Artificial grass - share experience and where to buy

[Mummyfry]

Hi,

Can anyone please share their experience with artificial grass and what to look out for when choosing and installing the artificial grass? Did you install it yourself or get the shop to install it?

We would ideally want something realistic looking, high quality and our daughter will play in it. The grass area won’t be that big so we don’t mind paying a higher price per m.

I’m not looking for any comments on how we shouldn’t get artificial grass (I’m aware of the negatives ie environment concerns and how it can get very hot) as I have a grass and pollen allergy so we can’t have real grass and we don’t want the whole garden paved as we already have a patio area.

thanks in advance!

However PP has been discussed along with raised council tax.
Very difficult to manage unfortunately.

Can I just clarify is it considered worse to artificial grass my garden than to lay a patio? Both are artificial and of no interest to bees.

Yes I wondered this

The plastic grass leaches chemicals into the soil which patios don't.

Sorry, but the only advice I can give is to think carefully before installing it if you plan on ever having pets.

Our previous next door neighbours had it with a dog and it stank to high heaven in summer.

During the summer, I just remember awakening every morning to the smell of them chucking bucket loads of Dettol on it by the back door every morning, which wafted through our windows.

However, it never quite got rid of the pungent smell coming from over the fence.

I also know someone who has had to have theirs re- done 3 times in 10 years (also have a dog).

Also, it seems to collect dirt and debris easily, which does not seem to break down as well as it does on real grass. My neighbours were often blowing their artificial grass with a leaf blower.

We've had artificial in our garden about 5 years. Still looks as good as new! It was professionally done which costs £££ and takes time but worth it.

If you have kids that like football or a dog, its worth every penny!!

Good qu! I have a tiny back garden: it was almost fully paved professionally before we inherited it and is shaded most of the year except few months of aummer as bordered by walls. I have lots of planters full of nature friendly planting (evergreens for sparrow shelter, year round open flowers for bees etc) which I think are definitely easier on patio which is solid and can support seriously large planters. I think this is preferable to plastic grass, the creation and dispersal of which will be environmentally negative and is likely to be replaced more often increasing the environmental impact.

You can buy special grass seed that thrives in shaded areas and north facing gardens.

I ran a gardening business before I retired OP.

You asked about spending up and having a professional fit the artificial grass. Well it will be pretty expensive to have a 'quality' lawn laid. The land will have to be prepared, the real turf removed and disposed of, land leveled, sub layers of grit and sand will be laid, edging put down and then the artificial grass will be laid.

My experience of artificial lawn as a gardener is all you've read above. The moss forming, weeds growing in the moss, urine smell from pets etc is all the same whether you fit cheap yourself or spend the money and have top of the range.

Two other factors I've encountered which aren't mentioned here. I once had to lift a very large, expensive and heavy artificial lawn because the neighbour's bamboo had run under the lawn and was causing trip hazard bumps across the lawn and lifting it up. We had to dig out the bamboo from the sub layers, relay them and then roll out the lawn like carpet. This job was expensive for the client.

Another lawn in a garden I worked on was so sticky from sap falling from surrounding trees that the children and pets of the house couldn't us it without getting in a hell of a mess. It wasn't the sort of sap that could be washed off with water - think like resin! Everything that fell on it stuck - leaves, litter, twigs - and rotted right there.

Both of these things and all the other points PP have raised apply to cheap and pricey artificial lawns alike.

My two bob on the subject is that artificial lawns are a crap for nature, flash in the pan fad that will hopefully die out pronto (and should never have been a thing). They're a way for non gardeners to make quick money out of people who want no maintenance. Artificial lawns are not no maintenance.

A good gardener will always be able to come up with a better, cheaper, more sustainable option for you.

Don’t do it. Our neighbours are on their second covering of artificial grass. The first looked tatty, so they had it replaced. The new grass just looks awful.

Yes, as much as courtyard fully paved gardens are a thing, they are in the minority, and generally folks have pots and plants. Most plastic grass is not recyclable as it is not bio degradable, and it leeches into the soil.

surprised anyone is unaware of the push to reduce plastic and the environmental impacts, and wonders if stone is as bad?

We paved our garden but have tons and tons of planters and trees around the edges, so lots of nature.

Have you considered sedum? Basically loads of tiny little creeping succulents. We have a sedum front lawn and it's fab. No maintenance required and different plants within it seem to flourish at different times so it's always interesting to look at.

People with artificial lawns always, ALWAYS say "oh, but ours looks realistic."
I have never ever seen one that does. You can spot them a mile off and they look terrible.
So, you have hay fever? Join the world's largest club. Plastic grass won't help.

To be fair they do often look realistic from a distance. They never ever look realistic when you get close to them. As said before, that’s why people take pics from far away.

fortunately it is a trend that is dying a death, as people become aware of the enviromental impacts, and the push to reduce plastic grows, sales are plummeting and people are now ripping them out. The issue is it costs thousands to put right when you do.

i think also there is a lack of education as well for some. Someone asked if paving is as bad, yes, paving your whole garden is bad, yes, But it is no where need as bad as swathing your garden in plastic.

you do get biodegradable stuff now, but the overwhelming majority of artificial grass is non biodegradable, so takes hundreds of years, and is a disaster for the environment, never mind what it does to your little patch of garden.

Your EA could've easily already knocked off £10k in the valuation process.

It's also not particularly low maintenance given that it needs cleaning, resanding etc. Grass doesn't need any of that.

I agree. If you post on a public forum then you will absolutely be judged and sometimes that's appropriate. Artificial grass is awful for so many reasons and nobody needs it, even if they have allergies. There are alternatives.

Yes of course it's worse. It's made entirely of plastic.

Clover could be a lovely alternative, it's really low maintenance (once or twice a year mow), doesn't bother about shade/clay etc and doesn't go yellow/burn with dog pee etc. And the bees and bugs love it.

It's an all round winner for everyone and I am looking into changing our small lawned area for clover.

In addition to previously mentioned negatives it’s worth noting if you have a sunny garden that artificial grass gets very warm to the touch. Humans will realise quickly that on a hot day isn’t not comfortable to sit on it or walk barefoot. However, a sleepy dog who likes to snooze in the sunshine can quickly become dangerously overheated .

• it’s not

I’m sure if a sleepy dog got to hot in the sunshine then it would move to a shaded area ? Just like a human would 🙄

Artificial grass, like those fake box balls people hang from their porch, fade to a kind of jade colour that never appears in nature and glares on the eye like billy-o. Also see - trellis with plastic ivy leaves on.

After a while it all looks like a plastic Christmas wreath on a grave at Easter.

Unfortunately that’s not what happened with my neighbour’s sleepy dog. She was working from home and her terrier was in and out of the garden in the sunshine. The high temperature made the dog even sleepier and neighbour found the dog semi conscious in the garden when she dished up his dinner and he didn’t come in.

Rushed him off to the vet who diagnosed heatstroke. Thankfully the dog recovered after a very worrying( and expensive) 48 hours being treated and monitored in the vet surgery.

But was the dog asleep on artificial grass ?