Fake grass ?

I just couldnt bring myself to have fake grass. To me it falls in the same category as garden gnomes and fake garden flowers. Just no.

It will come green again in the Autumn and Winter. Forget the fake grass if I were you!

I've got some on my balcony.... It's very expensive and looks real. I've had more than one person ask how I've grass on a balcony.

It even feels real to sit on, I mean you can tell the difference but if you've been sitting on it for half an hour you really forget its not the real macoy. I did add some laminate underlay for padding cos obviously it's on concrete, but on grass it will be soft.

As my balcony is a tiny 1x1m I got an offcut cheap, but that still cost more than buying the cheaper stuff on a roll.

Its also easy to clean lol I brush it and any flat parts come straight back up, it has drainage holes so any water soaks straight through it. It doesn't get hot so it's safe for dogs. Some people say it's bad for wildlife, it probably is if thats all you've got in your garden, but if you have plants too then I don't see the issue.

I'd say go for it if you can afford the expensive stuff, if not don't bother cos ge cheap stuff is naff.

Don't people train their dogs to use one area?

NonnaW

We moved into a house with a very unsightly courtyard garden 7 years ago. It was paved over with weeds growing everywhere. We have 2 dogs, one of whom will only toilet on grass. We had top of the range artificial grass laid. It still looks good now, although we have to sweep up moss which falls from the roof. It is never overly hot underfoot, I can easily walk barefoot out there. The dogs toilet out there, solids are easily picked up, it does not smell.

The thought of walking barefoot where the dogs have toileted is not appealing.

Awful stuff.. leaves everywhere.. dog poo ... it looks very fake...I would never have it in my garden...

I've seen some gardens where there were just strips of "grass" in amongst hard landscaping and planting. In one of these there was lovely lush planting in one large bed, with the "grass" effectively making paths through this, enabling access when the soil was wet. It worked quite well.

Have whatever suits you.

MawsRosie

No, no and no
Lethal for pets (gets way too hot), lethal for wild life, imagine a little bird pecking at fake grass hoping for food, let’s face it, it’s plastic in whatever form, so not biodegradable when it’s past its best, and frankly who wants emerald green «carpet»
I imagine you would have to hose it down, especially with a dog or it would get very smelly and that’s a no-no with a hosepipe ban.
Enough reasons?

This.....fake grass an absolute abomination!

Mine is brilliant - I call him Dave!

It is like a robot vacuum cleaner - it goes round in a random fashion - no stripes. How it knows when to stop and the whole lawn has been done I do not know!

There is a wire laid under the perimeter of the lawn and that is how it knows where to mow - it takes itself off to recharge on the base unit all by itself and you can programme a schedule for the week.

It cuts a minute amount of grass off each time and that drops down onto the lawn and is absorbed.... so no raking up.

I got mine via amazon and it was on offer - about £400 as I recall.

I am delighted with it.

Luckygirl3

MT62 - I have a robot mower.

Does it do stripes? LG13
Next door have one. They paid £400 for theirs.

Its the "fake grass cleaning" that would put me off. There's enough housework/cleaning indoors without adding more outdoors. Our old huge lawn used to die off in the summer then come back to life as soon as the rain came. My kids would spend hours lying on the grass looking for bugs or pushing their cars around on it. I loved being barefoot on it through the spring/summer and both my dogs loved to lie in the shaded spots. I personally hate fake grass as using cleaning fluids poisons the ground underneath and messes with the bugs etc which are vital for for other animals/birds etc. There visit already too much "plastic" everywhere why get rid of something natural just because it doesn't always look its best. God help us oldies if AI takes over and they decide we don't look perfect 🤔😉🤣

It's horrible stuff - awful for the environment, and even worse if you have a dog. No matter what you use to try to clean it, it will smell. And anyone who says it doesn't has gone nose blind to the smell, because it does.

Meant to add I don't rake it unless it is necessary to remove debris and leaves.
You can disinfect it if necessary with a pet friendly brand but unnecessary unless you are going to sit close to where dog goes to toilet.
Feel free to pm if you need further information

I have just replaced my fake grass which I got 9 years ago when I got a dog. Had no problems at all.
I can recommend Tuda grass 3.5 mm thick which I have just bought as a replacement

crazyH

Fake grass is not maintenance free - it needs raking etc. A couple down the road have it. I think they had it down, mainly because they go to Canada twice a year to see their daughter and family, for a couple of months each time.

The ‘grass’ at our rental just needs the leaves swept off now and then. I might add that weeds do pop up fairly often from under whatever membrane was laid (properly professionally and pretty expensively!) underneath it. IIRC it took the company most of a day to prepare the ground properly and lay it.

DS and DiL have had it with trying to grow grass in their city garden. Paving stones among gravel with various pots look much better.

I looked at this 2 yrs ago as it seemed a god way to have a lawn full of grass as opposed to weeds. Checked out 2 companies and they did send square samples of their different varieties. I decided against having spoken to someone who had gone down this route. A lot of prep to do to the ground beforehand, daily brushing once laid and it apparently fades in the sun, there were some other complaints but these are the only ones I remember.

We had a raised lawn and it was hard work lifting mower on to it. We are both in our 70's. To make life easier we had fake grass professionally installed. Never looked back.

Robot mower is the way to go Luckygirl
Or a camomile lawn.
There is a beautiful one in the RBG in Edinburgh I was admiring yesterday.

I pay a girl to mow mine I must admit.

MT62 - I have a robot mower.

Real grass is doing damage to my back every time I have to drag the mower out ziplock.
I have compromised & left our natural wild patch in the bottom garden for the bees & butterflies.
We have large planters for greenery in the top garden.
The lawn is only small.
If it doesn’t work out I will go back to real grass.
Just think of all the lovely scarfs that can be made when it’s recycled 😊

Shinamae

I am seriously considering this now….
Yes, my soil is clay…

But not until early autumn..

I am seriously considering this now….
Yes, my soil is clay…

As regards ‘perfect’ green, weedless lawns, I’d just say that a relative of dh has a chateau in Burgundy.
There’s a huge area of ‘lawn’ that is invariably at least 90% clover and sundry other wild flowers, but all kept closely mown. It does get very parched-looking in a very dry summer, when there will typically be a hosepipe ban, so no watering allowed.