real grass or artificial grass?

Davesnave

shopaholicz wrote: »

I think artificial grass looks lovely, but don't want to make extra work for myself as I'd be unable to do that myself and would need to pay a gardener.

What do people think, real grass or artificial grass? Which is easiest to care for?

Quality fake grass, laid well, probably takes less time to maintain and will definitely cost more than real grass.
But to resent time spent creating and caring for a garden is to miss the point of gardens altogether, which a lot of people do, judging by photos in estate agents' details.

It's no accident people who have suffered mental illness or trauma often have gardening as part of their recovery programme; being in contact with the soil and living things re-connects people with the natural world which originally bred them. It offers a way towards feelings of wellbeing and offers the chance to influence things in a world where many people feel they have no say about anything.

If you have a physical limitation that prevents you caring for a lawn, flower bed or veg patch, that's different. Otherwise, I feel a little sorry for anyone who rates their garden as just another chore.


Now, if I could only feel the same way about housework, like those people on Old Style!:rotfl:

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

My neighbour opted for artificial grass with a flower bed at the end. She likes bedding plants, apparently.

I'm mildly impressed with how the colours, lack of height and luminous plasticity of the stuff makes it look like TellyTubby Land. Especially when she drags her vacuum cleaner out there.


But my garden looks like a patch of countryside/woodland, full of bees, insects, small critters and scent. She probably thinks it looks messy. But I like it - and I don't have to worry about mopping the thing when it rains, whereas she gets puddles that won't drain away.

seatbeltnoob

We have neither, our garden is paved. But one of our neighbours has artificual grass the other neighbour has real grass. When we look out the window to the gardens, the artificual grass look pitiful. Even more pathetic is the sight of the neighbour vaccuming his artificial grass.


I would suggest you either go real or not at all. It seems by the above poster that even artificual grass requires maintenance.

katejo

seatbeltnoob wrote: »

We have neither, our garden is paved. But one of our neighbours has artificual grass the other neighbour has real grass. When we look out the window to the gardens, the artificual grass look pitiful. Even more pathetic is the sight of the neighbour vaccuming his artificial grass.


I would suggest you either go real or not at all. It seems by the above poster that even artificual grass requires maintenance.

I am in a small terraced house with no rear/side access to help with clearing the garden. i have decided to get rid of the natural lawn completely but I don't want artificial grass. I read through these comments to see if it was worth considering or not but it has confirmed my suspicions.

Primrose

Another vote for real grass from me. . I have a friend who has installed fake grass. On first sight it looks green and lovely but the amount of work needed to keep it looking immaculate with brushing and vacuuming is probably more than a natural lawn would need. And in the autumn it's a nightmare because on natural grass you can leave decayig leaves to rot and decompose naturally Into the soil. On fake grass they all have to be cleaned up

And environmentally you are denying the birds a chance to forage naturally for insects. It,s probably ok for laying on the balcony of a flat to give the imoression of being in a garden but otherwise left well alone. There is a massive amount t of landscaping /foundation work to be done to lay a fake lawn properly. If done by cowboys it will become a nightmare scenario within weeks.

On second thoughts, perhaps I should lay some on my bathroom floor and allow myself to pretend I'm brave enough to be bathing in the nude out in my garden!

Out,_Vile_Jelly

My neighbours have it (my dad's face when he first saw it...). Obviously cheaply done as it looks quite bumpy already, and I can see some weeds starting to push through.

Real lawns are an immense effort if you want them to look like a bowling green; if you don't mind them imperfect they just need a regular trim with a cheapo hover mower. Walking barefoot on warm grass on a summer's evening is also one of life's free pleasures.

Francesanne

We had the horrible scrubby lawn we inherited when we moved into our house replaced professionally with artificial grass a couple of months ago and it was worth every penny. We actually used the independent carpet shop that has fitted all our flooring. They have done a super job and it does look very realistic. Went for the best quality we could afford and it did cost more than my living room carpet but it was worth every penny. We get quite a lot of leaf fall but quickly & easily brushed off with broom. No hassle whatsoever. Absolutely love it.

silverwhistle

Francesanne wrote: »

. Absolutely love it.

What do the local blackbirds, thrushes, starlings and so forth think about it?


Later in the year I'll be doing my football training on an artificial pitch, for many practical reasons. Can I suggest though, that people with gardens who want the artificiality of a plastic lawn with no thought to the environment. move to a flat in the city. Why have a garden at all?

Davesnave

I don't think a small rectangle of plastic stuff, would render a garden uninhabitable to wildlife, especially if it would otherwise be paving or concrete. It's the whole area that matters most, so what's around the plastic lawn will determine the overall eco-score.

Garden areas provided with housing have been getting smaller, and as land occupation becomes more dense, the amount of available sunlight tends to decrease, so even a rough, but evenly-covered lawn becomes harder to achieve. Having a real area of grass could therefore even become a dis-incentive to plant trees and shrubs around, as they would lower light levels further.

Look at the most successful town gardens and you will often find that they don't feature a lawn area at all.

glasgowdan

Francesanne wrote: »

We had the horrible scrubby lawn we inherited when we moved into our house replaced professionally with artificial grass a couple of months ago and it was worth every penny. We actually used the independent carpet shop that has fitted all our flooring. They have done a super job and it does look very realistic. Went for the best quality we could afford and it did cost more than my living room carpet but it was worth every penny. We get quite a lot of leaf fall but quickly & easily brushed off with broom. No hassle whatsoever. Absolutely love it.

Of course you love it just now, you've just spent a fortune and it's only a few weeks old. Once it starts to flatten down and look poor unless you start more frequent maintenance you MAY be less in love!