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?

I think it's a good idea. But I'm biased because I'm allergic to grass (it gives me hives). I wouldn't get it if I lived on a floodplain however because it increases runoff.

randomcatname I didn't even think of the Rooney hair connection, that makes more sense, although his hair isn't fake it's just from a different part of his head.

My garden is less than 2 x 5 m.

Is anyone who hates fake grass, offering to returf my garden and maintain it throughout the year on a regular basis for free?

I doubt it.

It is tacky and horrible. And environmentally unfriendly.

Even the expensive stuff doesn't look real.

I wish they'd used it where I used to live in the Middle East. All the water it took to maintain the green grass areas of communal gardens and villa gardens was astonishing. Endless watering in a desert environment used to make me really cross. I mean the whole place is spectacularly environmentally unfriendly but that struck me as really awful. In fact the UAE is the third largest user of water in the world after the USA and Canada yet gets the lowest amount of rain. Water seemed like such a precious commodity there. The whole place is fake so it may as well be covered in fake grass.

Not for me, I have a wildlife friendly garden.

One of my neighbours has fence-to-fence astro turf. They are not gardeners and the garden was previously fence-to-fence paving with knee-high weeds in between. It does look better now.

The local cats also prefer it. As a toilet

It reminds me of the Lorax [shudder]

I don't get why you would destroy nature and replace it with plastic. It's too futuristic and weird for me, sorry. I wouldn't say it was tacky, though.

There is nothing like a real lawn - however people have fake grass for different reasons ! Ours is that we have a shady garden which is very long and narrow . Grass Wd not grow exept in the middle plus our dc wore three real lawns out due to above conditions . Ten years ago a fake one was fitted - you can get v good fake lawn now not just the bright green stuff !!

I used to get ridiculously emotional reading the lorax to dd. We have moved 10 years down the line and 10 years further into the plasticisation of our world.

Our council no longer allow it in late areas due to the drainage issues (or at least, you have to go through a planning process, no idea how readily it's granted but I've not seen any)

My sil is a cm and has fake grass cause the alternative is a muddy mess. It's got it's place IMO and as a soft surface for kids to play on where real grass doesn't get a chance to thrive its fine.

We have it because our lawn was like a bog for most of the year. Now ds can play out on it every day. Also he can't eat it. We have no plants of any sort in our garden because of the eating. There are plenty of fields and parks nearby if we want to experience the real stuff.

Personal choice but I think it's horrible

unless it's for a playing field on top of a building, it should be illegal imo

We have it. Our 6m * 4m 'lawn' was constantly being dug up by the dog. Replacing it with plastic turf was the sensible solution. Less than half of our garden area is under the plastic turf so there is still plenty of room for insects.

It also means we have more time to spend on our huge allotment. I am just a bit nervous that having a fake lawn will have us drummed out of the society!

I'd like a more natural garden but the garden we have with fake grass is a better and safer play space for our son.

I have a very small overgrown garden, two toddlers, and no way of storing a lawnmower. So as soon as I can afford it, I will certainly be getting fake grass put in. It will make things so much easier...

It's not my preferred choice but we have the back half of a garden (we are the upstairs flat) and it is mostly shaded, meaning that grass doesn't grow very well. Plus it's tricky to mow it as there isn't an electricity point so we'd have to run a massive extension cable from our flat.

We had it astroturfed two years ago - it looks great, is hard wearing and low maintenance. It's not the same as lovely grass but it works for our needs currently. We have the local parks when we need to feel real grass!

I think it's awful so I wouldn't have it but I'm sure I have things that people would do a sharp intake breath at

Some of the posts on here are depressing. Some people just really don't give a fuck about putting themselves out in the slightest to protect our world.

My dad's neighbours have fake grass, fake bushes and plastic plants in pots- looks like toy town!!!

It's all the rage in Central London gardens. Done properly, it looks beautiful and it's ideal for small urban gardens.

can I give a shout out for push mowers. We have the cheapest one b&q do. It's really easy to push, does a nice job, is quiet and takes practically no space to store.

For a tiny garden it's ok. But what if you have a dog? Or a cat shits in your garden you would be forever scrubbing it, jet washing it etc and that's fucking grim. At least with real grass you can pull up any you can't clean. I don't get it.

Check where it is made - there have been a few health scares due to heaven metals in the connecting mesh. I am also not a paranoid daily mail reader.....something to do with manufacturing in China.