Artificial grass - yes or no?

[ChicagoBears]

I have a substantial garden, some has porcelain tiles but it’s mostly loose stone which looks bare and is difficult to use so I was considering artificial grass.

I know there’s lots of grades of grass, I’d opt for the premium grade but wanted to garner opinion, what (if any) are the drawbacks of artificial grass? Will I love to regret it?

It doesn't get hot if it's always in the shade! We had it in a previous home because we couldn't grow grass in the dark, damp garden. It was just muddy moss all year round. The artificial grass transformed our garden into useable space.

It's not popular OP as you can see, but it has its uses. I loved it. We don't need it where we live now as we have sunlight but I didn't regret it at all.

Pave paradise and put up a parking lot OP. Good plan..

Just no. Tacky and a wildlife disaster.

Absolutely not. Hideous stuff.

Terrible for the environment and wildlife, will get too hot to stand on in the summer if it get sun on it, stinks to high heaven if you have pets, and certainly isn't low-maintenance.

Sorry no from me (puts on hard hat) nothing to do with the environment for me I just don’t like the look/feel of it.

Though to be fair my “grass” is equal parts grass, moss and weeds so I’m sure plenty of people would have an opinion on that 😂

Careful or you might end up featured on 'shit lawns'...

https://twitter.com/Shitlawns

Though to be fair my “grass” is equal parts grass, moss and weeds so I’m sure plenty of people would have an opinion on that

Sounds fine to me. I personally love moss, it's always cool and soft to walk on and is great for the environment.

Nope.

I would also support a ban or perhaps tight planning controls. It is horrid stuff.

If you cannot cope then get a gardener or move to a property with a smaller garden.

No.

Apart from all of the above it degrades. But even if it didn't it would still be a hard No Way Jose from me.

My neighbour has to vacuum her plastic grass regularly and it takes a lot blinking longer than it would to cut grass.

It's an environmental disaster several times over!

1. It's made of plastic
2. It kills the earth underneath it
3. Insects and birds can't feed from it
4. It doesn't take any carbon from the air
5. It contributes to flooding
6. It doesn't grow to replace itself
7. It may contribute to over heating in your space
8. It's hard to recycle to mostly ends up in landfill

I think it should be banned for most domestic gardens (there will always be someone who has a legitimate need I suspect)

I like the idea of taxing people with plastic grass more. Think of all the plastic grass that would be ripped up!

Did you consider any other sort of lawn out of interest? Moss, camomile or clover would probably have thrived and are far better for the environment. Clover lawns in particular stay ever green all year round, need almost no mowing and are excellent for pollinators

Our neighbours have it and I was gobsmacked at the amount of hardcore that had to go under it. The soil underneath must be dead. Anyway, two years in and it’s a really dull colour and looks awful. Plus you can really see the joins. They went for a very expensive one but it looks horrible and they don’t give a monkeys for the damage they’ve done to the environment we live in.

Loose stone is better than artificial grass; less maintenance and more environmentally friendly.
Lots of stones will lend itself well to a Mediterranean type garden.

Just no.

Awful stuff.

It is literally coating the earth in plastic!

Hard no. Bad for the environment, a huge chunk of plastic that will end up in landfill.

Well to buck a trend we got ours as it's very easy maintenance. It does get very hot in summer, I wouldn't have it with small children. I've never hoovered it (wtf?!), don't clean it (leave the rain to do that) and I'm sure the neighbours cats must have pissed on it and it doesn't smell.

Nose blind 🤪

@HecticHedgehog If you find it does start to smell, buy some bio wash I'm liquid form, dilute it with warm water and pour it on your grass. It gets rid of the smell 🙂

Please no. Maybe plant wild flower seeds if you don't want the hassle of mowing a lawn.

The summer heatwaves are only going to get worse.

When we were redoing our tiny garden a few years ago, MIL suggested artificial grass because neither DH nor I are keen gardeners and she thought real grass might become unkempt.

Our lawn is quite unkempt tbh. The shady corner is boggy and muddy for most of the year. The rest of it is overrun with weeds and dandelions. There are some muddy patches which need re-seeding. De-weeding it, cutting it and getting it in order for summer is going to take a while.

But we get lots of insects and butterflies. My DC wanders round and collects grass and dandelions to made mud 'potions'. And during the heatwave last summer, when the whole city was baking in the heat and we were baking in our house, the only relief we got was out in the garden, with sheets rigged up to cover it, lying on the cool, damp grass with our feet in the paddling pool. Whereas our friends with artificial grass couldn't even let their dogs out onto it.

Awful stuff. Gets red hot, and I mean red hot in summer. It gets dirty and smells (any animal urine on it or anything stinks). It's a wildlife desert, ruins the ecosystem of a garden provides nothing for any form of life.

I agree( it's a man abomination.

Also, I was at an acquaintance's house once and they got the hoover out to clean the grass and that was me done!

Please don't. Horrible, tacky and damages the environment