Artificial grass - yay or nay?

[pebblepots]

We are getting our back garden re-done, anyone got experience of naice artificial grass? It appeals as dd will be able to play out there for more of the year without getting caked in mud, also we have a shady side of the garden where grass struggles.

Concerned about it getting hot in summer?!?

@PaulaSmith1 my neighbour has it, my garden on the other hand is like a wild jungle as we havent got round to doing anything outside yet except dig out a veg patch which the slugs seem to be enjoying more than us and sort of taking the strimmer round the rest of it

Why don’t you just concrete over your garden, paint it green and be done with it!

A sheet of plastic is Not grass just because it’s green and has wispy bits. It’s almost criminal...now as well as tarmacing front gardens we are killing back gardens. The poor wildlife will suffer, no worms or insects now no birds tomorrow. Why when we are all more aware of the importance of wildlife is everyone destroying so many acres of grassland...??

@Quarks69

Why don’t you just concrete over your garden, paint it green and be done with it!

A sheet of plastic is Not grass just because it’s green and has wispy bits. It’s almost criminal...now as well as tarmacing front gardens we are killing back gardens. The poor wildlife will suffer, no worms or insects now no birds tomorrow. Why when we are all more aware of the importance of wildlife is everyone destroying so many acres of grassland...??

This!!

The thread is heart-breaking, no wonder so many insects, animals and birds are becoming extinct or having trouble surviving.

I think it says a lot about your genuine level of i terestig in sustainability and green issues.

Yes, it's convenient as it doesn't need cutting and it will look like a well-kept lawn all the time, even if obviously fake. If you value that more highly than reducing plastic use and allowing nature to thrive, because you NT cope with a bit of mowing or the grass no time poking not effects, youll also Ben someone who probably buys heaps of plastic toys and doesn't have a sense of reducing consumption generally,

Sorry, lots of that came out as gobbledegook.

Basically if you're happy to choose to add more unecessary plastic to the world that will sit in landfill eventually for decades and centuries, in order to avoid mowing the grass or having a less than perfect lawn....then you will be someone who might install fake grass without any consideration for the environment.

I guess people who do this might use a recycled bag or the recycling bin, but haven't really engaged with the fact that plastic has serious consequences or that consumption probably needs reducing.

I wonder if there's a correlation between those with fake grass and conspicuous consumption of vast piles of present at Christmas (much of which will be plastic) plus regular purchase of new semi-disposable clothes?

Sorry if that sounds an unpleasant thing to say...but I think we must address the realities of our consumption choices and there are issues beyond whether it is warm under foot or whether it looks real.

Zombie thread... but horrific stuff.

Completely terrible for wildlife and the environment.

If I were house hunting, it would completely put me off. And if the rest of the house were perfect, my offer would be reduced in line with the cost of ripping it all out, repairing the damage beneath if needed, then relaying turf.

It also looks utterly shite.

No, it’s horrible, as the OPs have said, terrible for wildlife, must be so confusing for them as well, with no bugs to eat in the fake grass. It also looks terrible and when it’s worn out it’s yet more plastic waste, we just don’t want.

Nay - because artificial grass is terrible for rainwater run-off that causes floods, awful for wildlife and doesn't even look as good as the owners think it does.

It’s a horrible trend that is showing no signs of going away unfortunately.

I lurk on a Mrs Hinch fb group and the number of people astroturfing their gardens over lockdown was depressing...I can understand a bit more if you have a small concrete courtyard you want to make useable, but there were loads of people astroturfing over perfectly good grass.

I saw one comment thread discussing the best type of Zoflora to chuck over it. Some else suggested Lenor...

Artificial lawns are so depressing, I discounted several otherwise good houses on this basis. I cant understand why tapestry lawns are not more popular... www.grassfreelawns.co.uk/index.html
Lower maintenance, higher tolerance of drought and stress, smell amazing, better for wildlife. If you dont want grass they're perfect!

Tapestry lawns look gorgeous 😍.
My front garden is a tiny courtyard with wildlife friendly pots. But I'm tempted to pull up the slabs and grass it.

Yes to tapestry lawns, they are stupendous, as opposed to stupid plastic grass!

I really don't like it. When recently house hunting I definitely considered it to be an off-putting feature.

Thank goodness I'm not the only one thinking it's awful stuff because it's so bad for the environment.
All that plastic. Bad for surface water drainage. No CO2 absorption. Doesnt support wildlife. Cant be recycled. On that basis alone, it has to be a "nay".

Also think it looks naff.

I love the look of it

I am now madly googling tapestry lawn.

THANK YOU!

I am very very tempted to do this next year.

It's horrible and spare a thought for the hedgehogs/ squirrels etc

Absolutely disgusting and terrible for wildlife. I am shocked so many people think this shite is a good idea. One of the best things in life is the smell of freshly cut grass and who cares if it isn't perfect?

@NigellasGuest

Absolutely disgusting and terrible for wildlife. I am shocked so many people think this shite is a good idea. One of the best things in life is the smell of freshly cut grass and who cares if it isn't perfect?

I agree. The little bit you’re doing in having plastic grass for convenience is making the planet just a little bit worse for your children and their children. We can take responsibility and do a tiny bit to help which adds up to a lot, or do tiny things which erode the biodiversity and add another degree or two to global warming.

Our gardens aren’t just our playthings. They’re important habitats for a huge range of wildlife we’re mostly not aware of. We can’t keep doing this, not when we are now aware of what’s happening with climate change and the extinction of so many species

I have a fully landscaped garden done by the previous owner (They had a hot tub & all that stuff...) which has a patch of artificial grass.

I don't like it. I think it looks naff, it's not nice to sit on in summer (hot & just feels plastic-y & rubbish), it's started to accumulate bits of mud etc so doesn't look pristine anymore. I see it as the rear garden equivalent of block paving your entire front garden.

I'm replacing with turf next year.