Artificial grass

[PiratePetespajamas]

Now that it looks like we’re going to be confined (or mostly confined) to our houses for a long time, id like to make our garden a more fun and safe place for our small children. We rent, and it’s paved. We have a crawling baby and a toddler as well as a five year old, so I’d like to put artificial grass down in order to make it softer under foot/knees and just look brighter. My questions are:

1. can you put this straight down on paving or do you need something underneath?
2. will it damage the paving at all if we do 1)?
3. what sort of price are we looking at? The space is about 2m x 3m.
4. any specific recommendations?

Thank you!

Be aware that it's not maintenance-free. I've seen muddy artifical grass and it's not a pretty sight.

Also be aware that it gets very hot in the summer, rather like like tarmac.

Ikea is selling something that sounds ideal for your situation.

It's definitely not an easy option. Needs weekly maintenance....and costs a lot.

Would bark, or rubber be better? Maybe those jigsaw style foam tiles?

Oh. These are interesting aspects I had not considered. Though how does it get muddy if I don’t have any mud in my garden/it’s all paved? It getting hot is something to think about. Trouble with the jumbo foam pieces is that 1) they will look even worse than artificial grass and 2) I don’t really want to keep taking them up and down. Will look at the Ikea thing...

Yes you can lay the grass on flags.. it's the quick way to do it. Home Bargains sells 2 rolls for £50 (4 x 1 metre) and it's good quality. Have a look on You Tube x

Though how does it get muddy if I don’t have any mud in my garden/it’s all paved? Dust will blow in and get trapped in the "grass", then moss spores, so moss will grow.

If it's in the back garden you can keep mud to a minimum, as long as you don't let anyone in there with muddy shoes.

Muddy artificial grass is possibly down to the wrong base layer.
It should be laid on compacted gravel then Dust some times called MOT this allows it to drain freely. We hoover ours every few months and it's fine.
Personally I would get a cheap bit and lay it on top of the flags and see how it goes, it won't damage anything. Our local market has a bloke selling off cuts but look on Facebook market place too.