Artificial grass

I agree with BlueBelle 100%. The stuff is awful, plastic and so, so bad for wild life and more tat for landfill. It's ugly and tasteless. Artificial hedges just as ugly and ridiculous. Maybe instead of being a 'sheep' blindly following the crowd, think of the environment [or move to a flat?]
Another case of more money than sense a lot of the time.

These people might then bleat about not seeing so many garden birds, bees or butterflies [getting less year by year]! I wish they would stop and think and find other ways of keeping as much greenery, plant life and trees as possible. There are always people [retirees/school kids] willing to pop in and do some work for a couple of hours every 2-3 weeks for not a lot of money.

midgey

The original poster’s grass must be pretty tatty by now! The question was asked in 2016.

Ah, then the OP has probably become aware by now of the situation with bees, butterflies and other insects (which help to feed the birds as well as keeping our crops & flora going). There's been a lot of publicity about the problem over the past few years, so nobody should still be unaware.

There is no such thing as artificial or plastic grass. It is just plastic stuff and bears no relation to grass.

A bit like only looking at AI produced stuff on your PC...

But still relevant Midgey more so than ever I’d think

All the different comments are interesting. I would never have artificial grass, simply because everything I do in the garden has to answer the question "how would it affect wildlife?" I don't buy any plants that don't support bees, which are currently in dangerous decline. I would love to have a wildflower lawn but it's impossible on our flood-prone plot. We pay a lovely young man to cut our grass once a fortnight. Not sure whether this is cost-effective over the years compared to plastic grass but then, what price keeping our pollinators alive?

midgey Curses! Caught again.

The original poster’s grass must be pretty tatty by now! The question was asked in 2016.

LullyDully

Am I the only one who finds the idea horrifying?????? False hedge? Why ?No wonder wildlife is.on the decline. Nothing ever grows or changes. ( back to being a garden snob I think. Would rather have begonias. )

I share your dislike. Lawns and hedges help urban areas to breathe. Artificial turf never looks real neither do artificial hedges.

My parents' neighbour used to 'plant' plastic daffodils and tulips in their garden which flowered all year long. After a while they became washed out and faded looking and they looked awful. I would rather have half hardy annuals.

I have a lot of lawn so I have planted wild flowers in some of it and it only gets mowed once a year.

Most artificial turf just looks like tatty green carpet after a while.

Lullydully no you’re not the only one I hate the stuff with a vengeance It is so bad for the environment just more plastic based stuff and is the equivalent of the huge pouty lips ….artificial
It’s nasty stuff for birds /bees / insects and the whole continuation of the natural world
Only people who have it think it looks great just like the blue teeth you can see straight away that’s it’s artificial and it looks nothing like real grass apart from being green
If you’re old, disabled, too busy then hire a gardener an odd job kid looking for pocket money, give someone a job kill two birds with one stone
Really sorry if I ve offended anyone but I feel so strongly about all the plastic crxx filling up the world and destroying our planet

Another old thread resurrected. 🤔

I can see it’s better for children to play on than slabs and gravel but I hate the stuff.

granjura

Hope that really helps you with maintenance if you have specific health problems.

But I can't help feeling so sad, sorry. How do birds, bees, hedgehogs and wildlife survive if we all turn to decking, concrete, slabs and artificial grass- and all the front gardens gone to paving and cars too.

Again, sorry, nothing personal.

Exactly this, terrible stuff, it will be on this planet for ever.

When the neighbours one side of us started to lay this horror we asked them if they were opening a GreenGrocers.

More plastic that is not biodegradable. Less material for the compost bin, compacted soil excluding creepy crawlies that feed the blackbirds that nest in the bushes, no daisies and clover. No thanks I will struggle on with the lawn mower.

We decided to install artificial grass in our backyard after the kids complained about the muddy patches. After contacting a couple of companies, we settled on one. The price was a bit higher than we expected, but we managed to work something out. The installation was smooth, and the lawn looked great once done. The kids love it, and it’s definitely easier to maintain. Still, I do miss the real grass a little bit – the way it smells after rain and the feel of it between your toes. But it’s definitely more practical for us now.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Why not artificial grass comes with long durability approx 10-20 years, it is worth applying for the indoor and outdoor area of the house.

Read more about it here www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/04/growth-in-artificial-lawns-poses-threat-to-british-wildlife-conservationists-warn

It fills me .....

It feels me with misgivings too, but I can see the advantages if you are too old or disabled to manage to mow the lawns or maintain a garden.

However, I love to see the blackbird pull a juicy worm out of the lawn and the sparrows pecking for ants then flying back to their nests in the hedge (which does need cutting, I admit).

I can't see my beloved DD1 or my much esteemed DSiL going out to do anything other than clear the dog poo and maybe hose it occasionally. Less in winter when they leave for work in the dark and get home in the dark. I don't think kitchen towels or jugs of water, let alone disinfectant would occur to them! I fear artificial grass would get buried under uncleared dead leaves in winter and grow weeds in spring. It sounds good but I feel probably not for them.

Lady near us takes out her hoover to their garden.

We live right on the promenade, and after very windy weather our front lawn was always coated in sand.
For years, I brushed and swept but the grass was never in good condition, too much salty air and seagull poop perhaps!
We now have artificial turf and it's wonderful, but the good stuff doesn't come cheap.
We got the 'grass' delivered to the driveway, and DH, DS and a friend did all the work themselves. It took the three of them a whole weekend, whilst I supplied tea and biscuits!
We still have large borders, and the grass looks completely natural, and its such a joy not having to mow a 60ft x 30ft lawn anymore!
Even seagull poop's not a problem now, kitchen towel and a jug of water......if they've had lots of fun and 'splattered' much of the 'lawn' a good hosing down soon sorts the problem!

My DD1 keeps trying to save to have artificial grass put down in her small back garden. The previous owner had had it 'landscaped' with a little lawn and beds sloping up from the grass. There's no retention to the beds so the soil washes down when it rains. Also the bright spark landscapers planted giant bamboos and yuccas which sucker into the grass.

Would this lawn survive being changed to artificial - bearing in mind they have two dogs and two children and don't believe in garden maintenance - or would it be money down the drain? I fear the bamboo which refuses to die would force it's way up through the membrane and the edges of the lawn accumulate dust, leaves and so weeds.

Our DD2 has just moved house from a house that just had a small courtyard at the back. They now have a bigger garden which has artificial grass. Her DH said (he can be a bit snobby) yuk that will have to go.
Well. . . . A few weeks on he has changed his mind as their little 2 1/2 year girl can play on it no matter the weather and it looks good. It does have borders round too so not completely sterile!

By this time next year I hope to have a sunken garden with raised flower beds and definitely artificial grass , I have to suss how wheelchair friendly it will be for OH , real grass would be a no no , decking gets slippy and paving is too harsh ........... all pie in the sky at the moment though