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!

@dafey

I have it & I love it, very popular where I am. We all have tiny gardens & young dc & the fake grass is super practical.

Ours is like the photo

Well that doesn't look too bad. I'm going to backtrack and stop being judge. Feeling a bit naff because that's not something I like to be. It's like a garden carpet really.

People using the term ‘ecological disaster ‘ are humiliating themselves , look up some actual ecological disasters and the deaths involved and reconsider your words.
Hope none of you handwringers have a kid, since that is the worst thing anyone can do to the planet, by incomparable margins. 🙂

@AnxiousPixie if your existing lawn, despite a drainage layer, is permanently water logged that means your lawn is about the level of the water table for much of the. An artificial lawn will suffer in exactly the same way.

The solution could be raising the lawn above the current level. A simple box of untreated railway sleepers surrounding a lawn with a drainage layer, so the same as you have now except 200mm to 300mm higher. A gravel path around the outside with a French drain under would help more.

I also love mine. It's only like 2m by 4m ish and I was most definitely not going to buy a lawnmower for that tiny patch, especially as it's irregularly shaped due to patios and raised beds and would be a nightmare to mow (if not impossible). I bought the most expensive stuff I could get and I think it looks great. For all the people going on about wildlife, quite honestly that is an added bonus if I can deter them, I can lay on the lawn and not get my arse bitten by ants. I have zero interest in any kind of wildlife in my garden, I live in the middle of a housing estate in a very rural area and its surrounded by trees and fields, they can hang out there. If only it was successful at deterring birds and bees, I'm not a fan of either

@Marmelace thank you, we have a few more trees & bushes. In a ideal world I'd have a huge garden but I'd also have off street parking 😆 Need to win the lotto for that!

@Pineapplemonkey

I also love mine. It's only like 2m by 4m ish and I was most definitely not going to buy a lawnmower for that tiny patch, especially as it's irregularly shaped due to patios and raised beds and would be a nightmare to mow (if not impossible). I bought the most expensive stuff I could get and I think it looks great. For all the people going on about wildlife, quite honestly that is an added bonus if I can deter them, I can lay on the lawn and not get my arse bitten by ants. I have zero interest in any kind of wildlife in my garden, I live in the middle of a housing estate in a very rural area and its surrounded by trees and fields, they can hang out there. If only it was successful at deterring birds and bees, I'm not a fan of either

Mowers aren't the only way to maintain a lawn. Our garden is small so we use a strimmer instead.

If you are a fan of being alive you need to be a fan of bees...

No because harmful to the enviroment, thats why l refuse to block pave my front garden. We need to protect nature not just smother it for our own convieniance. l hate fake outdoor plants too, my garden is totally wild and free.

Someone in the village has their front garden with fake grass. It’s a disaster as it’s north facing which I guess is why moss has grown through it. I’ve never seen such a mess, with no easy way of fixing it.

I think it's beyond grim, you can spot a plastic lawn a mile off. With it already being there, I suppose it's a bit like adopting an old dog whose tail was already chopped off (like I did).