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artificial grass
rosemummy
Posts: 2,010
after lots of work and following advice from helpful people on the forum ( apart from staying off the lawn.. impossible with a 3 & 5 year old) our lawn is not working. I reseeded 3 times last year after forking, aerating, moss killing,I think as it's east facing, heavily used and very small it may be time to give in... we have some samples of fake grass, they look ok, wondering wether to have it just under the tramploine and give our mud patch ine last summer or just admit defeat and have a fake lawn, any thoughts welcome, thanks in advance
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some of the fake grass available now looks quite good, bizarrely you have to weed it if real grass starts to grow, it useful in areas of high traffic, or high child usage and once the kids grow up a bit, its easy to remove and put a real lawn down.
Also think about sinking the trampoline into the ground. A friend of mine has just done that and its remarkable how much better her garden looks for it. Just remember drainage, otherwise you get a trampoline/paddling pool combination!
I would LOVE to have the trampoline sunk, is this possible with a normal trampoline? I've dug in loads of grit over the past year, it feels really grainy when you dig in it, but it still feels soggy when heavy rain falls, I'm desperate to find a really goos gardener here in Sheffield, I've had 2 and I wouldn't have either back, either I have really way out ideas ( er.. attaching wires along a walll to tie in a rose? didn't think it was that hard but last gardener fixed wire over the rose-probably couldn't be bothered to get behind it and thought I wouldn't notice...) Has anyone used a good fake grass cupplier/specialist?
Personally, I don't like artificial grass. There are good looking ones now'days, but I think the only great ones are rather expensive. The thing to consider is if you plan on sitting/lying down on the lawn it isn't as comfortable, I find even experience some ones to be kind of "itchy." Also, if the kids play on it they may be more likely to get some sort of friction burn from plastic grass than living grass, but they might be a made up problem ice just thought up there
If you're giving living grass another go, then consider the actual type of grass you get. There are harder wearing grasses, as well as grasses that cope better in shade or sun, depending on your conditions. Also, in sure you know, seed will take a much longer time to take and be usable than laying down turf. So that could be a better option than seeding.
Astroturf can look good and could be a good solution though, if you feel it's right
I don't have much experience with advice, but I definitely think su Ken in trampolines look better and kids find it cool, too. May also be better for safety, as they don't have far to fall. Might provide more of a pain when they grow out of it though, as filling the hole back in and re-turfing would is more of a job than simply chucking the trampoline.
you can sink most trampolines, just make sure they have something solid for the feet to sit on that aren't going to sink or twist, my friend used small square paving slabs on top of a layer of tamped gravel, if you soil is liable to collapse (sandy soil in particular) then you have to put some boards in to stop it filling the hole.
you can also make the edges of the hole not vertical, think about what shape the trampoline bed is when in full down 'bounce', it looks like a cone and you dig the hole accordingly, just make sure you leave enough room or someone might hit the floor when using it.
Last edited: 18 January 2017 11:10:01
thanks Pansy Tigrah and Treehugger, I have used seed for shady areas and still didn't take, though we never stay off it fotr more than a week so I know it's my fault really, we have clay soil, so it won't collapse, I'm going to get some quotes for the artificial stuff, maybe just do half garden fake and new turf half and see how it looks and feels through summer
HEEEELLLPP!!!! the landscaper came yesterday and it appears to have the artificial grass we will have to have wooden edging on all 4 sides and unless I insist on making it very complicated and expensive they have to be straight, whereas I designed the garden to be all curves, I'm not a straight line fan... we have a brick patio in sunny corner with table and bench, and by the back door we have a semi circle of york stone, I'm really unsure the finished look will work,also we'd have to have the swing and trampoline secured with some kind of concrete footings..it's all so complicated! am desperate for advice as landscaper was more of a builder,felt didn't really understand my idea of aesthetics,and the last gardeners we had weren't great at hard landscaping (I really need Monty to come round, but I don't want to be on tv! ) any advice or help very,very greatly received! thankyou in advance
Someone along the road to where I used to live took out a swimming pool and added a sunken trampoline instead when they bought the house. Having now got 20+ year old children I think they were mad. I found that my children got bored with the trampoline within a couple of years whereas where I live now I have a swimming pond and in the summer even now I cannot keep them out of it. So be aware if you decide to sink it, when they tire of it you will need soil to fill it back in.
My OHs supervisor had artificial grass laid in his garden. He said that on hot days his kids and the dog couldn't play on it, as the grass got too hot.
our garden is 7.5 x 4 metres too tiny to do much, kids are only 3 & 5 so I think we'll get a few years out of trampoline, my friend have the grass we're thinking of with kids same age , the said it did get hot, but ours is shadier than theirs and we can put a picnic rug down, there's not really much space to run, I prefer real grass, but even seed for shade doesn't seem to do well and we can't use the garden half the time as it's literally mud, come to unfortunate conclusion that for the next few years it'll have to be the option for us
Your landscaper/builder was correct in that trampolines and swings should be firmly fixed although few people do it, so that was not random advice! presumably the artificial grass will be pegged down? And the edging is to keep the soil in at the edges? one option may be to use the steel edging which will curve but is expensive or to use bricks /pavers round it which will also give lazy curves i.e. Not tight curves. I would have another conversation with the grass layer To see if either of these is a goer.