To think fake grass is not tacky

[Dizzydodo]

At the Doctors with dd about eczema, GP says it can be triggered by pollen, grass seed etc and asks if she's been in the garden a lot with the nice weather. I say 'yes but we've got fake grass'. GP rolls his eyes, laughs and says 'fake grass?! Like Wayne Rooney? Goodness me!'

I have no idea if Wayne Rooney has fake grass or not and I'm not in the least bit offended by the GP (I think he was trying to be funny) but it got me thinking....does fake grass in my garden make me a wannabe WAG?

My elderly neighbours had a small grassed area. To make it easier to maintain a year or so before they sold the house they paid to get it paved over so it was easy maintenance. The new owner has put fake grass on the top of it as they thought it needed more greenery. Not sure if it was expensive or not but I think it looks a bit - and I see them out there hoovering it regularly - more often than I cut my grass...
I have to admit though I have been thinking of making a fake grass path - my rotary airer is fixed in a massive concrete block in the middle of main bit of lawn (our garden is in sections) so hard to move. Originally there was a flagged path to it that cut across the middle of the lawn - which made it not particularly child friendly ...so we lifted the flags and replaced with turf. I try and dry clothes as much as possible outdoor all year round and by feb/mar around it it is a bit of a muddy mess. But I chuck some grass seed down (don't faff with it at all) and in a few weeks it is as good as it was - my other thought was that net stuff that you bury and it reinforces grass...but that probably would be more hassle than what I do now - it isn't really that much hassle....

No way is our lawn a monoculture -it is actually mainly daisies and some clover - I dig out dandelions when they appear and cut it every so often (daisies actually mean it doesn't need cutting as often) and that's it - doesn't get watered or fertilised or weedkiller (it would be full of bare patches if I did that!)
I think fake grass is like the new equivalent of covering gardens with gravel and decking. My front garden is a bit of a pain. It is basically two big earth beds. It is hard to keep on top of it - I do try and have lots of ground cover but eg in winter it does look a bit miserable - is often slightly wild and overgrown. However (until my neighbour went mad with slug pellets) we had a toad and hedgehogs visited and could watch a song thrush cracking snails.

One neighbour had gravelled over their garden, had pots and spent hours out there faffing with it - watering his pots with his hosepipe in summer or spraying his gravel with weedkiller...or raking debris out of it. He had his back garden decked over - and spent ages out there cleaning and repainting it. He was out there working on his 'gardens' more often than I am ...
(new owner got rid of the pots, doesn't really know what to do with it now - the gravel has faded - looks kind of mucky and a bit sad. And they are already complaining about having to re treat the decking.... again....)

I hate it personally. It's very hot in summer and smells when it warms up.
Here in Aus it's not very popular (unless that's just our area)
We've got a small patch of real grass. The rest of our garden is decking and plants

BluePitchFork- I think it was obvious from my 2nd post that my child has significant disability yet after this there were still some judgy type comments.

honking I didn't think it was obvious. I didn't know until you said that your DC has a disability. But I also don't think the comments that came after that were 'judgy.' Your garden is the way it is because you feel it's safer for your disabled son. That obviously works for you. But it still doesn't mean that people have to like that choice, does it? I'm glad that your child is able to enjoy your garden.

I said my child had been putting grass in his mouth for 7 years and hit me when I tried to remove it. Does that sound like the behaviour of a non disabled at least 8 year old. I think someone who dislikes my ' choice' should learn some compassion for other people.

honking I'm sorry but that is not the only reason that your child could have been eating grass for years. It may have been obvious to others from that comment that your child has a disability. It was not obvious to me until you said 'my child has a disability'. Perhaps I am stupid. But it also does not follow that simply because somebody doesn't like your choice that they are lacking compassion. I understand why you've made your choice. As I said, I am glad your child enjoys your garden. I am not interested in a personal one on one argument with you, but it wasn't true or fair to say that certain comments were 'judgy' when they weren't, or that I am lacking in compassion.

The reality is when you have a severely disabled child you don't have the choices that others have and you can do without those who have no clue what it is like talking about not liking your supposed 'choice'.

There are many people on this thread Honking, responses after yours will also have been to those people, or just random thoughts people will have had on the subject.

newmum, we've already said that the average lawn is not a monoculture - far from it. Only bowling greens and similar are really.

Recycled tyres sound ace and I used to be a big fan of them. Sadly though an excellent way to reuse a material, unfortunately they can be a cause of heavy metal contamination.

No comment on honking I understand that it was more than just eating grass -
But I used to eat grass as a child ...DD1 did (admittedly she does have ADHD) and I let her - why is it bad to eat grass? If you chew the end off a long bit is is nice and sweet...

The environmental point is a bit of a red herring though.

Nearly everyone I know who has an artificial lawn (us included) has one because the garden isn't suitable for grass. Before we put ours down, we had paving slabs.
I don't know anyone who has replaced a bit lush lawn with artificial grass.
I can't see how artificial grass is any worse for wildlife than the concrete that would be there instead

Honking, no, your comment wasn't clear.

The environmental point is not a red herring sparechange No grass at all is better than plastic grass, environmentally speaking. Plastic is awful to produce, recycle and dispose. Bare earth/mud/bog will sustain wildlife.

honking you are right, I have no idea, though this is rather an assumption on your part, and the fact that you guessed right is more down to luck than judgment. I get that plastic grass wasn't your first choice, but it is a choice nonetheless. Having to chose between no garden access at all for your child, or plastic grass, might be a pretty shitty choice to have to make, but it is a choice. I'm glad I haven't had to make it; my gut says I wouldn't go for the plastic grass but I appreciate it's easy for me to say in my position, and I don't know anything about your other circumstances.

In our old house we had a tiny bit of outside space (3m/6m) it was just rubble when we moved in and had a 1 and 3 year old (both ate any crap they found on the ground and constantly fell over and hurt themselves.) I wanted something practical and safe for them. I never would have considered fake grass but our neighbours (with similar dc) had it and we saw theirs and it seemed nice.

We ordered some samples and all the cheaper end looked really awful so we ended up going for a top end range and a very thick underlay. We were really pleasantly surprised at how good it was. It cost 5k all in but everyone comments on how nice it looks and feels. Sadly the kids weren't keen as it turns out they like eating random crap and digging in rubble . I wouldn't do it on a large garden but on a small bit i think it's fine. We are now renting the house out so it is low maintenance for any tenants.

My parents have dogs and are getting it in their garden because they are sick of the mud bath that was meant to be a lawn.

We have it and I couldn't give a stuff what other people think. We live in a clay area and whatever we did with our lawn it was ruined, bald and muddy. We had fake grass laid last year. My kids are footballers and love it and our garden survives the rain. We still have all our plants. It's not the same a real grass but it's practical, sensible abs works for us

£5k!!? Holy smokes, that's a family car.

I haven't heard of the Lorax but the plasticisation of society seem s to be proceeding very satisfactorily for the manufacturers doesn't it?

Philip Weeks talks about how we' re all taking in plastics and how unhealthy they are. I 'd prefer my child to be sucking benign plants (after all that's what vegetables and grass are fgs) than sucking plastic grass along with all the other ubiquitous plastic products.

So much judgement on this thread! I have occasionally considered getting artificial grass for our back garden, though haven't properly researched it yet. We have tried something different with it every year since we moved in, to make it more useable, but with no success. When we moved in, it was paved, but because it was on a slope, it was quite dangerous for toddlers (hard to describe, so you will just have to take my word on that, it was on two levels so I always worried she would run down and fall down to the lower bit!).

We took away the paving and laid a lawn, the first go really didn't take as it was just so wet. The following year we got a drainage system put in and again seeded it. Again it didn't really take. The following year we laid turf which was ok for a while but the children could only use it after a very dry period as its still waterlogged most of the time. Last year we got the drainage looked at again, but because there's a large bank behind us that is not maintained at all, just wild trees/bushes/flowers, that comes down from houses up high behind us (which drainage systems drain to the bank) we are getting nowhere! I tried to get someone to come with a mini digger to flatten the slope and was going to just pave it but he couldn't get a mini digger small enough to get it round our back (due to the garage) So I am now thinking artificial grass might be the next thing to try.

It is not down to being lazy - we still have a large front garden that has lots of wildflowers, berries, grass. I don't like the children playing there without supervision though as it is harder to be sure they are closed in, and like a pp I have a disabled child who requires a very safe environment.

To those judging people for their selfishness, I think this is a little harsh. I cycle to work every day and don't have a dishwasher or tumble dryer - so I am not just after the most convenient option.

We all do things differently, doesn't make any of us 'right' or 'wrong'. People constantly tell us to reclaim the land where the bank is to extend our garden but I would never clear is as it is so well established with foliage, it would be an absolute crime to do so. But going by this thread, I would be a terrible person for trying out artificial grass to make our small garden useable for the children

I think different opinions and strong views all too often get mistaken for 'judging'.

Agreed CornishFarm, it's something I feel pretty strongly about, that doesn't mean I'm judging individuals who are trying to make the best choice for them and their family. I do judge the manufacturers who make spurious environmental claims about their product though.

MissDuke How about getting a pond to take up the excess water? It could be safely fenced and be lovely for the children with tadpoles and water plants. Also plant water loving plants on the bank.

It's useful to be made aware of all the options, and to get others' opinions

Good point BadBadKitten I get annoyed by various products described as either recycled or recyclable, because I don't believe that addresses the real issues and it acts as a bit of a sticking plaster to make us feel better about consumption that is really very damaging. Don't get me started on fecking coffee pods. I strongly dislike plastic grass. I believe it's a very bad choice for the environment, and in my book it is extremely difficult (maybe even impossible) to justify. That's not to say that I think someone who buys plastic grass is a terrible, evil person. But do I personally believe they've made a bad choice? Yes, I do.

ppeat, thanks for the helpful suggestion, will look into it

Any comments regarding the toxicity of the rubber? I mean for children. There seems to be several issues and tackiness isn't one for me.

Kennington you may have already seen this article, but worth sharing just in case you haven't: www.telegraph.co.uk/men/health/are-artificial-sports-pitches-causing-cancer/