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!

This, see it so often I'm job as we use google maps. You can see it from satellite!

It's hideous. There are so many better options. Plus it devalues your home

Not surprised. I wouldn't even consider a house with fake grass "lawn". I'd just assume that there was never any sun in the garden so real grass wouldn't grow and I'd be put off by the costly and time consuming process of ripping it out (and all the layers of prep materials underneath) and replacing with real grass.

OP, re grass allergies - I doubt that astroturfing your garden would make much of an impact on the amount of pollen in the air. Grass allergy is miserable - I'm doped up to the eyeballs with antihistamines and wishing the time away until July-ish when grass pollen season is over. But pollen travels in the air and grass is still always going to be all around.

Just get your hayfever treated and get normal grass. You do realise that grass and pollen is all around, so carpeting your garden in plastic won't make your allergies better @Mummyfry

New lone female moved near me, we have a chat occasionally on the street. Thought I'd ask her if she fancies walking to the coffee shop sometime with me.

This week she's had rolls of plastic grass delivered. With my love of wildlife I now know we'd have little in common, so won't be asking her to join me.
I'll actually be always in too much of a rush now to chat. I feel so strongly about this plastic rubbish, one mention of it from her and I wouldn't be able to stay quiet.
Give me hedgehogs, birds and bugs any day over a plastic garden.

What a shame that you are not able to see that we all contribute how we can. I recycle more than my neighbours. But I have artificial turf on my back lawn, surrounded by my many butterfly/bee/insects loving plants. My house was built on an old garage/ construction site. For years the only birds we saw were pigeons. I now attract robins, wrens, tits to the garden because of what I have planted. The artificial turf: life saver. North east facing garden, now much warmer. My old cat loved it and all the kids could come over at any time and play. No mess, no soggy damp turf. The front natural lawn: nightmare. Currently looks like a desert. I take my neighbours as I find them. Not always my exact cup of tea, but if they are friendly, polite and interesting then that is fine. Perhaps you are my snobby neighbour?

It’s fantastic at reducing the value of your house.

suggest you get a decent garden designer to come up with a plan that is beautiful, doesn’t have loads of allergic plants and is practical. It can be done and without all the hideous disadvantages of the naff, tacky fake stuff.

Won't make a difference at all where I live. Highly desirable village, south-east. Are you an estate agent, garden designer, plant nursery owner? Just wondering what your interest is in slamming a product that works really well for me and others?

Blackbirds enjoy pulling worms out of your plastic carpet?
When I was a Rep travelling the country years ago, I'd have to stop and clean the dead bugs off my windscreen so I could see where I was going, it was so thick with them. I'd never have my windows open after dusk, for all the moths coming in.
Now I never get a single bug on my windscreen or apart from the occasional fly, no insects come in.
We've caused that.

The overall area of domestic gardens is larger than all our National Parks put together.

Would we ever approve of chemical weedkiller, insecticide or plastic grass in say The Peak District?
Yet here we are, doing all that in our gardens.

You can recycle, though only 20% of what you put out gets reused.
Recycling's too late, the damage was done in the manufacturing and us by purchasing
That though is confusing climate change with ecology. The government does the same.

If you've ever been to the French countryside, that is how England used to be, even in my lifetime. Hedges full of nests, clouds of dragon flies, frogs, toads. Of course, their country is only as half full of humans than ours is.

I feel sorry for children who play on plastic grass. not just for the present but when they grow up, a bumble bee will could be a very rare sight. They rely on grass and clover.

As for hedgehogs, they could be extinct.
Last thing I do at dusk, is change the ground drinking water again and stock the feeding station for the birds and hogs.
That's just my little gesture as the real feeding station is in the grass.

We have normal grass in our garden, but we do have a small area of artificial grass under the pergola. It's great, it looks pretty realistic and normal grass wouldn't thrive there because we usually leave the pergola roof closed (it can open up).

But I'd only have a small area of fake grass; we need more natural gardens for the wildlife and proper grass is much nicer really.

Horrible horrible stuff

It’s vile and should be banned.
It’s unsafe for kids and animals and dreadful for nature.
How is something that needs sweeping and cleaning easier?
It’s a mark of the classless.

You have a grass allergy. Fair enough. The answer isn’t to screw the planet over. The fact that we now carpet our gardens with plastic, knowing everything we do about how toxic plastic is to create and dispose of, we reached a point where we understand the harm that plastic does, understand the importance of soil health, and yet STILL carpet our gardens with stuff that will end up in landfill long after we are dead and gone… it absolutely beggars belief. It needs banning. I really judge people that lay plastic turf. Hard. Wildlife needs all the help it can get. Bark chippings are a great habitat. Chamomile lawns and clover lawns are delightful. But sure. Carpet your garden.

I’m sowing clover into our back lawn every year to boost its drought resistance and letting the moss take over on the front lawn. Moss is brilliant. It’s an amazing peat store, super soft underfoot, doesn’t need mowing, holds its green… I love it.

I wouldn't replace my child's experience of feeling real grass and dirt under their feet with artificial turf. I'd never buy a home that had that down, so you'll limit your resale market as well.

There are some gorgeous grass lawn alternatives

https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/news/eight-grass-alternatives-for-your-lawn

You may not need to be judged for your preferences, but that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to be. So if people want to, they can. And it seems they are.

If you really don’t want to be judged for your preferences, don’t post them on the internet.

PS, there is talk in Parliament of banning such environmentally damaging practices as laying plastic grass particularly as there are many plants you can use for lawn (and I bet there’ll be one you’re not allergic to) without special and expensive permission in order to put a bit of dosh into Council coffers. It won’t be much, but every little helps apparently 😉 Unfortunately for you, if they do ban plastic lawns then without said ‘consideration’ to local Council you are likely to be fined and forced to remove it, no matter when it was put down.

prob best to find an alternative.

@Blooziewhich moss are you growing?

Really? I didn’t know this. Brilliant news. Plastic grass makes me so depressed for humanity.

If you have wicked hay fever like I do,so I do speak from experience, not having a bit of grass will make sod all difference.

I have really bad hay fever. It seems to be worse this year so far. I wouldn’t have artificial grass. We had a small patch for the dogs to go on while we were re turfing our back garden, it absolutely stank after a couple of days.

I honestly didn't have a opinion on artificial grass until I stayed at an Airbnb with my dog for a couple of nights last month. I actually thought that the owner was mad to put this down and advertise as dog friendly. You would constantly need to 'jetwash it'. If it does a poo on it, it's a challenge to pick it up - say no more! With grass you have good chance of clearing it away and using the hose if need be. I wouldn't be tempted if I had animals.