Fake grass

[Jultay]

Has anybody fitted this themselves or is it best to get it done professionally .... any tips would be most grateful.

I love the justification here. FFS. Plastic fake grass will never be ok for the environment, even if lawns are good for bees of whatever.

Well eating dairy or meat are bad for the environment. Using internal combustion engines for travel is bad. Wearing artificial fibres is appalling.

I hope you don't do any of those things, Olivia.

Olivia - I'm sure most people would prefer a real lawn and would agree that it's aesthetically more pleasing. But if you're time poor, have physical problems, dogs that would wreck a real lawn, have a south facing garden where the sun burns off the grass each year etc etc surely a bit of plastic grass is ok? And no worse than patios, decking, barbecues etc?

It's also possible to do as we have done and incorporate some fake grass into a garden which is otherwise a haven for wildlife.

plastic fake grass will never be good for the environment

So what do you mow your lawn with? A scythe? Because any other method is using electricity or fossil fuels.

It is DEFINITELY better to get it fitted professionally - it's a big task and just not worth messing up! Part of the benefit of fake grass is its perfection so you don't want to risk it not being perfect!
We made the switch to artificial grass recently after learning how much more hygienic for the kids and pets it is.
We went with Maze Grass UK. The team was friendly, it was affordable and the whole thing was done within a few days. It looks immaculate and we all love it!

I am surprised at how much dislike there is for fake grass!
As with everything it really depends on how it is used as to how good it looks.
I've seen a large garden covered and I think it looked awful, to me it was the wrong shade of green and too perfect looking, whereas when used in smaller areas it can work well.
A lawn is hard work. I don't see artificial grass as any different as a hard landscaping material as paving or decking. If I had small children again I'd choose artificial grass over a paved area.

I used a bit in an outdoor play area for our cats, I did it badly!!! The patch only really gets sun for the last couple of hours in the day so grass there is difficult, plus in the winter is a mud bath.
I'd definitely say get someone in

I'm not a fan of immaculate fake grass - I think our small patch looks better when it's covered with leaves, twigs and a dog toy or two!

Awful stuff. Perhaps look at alternatives to grass for a lawn?

I don't profess to be some kind of environmental role model- just by being on the planet we have an adverse impact on the environment. I do try and limit my impact though, where I can.

BUT to me it's simple, fake grass is abhorrent and there is no justification for it. To say that it's ok, because lawn mowing uses electricity is, frankly, scraping the barrel. And hygiene? WTF? What's wrong with kids playing in the mud? Animals are still going to poo and wee on the grass, fake or not. FFS. At least if you are going to use it, own up to it's effects and don't try and kid yourself that it's ok for the environment. It's not.

Did no one see blue planet and the effect of plastic?

I also don't subscribe to paving over large areas either, for what it's worth.

And it looks shit.

We've just had it installed. Our grass never grew anyway and we'd had it re-laid twice and then treated, but it just grew badly.

Dh's brother is a builder, so the ground was compacted properly and laid well.

We are pleased with it.

DH laid ours himself. We adjusted the size of the lawn area (fairly small) so that there was no need for joins.

The previous two turfed lawns had never taken so the sub layer was already suitable for levelling with sand.

It has now been in place for about 3 years and still looks fine. The rest of the garden also looks better as we have more time to spend on it rather than mowing.

but using water, fertiliser, weedkiller, energy to run the lawnmower if you want a “classic” lawn that looks green and nice is environmentally unfriendly too.

I find this so utterly depressing. Each garden that gets less natural makes it harder for wildlife to exist. I don't think humans will really be happy until they have destroyed everything.

Agree with pps. Yes, some people have tiny gardens with no rooms for sheds / disabilities etc but that's not the case with the vast majority of our neighbours, who have paved over their front gardens, fake turfed or decked the back and then complain about wanting to move out of London closer to nature

Like a lot of things, it would be fine if a few did it, but it's massive at the moment and with microplastics, runoff, and lack of habitat for living creatures it's a disaster. It's also totally possible to have a decent lawn without weedkiller, massive effort or a motorised lawnmower, so long as you don't expect the same totally manicured perfection as the fake look (and it's better for the grubs and hedgehogs too).

I find this so utterly depressing. Each garden that gets less natural makes it harder for wildlife to exist. I don't think humans will really be happy until they have destroyed everything.

Exactly. The Disney Wall-E film springs to mind.....

It doesnt have to be either a totally fake garden or a totally 'natural' garden. We have fake grass but mixed borders and beds with a wide variety of insect friendly plants and fruit trees.

I dislike them tbh

once people have made the decision to put carpet down in their garden, why do they all choose the same colour? It's obviously not grass, so why not have a bit of imagination?

It doesnt have to be either a totally fake garden or a totally 'natural' garden. We have fake grass but mixed borders and beds with a wide variety of insect friendly plants and fruit trees.

You're wasting your time Gnome. I've tried that line. But seems fake grass haters have a binary approach to things 🙄

You're wasting your time Gnome. I've tried that line. But seems fake grass haters have a binary approach to things 🙄

Well no but having a few plants in a garden doesn't negate the environmental impact of the fake grass. It's better than and entirely paved garden but still doesn't make it ok.

Olivia - who said "a few plants"? Our fake grass comprises about 20% of our garden. The rest is planted. Sorry if that doesn't meet your exacting standards 🙄

It's not my exacting standards, I'm just pointing out the obvious. 20% is still 20% plastic fakeness and it doesn't make it ok.

Fine if you like it, but don't pretend that it's good for the environment. It's not.

It's terrible looking.

The only reason I can think it justify it is for football/sports in a a particulary soggy spot. And even still it's an abomination.

I have seen it more and more being installed in the 'fashionable' houses that have chandeliers over their cooker and blingy installations.

Yes. I judge.

Fine if you like it, but don't pretend that it's good for the environment. It's not.

Where do I pretend it's good for the environment fgs? Is everything you do environmentally friendly? Or do you - dare I suggest - make compromises?

A garden is an exercise in fakeness. Non native species, plants pruned and trained.

If you want a truly natural garden you must do nothing to it and take down all fences to allow wildlife to move through it naturally.