whenever I'm on a train around London, admittedly not often. I'm sure I've never seen astroturf, or similar in any of the gardens, never mind one in three. Sounds as believable as " 30 % of households have off road parking " which was once boldly stated as fact. Both are total TOSH.
The version of that I heard was that "only 30% of households don't have off road parking". Surprisingly (not) that claim was made on a programme singing the praises and benefits of electric vehicles and dismissing the problems for those who don't have anywhere off road to charge.
Any of the stats rolled out by anybody in support of their view needs to be treated with caution.
Believe what? Clearly lots of people DO have plastic grass, whether that's 10% or 5% or 1%. It doesn't really matter does it. The point is that lots do, and it's terrible for the environment and should be discouraged in favour of more natural landscapes, pollinator and wildlife friendly planting etc.
Of course the actual figure matters, whatever the conversation. When a claim is exaggerated it immediately undermines the trust in the rest of the conversation.
The version of that I heard was that "only 30% of households don't have off road parking".
Approx 20% of UK has no car or van. That rises to 40% in London.
There has been a sharp increase in the number of households nationally that has more than one vehicle at home. It makes for a lot of paving and less front gardens.
Blanket statistics don't tell the whole story, and usually tell the
story that the person/organisation quoting them wants to tell.
My guess is plastic grass is much more prevalent in small, shaded city gardens where real grass isn't easy to keep nice and there might not be space to have a shed to keep a mower in, and off-road parking is much more the norm out of town/city centres (although old properties fronting right on to the street in villages also tend to have no off-street parking, or they have but it's not right next to the house).
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Apologies, I phrased it badly. I included raised beds not because they're inherently problematic but because, like weed membrane, a lot of people I speak to seem to think they are 'how to garden' (read: how to stay in control). The pattern seems to be: move in, remove all plants including trees, lay a lawn (more often turf than plastic) right up to the fences. Then later, when feeling more confident, decide you want some flower beds. This means creating raised beds to line the space, lining with weed membrane and filling with bought compost. Nothing terribly wrong with any of this, it can be a look for a specific purpose, but my point was that people often don't seem to realise that they could cut away the lawn and use the soil they've already got under there. But that's a bit uncontrolled and scary, even though building and maintaining raised beds can often be more work.
Phew! Had me worried there for a moment! 😉 There were no plants here when I arrived, bar one tiny sapling (now a giant specimen 👍) and one very unhappy, straggly Iceberg rose (which, when moved to the raised bed, lived happily for over 20 yrs). So only a grass monoculture was sacrificed. I put in raised beds due to a giant oak just outside the perimeter fence making digging down to any depth tricky. I had some container plants which had outgrown 12" deep pots, so needed depth. Plus the ground here is incredibly stony. For every bucket of earth excavated, there is at least double volume that of large stones. I do have lots of plants in the ground, but the raised beds definitely helped me get started at the beginning.
@Hostafan1, MD is pretty low on my list of reliable oracles too. 😉
I saw the GW segment too and from a distance, the fake grass round lawn looked very convincing. There is something about the shades of green - whether artificial or not - in a garden at ground level that from a distance, looks very relaxing.
I am against all this plastic everywhere and I think plastic lawns are part of the problem and I would not want one and. Many people use plastic lawns as an outdoor rug or carpet and there are many of those for sale too. As others have said, plastic is part of indoor carpeting too. We live in a plastic (not fantastic) world and I think plastic manufacturing needs to be scaled back over time so consumers can buy better new ethical alternatives at affordable prices.
Has anyone tried wood chippings in lieu of a plastic lawn? Would that work for children playing football etc?
Does anyone know of any environmentally ethical outdoor rugs/carpets? (I can understand why someone would want to cover a patch of concrete for instance). What about cork? Could that work as an alternative? I would be interested to be educated if anyone knows!
Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus
Re raised beds - constructed correctly they can be a boon for those gardeners who have mobility/disability issues. I never felt the need for them in previous gardens but having made them some 3 years ago, it has made my veg growing a lot easier. Only a small garden ( to me at least ) but plenty of trees and shrubs, flowers, grass etc and a good haven for wildlife too.
Posts
Why did accuse me of being a bigot?
No evidence for that either.
More bullshit with confidence.
Of course the actual figure matters, whatever the conversation. When a claim is exaggerated it immediately undermines the trust in the rest of the conversation.
I am against all this plastic everywhere and I think plastic lawns are part of the problem and I would not want one and. Many people use plastic lawns as an outdoor rug or carpet and there are many of those for sale too. As others have said, plastic is part of indoor carpeting too.
We live in a plastic (not fantastic) world and I think plastic manufacturing needs to be scaled back over time so consumers can buy better new ethical alternatives at affordable prices.
Has anyone tried wood chippings in lieu of a plastic lawn? Would that work for children playing football etc?
Does anyone know of any environmentally ethical outdoor rugs/carpets? (I can understand why someone would want to cover a patch of concrete for instance). What about cork? Could that work as an alternative? I would be interested to be educated if anyone knows!
That's why it's good to do a deep dive to find out more