Garden with mix artificial and real grass

dani17

Hi,
we are planning to do some renovation in our garden. My wife wants to have artificial grass in the garden so it will be a playing area for our kids. Personally, I don't like artificial grass at all but I should acknowledge that we cannot use the real one during almost half of the year ( very muddy because of the clay ) . The solution we had is to have two different parts in the garden : one with artificial grass and one with natural one. Since we have a big garden it is possible. Now, I am afraid of the idea because I didn't see a garden with a such configuration before and the result may be horrible. Does anyone see a such garden before ? what do you think about? we are planning to sell the house and move in 4 or 5 years so we don't want to do anything that we may regret after.
thank you

Suseka97

For me artificial grass is a bit 'marmite' - I personally do not like it, but when looking at houses for sale where artificial grass had been laid, it didn't entirely put me off.  My thoughts were that I would get the artificial grass removed and replaced with the real thing.  I've never seen a 50/50 split, but guess there would be a way of making that look good - but I just don't get why its become quite popular.

barbiedoll

If you want artificial grass, it's definitely worth paying for a decent brand. We've all seen the "greengrocer" bright green, plastic-looking variety, but some of the newer artificial lawns can look very realistic.

A friend of mine has a small, inner-city garden, which is surrounded by high brick walls. It does get more light than you'd think, but can get a bit swamp-like, especially with 3 kids running all over it. Her artificial turf is so real-looking, that I didn't even realise what it was until I visited her during a heatwave, and the penny dropped, her grass was still green, when everyone else's (including mine) was brown and dead.

The trick is to get the right colour. Hers is slightly greyish-green, which is much closer to a typical London back garden turf, than the golf-course green that so many people choose. And of course, it does stand up to the demands of children, much more than real grass does, as my tatty lawn will testify!

MaryNB

Suseka97 said:

For me artificial grass is a bit 'marmite' - I personally do not like it, but when looking at houses for sale where artificial grass had been laid, it didn't entirely put me off.  My thoughts were that I would get the artificial grass removed and replaced with the real thing.  I've never seen a 50/50 split, but guess there would be a way of making that look good - but I just don't get why its become quite popular.

I never saw artificial grass in a residential property until I started looking to buy a house. I spotted it on a good few listings. The one I just bought has it but I assume they thought it wasn't worth having grass and then having to buy a lawnmower for such a tiny patch. 
I'm gonna get rid and sow wildflower seeds. I don't like it at all.

dani17

I don't like it as well. but my wife wants it for kids so .... 
the solution of split 50/50 was to avoid having plastic everywhere. it is a kind of mid way solution that I found with my wife. but still not sure if it is a good one. And of course, we will buy a very good quality for the artificial grass.

TallGirl

how about putting some drainage in so it’s not so wet then lay the turf might be cheaper and look better than half and half 

Aranyani

Can you not have half real grass and half patio of some sort for kids to play?  When its that muddy it'll be wet and cold and the artificial grass will be slippy too surely?

sgun

I don't remember it ever being an issue having real grass to play on all the year round. Sure it might get a bit muddy in parts but it'll grow back (I do remember as kids having small patches fenced off every so often to re-seed). Will your children really be out that much when its cold and wet? I can see how it might be a practical solution but artificial grass gets muddy too, dust blows in, feet bring in dirt, leaves and moss collect on it. It needs a bit of upkeep that most people don't do and it ends up looking tatty quite quickly. Personally I hate it and if I was buying a house with it I would cost up how much it would be to remove and returf and take that amount off my offer.

FtbDreaming

sgun said:

I don't remember it ever being an issue having real grass to play on all the year round. Sure it might get a bit muddy in parts but it'll grow back (I do remember as kids having small patches fenced off every so often to re-seed). Will your children really be out that much when its cold and wet? I can see how it might be a practical solution but artificial grass gets muddy too, dust blows in, feet bring in dirt, leaves and moss collect on it. It needs a bit of upkeep that most people don't do and it ends up looking tatty quite quickly. Personally I hate it and if I was buying a house with it I would cost up how much it would be to remove and returf and take that amount off my offer.

Sorry but I completely disagree with this comment. I’ve had my artificial grass for 8 years and apart from brushing the leaves off from the tree above it is absolutely no maintenance, not aged or tatty and doesn’t have its own mud or dirt on. I got it when we moved from a terraced with a yard to this house because the dog liked digging in the mud and it was such a mess. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough as a practical option. 

As for 50/50 I think you can make it work as long as the areas are separated by a feature of some sort. Maybe a path or a patio between the 2 areas? Some plants?  It I think it will be fine. However if you insist on the real grass then the OH mat insist on you maintaining it 😂 

sgun

FtbDreaming said:

sgun said:

I don't remember it ever being an issue having real grass to play on all the year round. Sure it might get a bit muddy in parts but it'll grow back (I do remember as kids having small patches fenced off every so often to re-seed). Will your children really be out that much when its cold and wet? I can see how it might be a practical solution but artificial grass gets muddy too, dust blows in, feet bring in dirt, leaves and moss collect on it. It needs a bit of upkeep that most people don't do and it ends up looking tatty quite quickly. Personally I hate it and if I was buying a house with it I would cost up how much it would be to remove and returf and take that amount off my offer.

Sorry but I completely disagree with this comment. I’ve had my artificial grass for 8 years and apart from brushing the leaves off from the tree above it is absolutely no maintenance, not aged or tatty and doesn’t have its own mud or dirt on. I got it when we moved from a terraced with a yard to this house because the dog liked digging in the mud and it was such a mess. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough as a practical option. 

As for 50/50 I think you can make it work as long as the areas are separated by a feature of some sort. Maybe a path or a patio between the 2 areas? Some plants?  It I think it will be fine. However if you insist on the real grass then the OH mat insist on you maintaining it 😂 

So poor dog doesn't get to dig anymore? I have seen some shocking examples of artificial grass. It's terrible for wildlife, looks awful and is plastic that doesn't biodegrade so just another pollutant in the long run. It's unnecessary. I wouldn't have a grey living room either, or sparkly chandelier type lighting so I'm probably not the target market for artificial grass.

AdrianC

Will your kids even want to play in the garden during the cooler, wetter months?