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?

Found it: the crumb rubber contains heavy metals from old tyres. Don't know if it is still true. Anyway heaven metals are never a good thing, regardless of cancer risk.
The environmental issues such a flood risk are also a pain.

Once upon a time it was tacky, but the quality has improved so much these days that it's often impossible to tell until you are actually on it

Well this bloody pigeon didn't mind sunnying it's self on my fake grass in fact it stayed for 2days moving various spots. Got lots of worms and other bugs under the fake stuff I can assure you, we get upto over 20 birds coming a day for bird feeder then they search fake grass and the flower bed.

Loved to show my before and after photos. No grass grows and previous place I lived I paid to have it turfed with real grass and it was huge litter tray. Glad I live in area with few cats and lots of dogs.

Fake grass with real fat pigeon

donatella yup, I'll sit with you on the depressed bench.

Real grass needs very little maintenance anyway. I wouldn't dream of watering my lawn even if it was crumbling to dust in summer. It all grows back when the rain returns. Neither would I use chemicals to remove weeds. I'll pull out the worst and let the others stay.

Real grass needs very little maintenance anyway.

Great! You can do mine then.

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.

Oh so you know me and what DH do then?

In terms of 'putting out' to protect our world I think we have got enough brownie points saved up to justify 5 x 2m of carpet.

Some of our neighbours have fake grass and it's getting popular here (Texas). The links between crumb rubber and cancers have already been noted. It's not for me.

redtooth clearly touched a nerve there.

Anyway good job I don't know you, we probably wouldn't get on.

Yabu fake grass is vile and ugly, from an aesthetic point of view almost anything is preferable. Our neighbors have just had some fitted, they have also made their whole garden like an ourdoor living room and removed every single living thing from the garden, sad. I suppose it is better for the environment than paving, that's not saying much though.

Don't worry you are in good company Donatellalymanmoss

I don't get on with anyone. I am a horrid, selfish person who doesn't give a shit about anything or anyone.

BUT I have a nice garden I can actually spend time in now. By myself.
This suits me just fine.

Is fake grass better for the environment than paving though? Aside from drainage issues I would have thought that stone paving would be far, far better than plastic grass, environmentally speaking. Maybe even concrete would be better? I don't know. I'm thinking of the inevitable disposal of this horrible stuff when people either get swayed by the next new trend, or the plastic grass wears out. Like other plastics, isn't it going to take many thousands of years to break down? Uuurgh it's awful. I'm genuinely surprised by the number of people here saying they have it or want it.

Fake grass is tacky as hell. I'd happily pave over people who dig up real lawns to put that rubbish down.

There are natural alternatives to grass that are far nicer than fake grass IMO, as well as being bee friendly in many cases, and in general more friendly to the environment.

PaintedDrives is right that unless your garden is hermetically sealed you are going to have to deal with pollen and spores anyway.

I don't care if it considered "tacky" by some, the lack of maintenance involved makes me want it.

I have fake grass, back and front and I'm a classy bird, so there

"Today 17:52 AppleSetsSail

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

This really made me laugh. Fake grass is pretty old- it's like the kitchen island of gardens and fashionable Chelsea types moved on long ago. But even so, those lucky enough to have a garden in central London (and I mean central London, not camberwell or Shepherd's Bush or somewhere) usually have them paved. We are one although it's not our residence anymore. None of my neighbours have more than a scrap of grass to Astro turf

We had a patch of fake grass when we lived in Cyprus. It was heaven.

There was no real grass in any of the 300 odd houses on camp. There was red mud that was pure dust from Feb to November and a quagmire from Dec to Jan. Most households had gravel that was hell on your feet and the spikey bastard seed pods all over (Death Stars we called them).

I managed to get my hands on some of the cheap fake grass that old fashioned greengrocers use. We laid a patch of about 15mSq and it was bliss in comparison. You can just about see it in the photo (excuse spotty DD - chicken pox photo!). I'd do it again if I had to, those Death Stars destroyed DDs feet before we put the grass down.

We've got a lovely giant garden now with wildlife galore, so I reckon I've 'paid back' my environmental faux pas.

Our house had fake grass on a small section of the lower level of the garden. The garden was one of the reasons we bought the house. We have a large-ish section of grass at the top, and then a patio with a section of fake grass directly outside the house.

It's fantastic for our dd. She can play out without dragging mud everywhere. It makes her play area safe and tidy. We really love having it.

Haven't read the whole thread but we live in Cyprus (military) and our patio is too hot on your feet so we have laid fake grass. I thought it was naff until we had it but now I will certainly be investing once we are back in Blighty

I have really cheap fake grass (thought I'd try it out before investing in something more realistic in case it didn't work out) - anyway I don't care how naff, cheap or tacky it looks it has totally transformed how we as a family use the garden. The cats don't shit on it (neighbour has 6) and the kids can play out ANY time without traipsing mud through the house. Dh & DS are now constantly playing football out there. During this hot weather we've had a little splash pad on, with water overflowing, which we totally couldn't have done with a real lawn. Zero maintenance (bar the odd sweep). LOVE IT.

I understand from an allergy pov, but one of my Facebook friends had this put in their garden recently and I just thought...why?!? Grass is one of the easiest things to grow and maintain. I know I'm being a snob, but yes it screams laziness and looks shit.

I used to think it was mental.

I now kind of work in the industry and its really taking off. The posh stuff looks great with some landscaping and its great for elderly people/ people with dogs/ landlords/ people who work away/ busy people/ people who don't like mowing the lawn/ people who have no room for a mower/ allergies.

The list is endless. Some people are just snobs. If you like it, get it. The stuff we sell is ey out of my price range but we have a huge garden.

Why would it be ideal for people with dogs? Just why?

I have dogs and I have absolutely no desire to inflict it on them. It's not snobbery, it's just common sense, why wrap my garden in plastic, isn't there enough of the stuff already?

washes the lawn with some hot soapy water & a designated brush. I see it as one of the advantages over a real lawn, you can actually make it fairly clean after a dog poos on it.

Good Lord! People scrub their fake lawns?