Artificial grass - pro or con when buying a property?

Absolutely abhor the stuff it’s bad for the eco system for insects, birds animals looks awful and the horrid plastic stuff should be banned

We struggle with the waterlogged garden throughout the winter and mow it in the summer, but a house near us has a beautiful front garden -always immaculate and beautifully. . . artificial.

I detest it and am not even viewing houses that have any sizeable amount of it. I’m not that fond of lawns at all. I have one at present because of grandchildren, but don’t think I’ll bother when we move, and if I do, it won’t be grass, real or artificial.

It should be banned - terrible for the environment.

not my cup of tea and yes it would put me off buying that property

Awful stuff bump

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I solved the problem of cutting our sizeable lawn by buying a robot mower on Black Friday. I have had it a few years now and one of the best things I ever bought. Cheaper than artificial grass!

A friend had a huge garden and used to have goats to keep the grass under control. He replaced the goats with a robot mower and was very proud of it - it would even take itself off to the recharging point when it was beginning to run out of energy!
I think they are a great solution to the mowing regime demands.

Extremely bad taste. Better to have a different surface altogether, rather than imitate natural grass. A camomile lawn perhaps?

I have real grass and I would have no interest whatsoever in having fake grass. Watching the birds outside my window hopping about and foraging for worms is a very uplifting sight.

My garden isn't huge and I can mow the grass in about 15 mins - if my garden was larger and I struggled I still wouldn't contemplate fake grass though.

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Grandma70s

Extremely bad taste. Better to have a different surface altogether, rather than imitate natural grass. A camomile lawn perhaps?

A bit harsh. You don’t know people’s circumstances.

I certainly wouldn’t want it, mostly due to the environmental impact. If a house I was purchasing had artificial grass, I’d make it a condition of the post exchange contract that it and it’s subsurface were removed.
I’d have to really want that particular property.

I have elderly neighbours (late 80’s, 90) with a tiny garden which they have just laid to artificial grass and raised beds round three sides.
While I would not have it, I can understand that as indeed another (also late 80’s) neighbour who has just spent a lot of money relandscaping her small garden with gravel, pots, stepping tones and climbers.
We’re not all in our 80’s around here BTW !
But each to their own.

Septimia

My thoughts exactly M0nica. In certain circumstances it might be appropriate but it isn't environmentally friendly.

Before I initially had the mini garden of our maisonette reclaimed from a jungle (indoors was a disaster area too) I discounted the idea of artificial grass, even though probably practical with tenants, after seeing a blackbird foraging for worms in the scrubby bits of ‘lawn’.
So proper grass it was.

Although we reluctantly opted for fake 10 years later, there are still beds with plenty of earth for the birds to forage in, though.

Grandma70s

Extremely bad taste. Better to have a different surface altogether, rather than imitate natural grass. A camomile lawn perhaps?

Yes, all very practical for young children running around, and bigger kids wanting to play football - on a different planet, maybe. An elderly, retired one, perhaps.

It's awful - basically plastic. It would put me off buying a house as I would wonder what the house was like on the inside. You might as well have plastic flowers as well.

M0nica

Depends how big the area covered is. It works very well on balconies, a few square yards in a pocket hankerchief garden is fine.

Anything larger is an abomination.

Exactly this.

I chose not to have a lawn, I have sedum and geranium ground cover with apple trees, fruit bushes, roses and other permanent pops of colour. Plenty of diversity for bumble bees and birds. Rubber stepping stones and variable heights make this garden quite a magical place. I hardly need to weed, it pretty well takes care of itself

Skydancer

It's awful - basically plastic. It would put me off buying a house as I would wonder what the house was like on the inside. You might as well have plastic flowers as well.

Not everybody can share your exquisite taste.

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karmalady your garden sounds gorgeous.

The environmental impact isn't all about whether birds have somewhere to find worms - artificial grass is just a huge amount of plastic that will take an age to disappear, if it ever does.

I do understand why some people do it, I just don't want it myself. I'm investigating replacing my small front lawn with a clover lawn. I don't mind the mowing but the lawn needs relaying anyway as it's very patchy and I quite like the idea of lots of clover flowers in the Summer. I'm a bit worried though that it will just get overtaken by weeds.