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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Considering an artificial lawn, thoughts?

184 replies

AnxiousPixie · 17/01/2022 16:02

We have fought with our lawn for years. It's always wet and boggy and covered in more moss than grass. I even invested a couple of years ago to have it all ripped up, a good drainage layer put down and new turf. After two years and most of that maintenance being done by a Gardener we are back to square one.

So I am looking at artificial grass.

Looking after lawn tips are welcome but looking specifically for any advice/pros/cons of artificial lawns please!

Thanks!

OP posts:
AnxiousPixie · 17/01/2022 17:30

Thanks everyone, really appreciate this. I did think it would be a bit love/hate but I do really appreciate you all taking the time to comment.

@minipie heard the same about nomow will def avoid them if we do decide to go for it.

OP posts:
Sparticle · 17/01/2022 17:33

I've searched my emails and we went for the Nomow Classic Meadow plus paid for professional installation (which apparently included all this:
· Removal of existing gravel and removing from site
· Supply and installation of (35mm depth) sharp sand
· Supply and installation of Geotextile weed suppressing membrane
· Supply and installation of the Nomow grass
· Supply of protective fencing during the works (if required)
· Clearing site of all waste
· Supply of 10 year guarantee.)

We lived in a very wet part of England and the drainage was great, no problems with flooding at all. If puddles ever formed they seemed to go incredibly quickly and the children could even play out on it in the rain. We also don't have dogs so animal urine wasn't an issue.

Lonelycrab · 17/01/2022 17:37

Yuk.

Even the expensive stuff looks naff naff naff.

Environmentally damaging to produce, and poor for garden ecosystems.

Oneforthemoneytwo · 17/01/2022 17:37

We did it in our old house for all the reasons you are considering it. We spent about 10 years trying to get a lawn to work but ended up with an unusable garden 8-9 months of the year. We put in excellent drainage and never had any issues with either drainage, heat or smells.

elbea · 17/01/2022 17:39

They are absolutely horrible, we laugh at a house near that has loads of insect houses and hedgehog houses in their plastic lawn.

Why you would rip up grass and lay a big slab of plastic that is constantly shedding micro plastics into the ground is beyond me.

I think they really bring down an area too, they always end up looking shabby.

Christienne · 17/01/2022 17:40

I'd factor in the cost of removing a fake lawn and replacing with something natural into the offer on any house I was looking to buy. I know many people who think similarly so this is something you may want to bear in mind.

megletthesecond · 17/01/2022 17:41

No.
A muddy lawn is far better than skanky plastic. The birds need to get to the lawn for worms and we need little things like dandelions. I've asked our council to ban the stuff.

Only people with mobility issues might need it.

Kendodd · 17/01/2022 17:42

Ugly, ugly, ugly.
Plus everyone will look at it and know you don't give a shit about the environment.
Second other posters, get a moss lawn.

NeilBuchananisBanksy · 17/01/2022 17:44

There is no compensation for a plastic lawn. Really. No amount of planters etc will help.

It's so bad. It would in my view, also devalue a house.

There are other options to explore. Do you know why your drainage is so bad?

VelmaandShaggy · 17/01/2022 17:52

Hell no. I would use paving, gravel, wood chip, wide curving plant borders, thyme clovep chamomile lawn etc. Natural, aesthetically pleasing materials. Loads of ideas out there.

ILoveAllRainbowsx · 17/01/2022 17:54

I assume that all the people saying how bad it is for the environment never fly or have a car?

Ihaventgottimeforthis · 17/01/2022 17:55

A green plastic blanket on top of a boggy mess of mud where no worms or soil minibeasts can survive, no flowering plants - and how are you going to dispose of it when the time comes?
Do you have clay subsoil? Because even if a good drainage layer is placed on top, if the water can't drain away anywhere that won't make any difference, you will just have a perched water table.
What type of grass species was used in the turf? Can you look at a wider mix of grasses, herbs and wildflowers that will send down deep roots, tolerate clay soil, and let it grow longer to provide a thicker thatch?

MissingJigsawPiece · 17/01/2022 17:55

@AnxiousPixie We have it and it was the best thing we did. There is always snobbery and derision on here.

It is all well and good saying plant a moss lawn and yes it would look beautiful but shit for any sort of foot traffic and useless for playing on. My grass lawn was trashed with 2 children playing football and it was sloped so they also rode ride on tractors down the lawn and completely wrecked it. I have a front garden plus a side garden all planted for us but the children needed a place to play. The decision came after we had an extension and all the building material pallets were put on the lawn so it needed landscaping.

Cons- it can get hot in summer, solution, wear something on your feet. Pros, you surface weed kill it 3-4 times a year, you sweep any bits off it (never hoovered it) and no mowing, ever. In fact it is lovely to hear lawn mowers and know you never have to do this to yours. Fox shit is cleaned off really easily, hose it. It dries very quickly after rain so the children can be out on it. No mud on shoes, no grass stains on clothes.

We used to have ants all over our grass so no one would sit down on it but those ants are now just in the mature planted borders. We have loads of wildlife in our garden, birds, hedgehogs, foxes and lots of insects. The grass isn't the only source of what they need. It isn't edge to edge lawn. I have 20 year old trees and shrubs. The other thing lots of birds do is sunbathe on the lawn. The first time I saw a blackbird with its wings spread out not moving I thought it was injured. No, just sunbathing. Lots of blackbirds do it, it is adorable.

Re choosing it, we went to a place that had very large samples laid out outside meaning you could take your shoes off and walk on it bare foot to get a feel for it. Hands aren't enough really, bare feet. We also brought back samples and laid them in our garden to see what they would look like. We went with a local company.

Muchmorethan · 17/01/2022 17:57

Love mine. Had it laid for the same reasons as yourself. Been down 12 years.

Odd weeds do poke through but pull them up - roots come too.

Does get very hot in summer but l don't go outside in high sun anyway.

I got a slightly longer length with two tone

MissingJigsawPiece · 17/01/2022 17:57

@ILoveAllRainbowsx yes, surely having fucking children is a massive environmental impact but no one is talking about that either.

Thelikelylass · 17/01/2022 18:00

No one ever said "oh how I love the smell of freshly mown plastic" I'm afraid.
Please don't get this.

Shmithecat2 · 17/01/2022 18:01

[quote MissingJigsawPiece]@ILoveAllRainbowsx yes, surely having fucking children is a massive environmental impact but no one is talking about that either.[/quote]
Exactly. The hypocrisy is outrageous.

megletthesecond · 17/01/2022 18:01

I've never weeded or watered my grass, it's cool barefoot in summer and I live with the ants and muddy patches.

Shmithecat2 · 17/01/2022 18:01

@Thelikelylass

No one ever said "oh how I love the smell of freshly mown plastic" I'm afraid. Please don't get this.
That's because you don't mow plastic.
EnglishGirlApproximately · 17/01/2022 18:02

I'm about to complete on a house with fake grass and I honestly don't know what to do with it. I don't like how it looks and know its bad ecologically, but on the other hand its only a year old so ripping it up and throwing it away feels really wasteful. I think we're going to see how we feel about at the end of spring.

PattyPan · 17/01/2022 18:02

I’d rather moss than artificial grass - the latter looks crap and moss is softer on the feet

pompomsgalore · 17/01/2022 18:02

Words associated with artificial lawns: tacky, horrific, naff, plastic landfill to be, Eco system nightmare, shite.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 17/01/2022 18:04

@ILoveAllRainbowsx

I assume that all the people saying how bad it is for the environment never fly or have a car?
Is it an ‘all or nothing’ thing then? If you do one environmentally inadvisable thing then then fuck it, might as well throw the baby out with the bath water? Good to know.

FYI, I have an electric car and do fly every couple of years.

PattyPan · 17/01/2022 18:04

@EnglishGirlApproximately you could take it up and sell it? That way at least new plastic won’t be used when someone else puts it in their garden. If you want to use the ground beneath it for real grass or plants you will probably need new topsoil.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 17/01/2022 18:05

[quote PattyPan]@EnglishGirlApproximately you could take it up and sell it? That way at least new plastic won’t be used when someone else puts it in their garden. If you want to use the ground beneath it for real grass or plants you will probably need new topsoil.[/quote]
I was going to ask the same thing, can they be relaid? I would assume so. I’d sell it/give it away and replace with something more to your taste.

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