Artificial Grass anyone?

Gorgeous Grey.. Wish my garden looked as good!

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We have had artificial grass installed, my husband did it last year. I was rather worried about it but we have as much wildlife as ever in our garden, all sorts of birds, hedgehogs and squirrels . We also have 2 dogs and we certainly don’t have any “smell “issues either . We always pick up after our dogs and if there’s a mess use a watering can of warm water.
I have health issues, and having artificial grass has eased some concerns I had about future proofing our garden .

Just popped in here to see what folks were adding to the yes/ no debate about artificial grass.
Thanks for all the nice comments, and Elainel , that's not our cat. He/she visited one day, frightened the life out of DH, as he found said cat in the bedroom.
We phoned the number on the tag, and left a message as to his/ her whereabouts, and haven't seen him/her since!

We had artificial grass laid down when we realised neither of us had the strength to push the mower. We have never regretted it, it hasn't lost its shape, colour, and doesn't smell. We created a small area at the rear of the garden for bees, butterflies etc., Very happy with it.

again wetflannel- it is not about the look, or the quality.

I hear people say all the time 'oh but where have the song birds and hedgehogs gone' and they have paved the front for parking, replaced hedges with hard fencing and paved, decked and artificial grassed the rest so sad.

We moved here last October and have a very small garden that was fully slabbed. The area under the pergola was where we had artificial grass laid and it looks and feels just like grass. I think quality is the key,some are very cheap and artificial looking. I love it and it gives me my little piece of green I wanted. I run the vacuum cleaner over mine.

Auntieflo your garden looks lovely and you have a beautiful cat.

it is not about looks NonnaW - it is about birds, worms, insects, wildlife ...

A young friend has a small garden which is partly paved, partly gravel - with a small patch of artificial grass in the middle - and yes, it does look trendy and lovely- for such a small area.

We recently moved to a house with a small courtyard garden. The slabs looked horrible with weeds growing through. We elected to have artificial grass laid as we thought it would be better for the dogs. We (and all friends and family who have seen it) think it looks very good. It is not hot underfoot nor does it smell plasticky. Like gillybob’s daughter, our has some brown bits in for a more realistic look. It absolutely does not look tacky! We have pots around the edges with plants and herbs in. We are happy with it; those who don’t like the idea of it needn’t come and visit

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Gilly, thank you.
The chaps who installed our grass made a thorough job of digging out the site. Then there were about three layers of different materials put down, plus a permeable membrane, before the actual grass was laid.
When we had ‘real’ grass, there was a patch where it always had a big puddle after heavy rain, but not now. The drainage seems to be working well.
I remember many years ago, DH and one of our boys, trying to dig a soak away, but as we are on very heavy clay, they didn’t manage to get very deep down.
As DH was 80, a couple of weeks ago, I think he has earned a rest from mowing, edging and general tidying. ( I am not that far behind him ! But, we do still potter about, when the mood takes us.

My neighbours have almost all paved or decked their outside space . I live in a bit of a dip which causes huge problems when we have heavy rain . At least artificial grass drains well as most people use a permeable membrane .

What worries me about the spread of artificial grass is the loss of all the wildlife that our birds depend on for food.

We have artificial grass back and front gardens, it looks good even to the extent that people ring the doorbell to tell us how much they like it. It was more expensive than any carpet but it was worth every penny.
Wildlife does not suffer we have plants in pots all over the patio.
DH and I are not fit enough to do the garden so this is the answer now.
We have never developed puddles on the grass after rain.

Artificial turf was banned here in 2016 (N American Province) because it is not fully permeable and therefore bad for the environment.

I don’t have artificial grass myself as DH loves “cutting the lawn” but it was absolutely the perfect choice for my DD and the baby. They can still “watch the birds” Washerwoman as we left a large patch of muck for her to plant out and she has a lovely mature tree too. Win win.

What about when it degrades ,or even with use ,it must shed tiny particles of plastic?With the huge concerns about plastic pollution, and in particular microplastics entering our soil,rivers ,waterways and seas for that reason alone I know I could personally never install it.I'm sure it's practical in some instances but with so many households choosing it to make lofe easier what price will we pay in the future?
Plus after a short shower of rain I'm sat here watching the lovely blackbirds foraging on our less than perfect but lovely grass for worms.

I find it really difficult to cut the grass so have thought of having artificial grass which would solve this. How do other people manage when they are too old/ill to cut the grass? Artificial grass looks better than just paving.

The point is that it will last for a very long time and won’t ever have to be done again . What’s wrong with that?

It may look lovely and make life easier but that’s not the point - it’s still plastic and bad for the environment and life’s on the planet. That may not be an issue for you, but it maybe in 500 years time when that plastic is still in the ground or floating about in a river.

Auntieflo your garden is beautiful

Of course “people don’t have plastic flowers” watermeadow how ridiculous . We have left a large planting area at the top of the garden where she has a beautiful tree that attracts plenty of lovely birds .

We installed an artificial lawn in DD’s garden . It looks very realistic and not “plastic” at all . In fact it looks like a real lawn that has had a longish cut with dead bits of grass in between . Mind you it wasn’t cheap but we thought it would be a once and for all solution for her . It’s perfect for baby GD to play on and is lovely and soft too .

Presumably people add their favourite plastic flowers, so roses in December, and a plastic tree which sheds no leaves in autumn.
Not for me.

Ooh, thanks for all the nice comments.
It is a small garden, and not bad, if I say so myself!!
GrannyGravy, I have just been in the ‘turning the mattress’ thread, so beds is appropriate.
You can see I’ve nothing much else to do this afternoon, it’s too hot here.
How’s everyone doing in this heat?