo magnificent, we should just accept the negative impacts to our environment, so someone can look out their window and go "oohhh look, it's all one lovely shade of green, with no variation or interest"

Do you only wear clothes made from 100% natural fibres (ie no plastic)? Can you honestly say you never ever buy coffee in disposable coffee cups? Do you use cling film? Do you fly abroad?

Oh and my garden is tiny and I have borders which have natural plants in so the effect on wildlife is negligible 🙄

Do you also own a grey crushed velvet sofa and mirrored furniture?

Grim. Are you as ashamed as you should be?

We installed a very small lawn in a communal area that no one used. It was high end if such a thing could be described in that way and has worn well replacing stone and chunks of brick and debris. It does not smell, can be cleaned and hosed and has the occasional weed growing in it. The messages on here, had I seen them at the time of installation, would probably have made me reconsider.

@Imdunfer

Goodness, didn't realise a garden photo was required for a patio inspection report! Let the OP enjoy their low-maintenance space without having to submit a full gallery for approval.

And a hubster.

Some neighbours have astroturfed their entire back garden. Their garden is quite large -much bigger than mine - about a third of an acre. For good measure they have grubbed out the mature beech hedges and installed plastic-coated fencing. And they are at it every day with the leaf-blower just in case a stray bit of wildlife dares to cross their boundary.

I don't like it. We did put some in our last garden though. It was teeny and you couldn't grow grass in it because of the height of the fence / direction of sun / the crap the developers had left in the garden. Our choices were paving stones or a small bit of fake grass. Given the issues it was the best option but as a rule I hate it.

I have a very nice garden with plants in now.

And do you think they have risk assessed the health impacts? Highly unlikely.