Topic: artificial grass

[lottie lou]

I am aware this is a daft question on this forum but my friend, aged approx 85 yrs, is accepting the fact that she is not getting any younger and has trouble keeping her garden to how she likes it.  She has a number of small lawns and is very particular how they look.  Sadly her gardener is not getting any younger either so she therefore asked my opinion on artificial grass.  Does anyone on here have any experience of the stuff and if so, any recommendations.  Also can it be vacuumed.  Thanks in anticipation.

[hippydave]

The thing with artificial grass that many people dont take into account is the environmental impact of the production and end of life disposal. It still needs looking after and will need weeding and moss treatments. It can be cleaned with a leaf vac.

[Obelixx]

It's an environmental horror and can be expensive to get one that isn't unpleasant to walk on.

Great care has to be taken to prepare the ground before it's laid to make sure it's level and drains.  It will get grubby with wind blown dust and debris and need regular cleaning and it won't absorb pees and poos from any passing dogs and cats and the lumpy bits will need carful washing off.

Maybe the answer is to join up the lawns to make a bigger one which is easier to maintain - less edging - and fewer beds with their attendant shrubs and perennials and bedding plants.  That will also mean less maintenance for the gaing gardener.   She could also look for a younger gardener if the current one retires.   

[Jeannine]

It is slippery when wet, looks very phoney, is a mess when dirty, yes you can vaccum it and you can hose it down,fades in the bright sun it smells like tires(tyres) . slugs love it underneath, rats and mice chew it up for bedding, it frays at the edges and is murder to get rid of once it is past it's best. It was very very popular here about 20 yaers ago but not anymore.

Your friend would be better tp pay someone to keep her lawns nice and save the money of artificial grass..

Sorry to sound so negative but I have moved into 4 houses  over the years that had it on the patio's and it really is dreaful stuff.

[BarriedaleNick]

Modern artificial turf is nothing like what has been described previously although it isn't to my personal taste.  The modern stuff is extremely durable, UV resistant, wont fade or degrade for years and of very high quality in that it looks and behaves like turf - entire premiership rugby grounds are laid with it .  However it does need to be laid properly, is horribly expensive and has environmental issues in production and disposal.  When we laid ours we had laser guided trucks leveling the base layer for a few days..
Mostly they are laid covered with sand or more commonly now, rubber granules to give them weight and feel of real earth\turf so while you can vacuum them you need to be careful not to suck loads of rubber up.  They also require maintenance as they do tend to flatten a bit - we have the tractors on ours regularly to brush them up.
So I think that while they are miles better than they used to be they are not a panacea in any way and come  with their own set of maintenance issues...

[Paulh]

You're describing sports turf, Nick, as used by hockey and rugby in particular. The "common or garden" artificial turf is still around, I've seen it used on allotment plots for the paths between raised beds. Certainly looks neat in the short term, but I don't know how well it lasts.

[BarriedaleNick]

I have some off cuts from our pitch and while it is true you can still buy the rubbish stuff you can buy excellent professional quality for your garden too.
I was given a load of off cuts and have it on a path on the plot.  It is very good, extremely heavy and very durable.  However it still does have issues in that it get full of dirt and grass\weeds start growing in it - nature finds a way.  I wouldn't have it my garden but then I don't like lawns much anyway!