What is artificial grass like?

[lisasian86]

I've seen a few people around my area asking for someone to install artificial grass in their gardens. What exactly is artificial grass made of? When I think of it I just imagine green plastic. Has anyone ever had artificial grass and if so did you like it?

 

[Caribbean girl]

I have never seen artificial grass before - not to my knowledge - and did not even know there was such a thing. I guess it would resemble real grass though, otherwise no-one would want to have it. The good thing about having this type of grass is that there would be no need for maintenance, like mowing or pulling up weeds.

 

[zigs]

I used it to cover some rough concrete at my last place.



You can get it so it looks almost like real grass, but that costs a lot. I used the mid range stuff.

 

[Ian]

Most garden centres in the UK have a stand with selections of the stuff - from low end grass that looks like it would wear very quickly, to really high end stuff that looks real (although expensive, as Zigs mentioned), with plenty of options in-between.

It all felt like different types of plastic to me, some of the expensive stuff looked good enough to fool people. I imagine if you had a small garden that suffered from low light, it may be practical to install. No idea what it would look like after a few years though!

 

[marlingardener]

In the USA a lot of football stadiums installed "artificial turf" at great expense. They soon found out it didn't have the "bounce" of real grass and players were blowing out knees and incurring injuries that would haven't happened on real grass. A lot of it has been ripped up and replaced with real grass.
Also, the stuff doesn't drain so you can end up with a green lake in your yard if your yard isn't slanted. It is slick when wet, so if you are into body surfing, it's great!
If you want to change your landscaping you need to cut out a section to plant or go completely with container gardening.
Personally, I think it's horrid, but that's just my opinion (as if you hadn't guessed!).

 

[DrCase]

I worked on a lady's fountain last week , She had just got this grass done the night before ,
It looked really good , its treated for her dogs to use it

 

[Esther Knapicius]

In general it is a plastic based product. And when one purchases it you do support the "throw out mentality ". When it finally serves its purpose and your done with it, then its tossed to mother nature who cannot break it down. etc. Am I perfect when it comes to plastic purchase --nope. But I avoid and try to select items I will keep for a very long time and or figure out a something else to use. I believe if you look for it, they do make it out of re-cycled materials at least that is less guilt.

 

[marlingardener]

Zigs and Dr. Case, just a question--how does one get leaves off the artificial grass? Do you vacuum them up, is is possible to rake? I'm not trying to be argumentative or snide, but it just occurred to me that getting unwanted vegetation off the artificial grass might be difficult.

 

[DrCase]

She was going to use a leaf blower

 

[Chuck]

It takes very little watering. You mow it very rarely and it is impossible to over fertilize. Insects are few. It never turns yellow when overwatered. It is almost as good as all those forever lasting flowers in cemetery's..

 

[OursIsTheFury]

I've seen artificial grass for lawns before. They're just basically wallpaper for the concrete, and wouldn't have anything growing in them. It's like a pool table, for the lack of a better comparison. You just spread it out there, and boom! You have a lawn that would never need any tending, maybe aside from the occasional sweeping of the dirt, but at least you wouldn't have to spend time mowing the lawn with it!

 

[Garing]

I think to each their own. Whether you use real or artificial grass is a personal choice. I prefer the real stuff, but if I stayed in a place that had a garden without enough light, or if there was a water shortage or even if I didn't have time for tending a lawn, then I would definitely get the artificial grass, because I just love a good looking garden.

 

[delightfulbags]

I'm in the planning stages of building a new home in an urban area of the town on a much smaller lot than I currently live. I think a high-quality, natural-looking artificial turf might make sense for this lot Gardenvila. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations?

 

[Marck]

All hype aside, it is a green plastic carpet. Judge appearance with your own eye and compare manufacturer's claims for durability.
Ultimately though, all artificial turf will wear away, contributing to micro-plastic pollution.

Even an imperfect lawn is much more attractive, especially when that imperfection is turned to an advantage and the space becomes a low-mown meadow or 'tapestry' lawn, full of different grasses and low wildflowers.

If living plants are just out of the question, I would find wood chip mulch or a brick patio still much preferable to artificial turf.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Some one said it doesn't drain water, some types certainly do. My friend has a tiny back garden and two football mad boys, they had turned it into a mud bath with puddles. He has put down 'astroturf', which I think is probably higher end stuff. It drains, through the window from indoors you couldn't tell it wasn't grass, and the boys don't come in caked in mud.