Anyone got artifical grass?

[cherryboomboom]

Hi, I am going to be making a play area for the children at the botttom of the garden and I am looking at using artificial grass.
Has anyone got any? What are your experiences with it and can anyone recommend any?

I have looked at verdelawn at the garden centre which I loved but it is still too expensive even though I found it for half the price on the internet!!

I do want a nice soft one as the idea is that the kids will be playing on it, however I am wondering if this is going to be possible becaus eof the cost

It is expensive and when we looked it seems you get what you pay for. We used www.lazylawn.co.uk and it is excellent, have had it down for 3 years now and still it is as good as when it was first laid.

IMO this is a market you probably get a lot of cowboys!

Personally when we first decided to have it I wasn't keen, but now I have got used to it I think it is great - the kids and the dog love it, it's more like an outdoor carpet.

what do you do about the bird poo, cat poo and dog poo?

I really don't know what happens to the bird poo as I have never seen any on it, but if there was I would just hose it away. Cats, again not a problem, either we just don't get any feline traffic, or maybe because they like to dig a hole for their poo and you can't in this grass they don't do it here. The dog does poo on the grass but it is so easy to pick up as it sort of sits on the top, any on the odd occasion there is a bit of 'residue' I hose it away. You can actually wash the grass with a mild detergent if you need, and or use a brush on it. I haven't yet, but in theory it could be cleaner and more hygienic than lawn!

My cousin, who has several football crazy sons, has a massive garden. He has had it entirely astro-turfed.

It looks amazing and up-keep is minimal. I think he vacuums it once or twice a year.