Considering an artificial lawn, thoughts?

[AnxiousPixie]

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!

They came down from the woodland to eat our shrubs. Gorgeous but annoying!

We laid it last year and although it's not my preference it's made my garden useable. I have a one and three year old and the old garden didn't allow them to play out there. We couldn't grow grass. It's a London house very overlooked with little sun.

I think the hate is justified, because it isn't ideal, but I'm not sure people need to be so rude!

I am pretty environmentally conscious in other ways. And of course as someone said unchain, it's not all or nothing, but it's about doing what you can. So some choose not to eat meat, or use reusable sanitary products, have one or no children, reusable nappies and wipes. If I didn't have a safe space for my kids, I'd be getting in a car and driving to other places more for example.

In our last house, with the astroturf, we had deer coming down onto the ‘grass’ from the woodland nearby,

poor buggers must have been confused when they got there.

There you are, this was taken in very early spring so is the worst the moss ever got at the edges and before we cleaned it when the weather got more decent. I don’t think they were that confused as they had plenty to eat without having grass :)

@Sparticle

There you are, this was taken in very early spring so is the worst the moss ever got at the edges and before we cleaned it when the weather got more decent. I don’t think they were that confused as they had plenty to eat without having grass :)

Ah wow!

Lol

So many people seem to be having it round here. It makes me think of The Lorax Just So sad.

Beautiful creatures. But quite a sad a juxtaposition of the natural world and the plastic grass.

Putting aside all the aesthetic/environmental judgement, I find the feel of artificial grass very different from normal grass in a way which bothers me. I don't like sitting on it or walking across it barefoot. Instead, I just don't want to be on it, especially in summer when we don't wear shoes in the garden. Maybe it's different if you get the really expensive stuff. But I like the cool, breezy feeling you get from real grass and I wouldn't like not to have that in my garden.

Predictable bunfight is predictable.

Some people love it

Some people can’t stand it

Keep this up guys we’ll make the daily mail

Our neighbours had there's done for the exact same reason. They have dogs and kids. Last summer the dogs kept burning their feet in the summer. The kids keep slipping on it and get really bad burns on their legs. Its not solved their problem, they now have restrictions on what they can plant which is one of the main factors in removing the water from the ground.

They get puddles on their grass/flooded patio area and although it was good quality it looks awful. They now regret it and it was expensive!

We've added drainage, part paved and planted some big trees which have all improved the condition of our garden. It still gets very wet but we need to work with it. Fake grass is not a solution.

I don’t like them at all, they look fake and plasticky. Plus, bad for wildlife and the environment.

We were house hunting this last Spring and viewed a few which had the artificial grass in the garden.
TBH we didn't see a single one which looked good -- some were ok-ish (but it was very obviously fake grass) while others looked really awful.

From what I've read even the 'recyclable' ones have to go to specialist plants (I think there are some in Europe, but I doubt anyone is going through the trouble to get it there) and therefore don't get recycled, like most 'recyclable' things I suppose...

I just came on to say that we had a very boggy lawn and had perforated pipe installed, covered with pebbles, covered covered with soil, covered with turf and it is fine now.

I still don’t see how putting a plastic layer down will help water drain off your garden - it won’t make the soil underneath drain any better. In fact as it compacts the top soil it could even make it worse! So you’ll just have puddles on top of the artificial lawn.

@PattyPan

I still don’t see how putting a plastic layer down will help water drain off your garden - it won’t make the soil underneath drain any better. In fact as it compacts the top soil it could even make it worse! So you’ll just have puddles on top of the artificial lawn.

Mine drains fine. But if it didn't, it would at least get rid of the mud. That is why my garden was unusable

@PattyPan

I still don’t see how putting a plastic layer down will help water drain off your garden - it won’t make the soil underneath drain any better. In fact as it compacts the top soil it could even make it worse! So you’ll just have puddles on top of the artificial lawn.

It's not just put on top of the soil. There's a layer of sand and hardcore underneath so it drains nicely.

It's not just put on top of the soil. There's a layer of sand and hardcore underneath so it drains nicely.

Yes but it is still the same soil below that! The water doesn’t just sit in the sand forever.

@PattyPan

It's not just put on top of the soil. There's a layer of sand and hardcore underneath so it drains nicely.

Yes but it is still the same soil below that! The water doesn’t just sit in the sand forever.

It needs to drains through the sand and the hardcore first. So it doesn't sit on the top like it would a real lawn.

@PattyPan

It's not just put on top of the soil. There's a layer of sand and hardcore underneath so it drains nicely.

Yes but it is still the same soil below that! The water doesn’t just sit in the sand forever.

There's enough hardcore and sand to hold the rain and then it seems to either drain or evaporates. I don't know the precise technicalities but it works.

Environmentally disastrous, tacky, just NO!

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/18/chemical-pollution-has-passed-safe-limit-for-humanity-say-scientists

Plastic pollution is endangering human health, noone needs a plastic garden, please think. What about paving or decking or gravel if you must?

Never seen one that didn't look very obviously like a green carpet in the garden. I know they have a practical appeal, but I think the advantages are outweighed by the disadvantages and the benefits can be easily achieved in better ways, sorry.

@Phrenologistsfinger

Environmentally disastrous, tacky, just NO!

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/18/chemical-pollution-has-passed-safe-limit-for-humanity-say-scientists

Plastic pollution is endangering human health, noone needs a plastic garden, please think. What about paving or decking or gravel if you must?

I have paving, decking, gravel AND an artificial lawn. They were here when we moved in and I now really enjoy my garden. I am not getting rid of something that improves my life. Plus thats more of a waste.

Given the many unavoidable ways that us humans shed artifical materials into the natural environment, I find it quite sad that some people think that a muddy lawn is such an inconvenience it is justifiable to literally lay a sheet of green plastic over their garden.