To spread awareness of the toxicity of plastic grass?

[DataNotLore]

Here: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35948114/#:~:text=Numerous%20studies%20have%20shown%20that,%2C%20mutagens%2C%20and%20endocrine%20disruptors.

Not only is it bad for the environment but it's probably bad for your health too.

The issues are still being investigated, but:

"Numerous studies have shown that chemicals identified in artificial turf, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are known carcinogens, neurotoxicants, mutagens, and endocrine disruptors."

This patch of gorgeousness was sown on a mere 5 mm of scratty topsoil which it shared with stones and tree roots
I know I won't persuade the plastic people. But here it is anyway..

Do these weedproof membranes even work for long? Our concrete pavements are like a jungle where I live.

When next door's mum in law came to cat sit she took to throwing bread out for ye bird into it and got lots of seagull and pigeon shit all over it.

I bet that was really "low maintenance to scrub off and probably required even more bloody toxic chemicals.

A change is needed isn't it? So that people view verges of lovely cow parsley and other wild flowers as things of beauty rather than 'weeds' and don't moan that the council haven't chopped it all down yet.
The same change needs to spill over in to our gardening practice. My mum hates dandelions on her lawn and will snip their heads off with scissors. Her lawn has to be really short and every shrub must be 'neat'. It's sad. She hates our wildflowers, areas of unmown grass and a pretty longish lawn full of daisies and dandelions. To her my garden is unkempt when actually I work hard on it.
Gardens could teem with life if we only would let them but I fear that the encroachment of plastics outside might mean that things get even worse. I hope not.

We moved into a house with two horrible patios - old, ugly, badly designed and totally unsuitable for babies/toddlers, so we covered both up with the grass stuff. It’s useful for that. I did look at digging up the patios and putting back in actual soil and grass, but it would have been thousands and thousands of pounds. I think that’s really generally the only use case I’m okay with - adding over a previously paved area to improve usability.

Beautiful garden and even more beautiful dog! 😍

Ooops can't see the cornflowers. But they're there. I might add the area has other problems - half of it is shaded by big elms which dump their leaves every year. And still (to quote Geoff Goldblum in Jurassic Park) 'life... finds a way"

The lanourinvolved in as mainly in sowing the seeds a couple of years ago. Other than that we'll cut it late august and continue cutting it then like a lawn (which is what it will
Look like), before giving it a Final Cut probably in mid April. So we cut it approximately a quarter ir fewer times as a normal lawn.

Ha yes @TinyTopknot he does model his environments very well. He loves the meadow planting too - so many good sniffs!

Take old 'lawn' up. One course of sharp sand, a layer of perforated membrane to stop weeds (although one or two still get through) and to allow water through (so no, no flooding) and then the fake lawn

As opposed to…

Take up old lawn. One course of topsoil, a few inches will do. Lay actual grass or seed.

Clearly just as easy if not more so. Plus it doesn’t need YET ANOTHER plastic membrane buried in the soil.

" It's only about 15m2 but my two kids over the years have loved it rather than playing on one big mud patch."

What part of the above didn't you understand?

Or is it that you'd like kids playing on stone/concrete or in the flower beds.

Let's get it straight, if I had a large garden I wouldn't have put it down, or certainly not over all of it. but it's small, so to give the kids somewhere to play we did it and don't regret it one bit.

We still have lots of shrubbery and even a small tree growing in the borders, and we fill up at least one, normally two of those big garden recycling bags most weeks.

So to all of you that are holier than thou, I'm not biting... I'll stick to my small fake lawn and my recycling ways and leave you to casting stones.

I despite plastic grass and wish more people used their gardens well but I also appreciate it takes time and money. Half my garden had awful grass due to a large soakaway from an extension plus heavy clay and boggy soil (which got worse when the neighbour on that side added a plastic lawn). I replaced the lawn on that side with raised beds and bark paths around them and have a veggie and flower garden instead.

It's a shame people would prefer their garden to look constantly perfect over improving the environment but each to their own I guess.

😍Brilliant, love seeing all these gardens. ITs a shame more people don't do the same not only would it increase biodiversity and support wildlife but actually increase the value of people homes and proven to improve mental health.

Wait what? TWO layers of fucking plastic?

There are plenty of chemical free and biodegradable weed barriers available on the market. 🙄

Wait what? TWO layers of fucking plastic?

👏You're good you are!

Honestly no good gardener lays plastic beneath a lawn. Permeable or otherwise. Not sure where that advice came from. We laid old cardboard at the bottoms of our raised veg beds before filling with compost and that suppressed the weeds just fine!

Good gardening is about light touch

I have known someone die from it actually..
Necrotising fasciitis

Can't link but there's a fresh thread over in Gardening where someone has asked about fake grass. Lots of people saying they have it or had it and it's awful.
I think this thread has drawn out the fans and defenders. That one certainly hasn't!

all these wild gardens look all well and good if you own your house but I am in a HA house and they are very strict, if the grass or bushes grow more than a certain length they are sending warning letters about tenancy breaches, etc and not keeping the garden tidy is an evictable offence

@faffadoodledo - a lot of this stuff is driven by builders who say they are "landscapers". Obviously the connection to Capability Brown is intended!

Gardening is about enjoying the process of growing and nurturing. A lot of people really want to have "outside rooms". That's the kind of Love Island style where the sofa is in the garden and that's the most important aspect.

That's a shame then @towrag

And you think that that's ok? 🙄

Insanity really.

I think it shouldn't be called 'grass' at all. It gives the impression that it's in some way comparable to the real thing and perhaps encourages a bit of cognitive dissonance. In reality there's no reason for it even to be green, it may as well be purple or red or any other colour because it's just plastic. I think it would help if more guidance and support were made available to help people keep their gardens natural and usable where there are challenges in terms of disability/mobility/cost or tricky growing conditions (trees, lack of sun, drainage etc). Such a campaign would probably need to be coordinated on a national government level though...

Tacky and toxic. I instantly think poorly of anyone who chooses it.