Artificial grass

[Lulu The Lurcher]

Has anyone on here used artificial grass and which do you think is the best for a small seating area?

[veggiechicken]

Hi Lulu, I'm not sure that Artificial grass counts as "Vegging Out" so I've moved it to DIY tips where more people will see it

[AkionTotocha]

Oh so that's what happened.. I got my reply rejected VC lol

B&Q seem to be the most realistic looking when I've walked past (vs Wilko)

Pros: No mowing, watering, no shade damage, no chemical weed&feed, easy to deal with dog waste, you can perk it up with a stiff brush

Cons: You have to dig about 2ft deep to make a correct subsurface, it gets very hot in summer (too hot to walk on) and that can make it look a bit 'wilty', unnatural blanket surface. If weeds manage to get into the drainage holes they can be impossible to remove without weedkiller.

If you're looking for something natural but mow-free, why not think about a "Living carpet", with small stepping stones to avoid walking on it. Green for most of the year but IIRC they bloom for about a month in pink shades, which is good for bees and butterflies etc.

[Bex2012]

Love my fake grass! It was the best money ever spent in the garden, however as Akion said above, the base does have to be perfect. My OH fitted it in a day, and most of that was spent on the base. Mine never gets too hot to walk on, the decking that it replaced was far hotter.

[mic]

It's great! I have some cheap stuff from eBay, not half as nice as what you see on display it's more like an outdoor carpet. However.... I didn't spend much time on a base, sort of levelled it out and rolled the grass out like a carpet. Not perfectly level but good enough. In summer it's great for kids and lovely on barefoot. In winter there's no dragging in mud if it's wet out. And for the dog, easy to see where he's been to clear up before anyone goes out. And funny as it sounds, when it does get dirty you can actually mop it well the cheaper carpet type at least!
Only negative I could say is the make sure the base at least has good drainage even if it isn't level as puddles can form in rain. But that's not really the end of the world.

Edit.... won't cost much to do a seating area with budget stuff to give it a try, that's what we did then upgraded to better quality

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291607959498

[AkionTotocha]

I really want fake grass, because mowing is soul destroying to me, and dandelions are crushing emotionally, and I have a box of weed&feed that's still sitting in the garage because the conditions to use it are so specific and I don't want to kill any pets or birds that regularly use the lawn.

But dad is a big fan of everything "traditional", like his father before him.. and his father before him.. and his father....zzz

[vixylix]

We put artificial grass in our last garden - do not buy it from bandq or the like - its a rip off. There are lots of online companies, all of which will send you free samples. At one point we had so many samples we could have had a patchwork lawn

My tip is - although its slightly more expensive (we paid about £15 per sq m from memory) the longer 'pile' stuff is much better than the shorter stuff - it feels nicer, looks better and lasts longer.

As has been said, preparation really is key - but again the online sites give really good advice.

We loved ours, but our new garden is slightly too big to do it here

[jonny the plant pot]

Reggie loves ours