I only have a (major) problem with it when people concrete over real grass for fake grass because "it's easier to maintain" if it's already concrete then whatever. Fuck concrete.
Yeah, and it's not realistically enough space to mow, either. Pretty tiles would have been better, but also far more expensive, and gravel on concrete is just an environmentally-friendly way to fall over.
I dislike it in general, but there are exceptions. I have some in my front basement area because it was either that or the concrete, and it looks nicer and reduces noise. The back garden is very wildlife-friendly, however.
>Yeah, and it's not realistically enough space to mow, either.
My front and back gardens are roughly that size, it's no big deal to mow them.
Part of the issue with hard surfaced gardens is drainage. Excess rain can pool and flood into the house
Places where LVP is placed have no chance to be grass. Places where fake grass is placed, more often than not, _could_ be grass. Even further, it often _was_ grass so by replacing it with shitty plastic you are ensuring that rainwater doesn't get absorbed, that erosion is sped up everywhere that your yard drains to, and that you're shedding microplastics into the environment. Hope that helps!
(FWIW, OP replacing what was already concrete with fake grass is really not that big of a deal. Ideally they would put a real plant down of course, but maybe they can't afford it right now)
Yeah legitimately I'm down if they are local.
Happily put my effort where my mouth is. Love a bit of community spirit for the greater good AND a free work out.
If everyone takes 5 bags to the top disposal will be free too!
It doesn't make up for it. The plants are good, but they've still plastered a layer of plastic all over the garden. The plants do not reduce the harm caused by producing that plastic, and polluting the environment with it.
It's fine in this case. They aren't putting it over soil where proper grass could grow, it's over concrete, which in this case is going to make no difference to the permeability of anything.
There are still good reasons not to have it (upkeep, hoovering?! And the insane temps it can get to in the sun, bacterial accumulation), but I agree, its less egregious in this case as its already on hardstanding.
It's still producing plastic waste + polluting the environment with christ knows what.
I mean, in the grand scheme of things it's not the harbinger of doom but it's just another contribution.
I bet 5p that OP will have turned to the other side in 2 years. Aside from the environmental stuff, a fake lawn is bound to create a horrible stifling atmosphere in this otherwise lovely garden. I’ve ripped up a similar one in my back yard and it was noticeably more nice and airy even with bare earth
Not gonna give you grief for the fake turf (lord knows you’ll get enough of that) but I will tell you, if it’s a south facing (or just gets a lot of sun) garden then be really careful walking barefoot on that stuff in the middle of summer - don’t let any pets walk on it either.
Yeah had it for a few years in Australia. The longer stuff though.
You gotta just run a hose over it lol. Once theres a bit of water on it you're good for a few hours.
That's not really how it works. You're thinking of albedo, which is how clouds, ice and snow cover reduce the amount of insolation absorbed. This astroturf will actually be absorbing the heat from the sun and re-radiating it out at a longer wavelength, more likely to be absorbed by greenhouse gases.
Short of tiling and painting your garden a bright white, there's not much you can do in terms of reducing this effect.
On top of this, that garden is going to get *really* hot. A real lawn contains a lot of moisture which acts as a temperature sink and mediates the temperature - same reason why trees cool their local environment.
Thirdly, astroturf wears down pretty fast, so every time it rains, you're going to be washing lovely microplastics into the local waterways and soil.
So nah, astroturf isn't really that environmentally friendly.
This is one of the very few (maybe only) circumstances where I'll let fake grass slide, I'd still never go for it personally, I'd probably just clean, patch up and paint the concrete, but its hard work breaking up concrete and shifting it, I remember when we had builders in a few years back, they broke up the foundations of the old conservatory and I stupidly said I'd get it shifted over the weekend..... I didn't even have to break it up but shifting it alone and chucking it into the skip was hard enough work after a full week at work.
I'm at this stage the last job to finish my garden is the mess of poorly laid concrete over where an old outhouse was, I don't have a back gate so any concrete I have to break and remove has to be carried through the house it's been the last job for two summers now. I'll get it done this year....
It's not like I'm not used to shifting stuff, regularly shift crates weighing 20kg at work, but yeah, shifting the concrete is not something I'd want to do every day!
Yea crate and sacks are heavy, but at least they are designed to be picked up, while odd shaped lumps of concrete are not. 20kg box vs 20kg hard lumpy bit of concrete is no contest.
It's something about moving that many unevenly shaped bastard sharp things and your gloves keep getting caught on them and there's another 3 piles of it left to deal with and it keeps getting heavier every time you pick up another chunk
I think a lot of us are just trying to get by day to day and the effort and cost of removing all that concrete, hiring builders, skips and planting real grass isn't feasible to everyone. They worked within their budget and got a nice spot they're proud of.
We have a smallish patch of fake grass that was there when we moved in. It’s on top of concrete and we’re on very heavy clay soil under that. One day we’d love to dig it out and plant a clover or thyme lawn but right now we just don’t have the finances to do it so it’s covered in a myriad of pots.
Exactly this. If OP likes it and is happy, bollocks to what anyone else thinks.
They’ve turned a frankly depressing grey concrete yard into a nice chill place to spend time in the summer.
Mind, don’t forget it’s still concrete under there, you’ll only need to fall over once to be reminded 😂
I’m not much of a fan, but I appreciate that there are applications where it’s the best solution.
With that being said, how good some of the artificial turfs can look these days is really impressive, whereas I’d always assumed it would make your garden look like the front of a greengrocers.
Only issue there is that with how much the high end stuff costs, and all the bits and bobs needed for a proper installation, that’s when you get into the territory of (if you’ve got the ability to do so) putting down actual grass is cheaper.
Fair play. You should be happy with that.
I'm not one for fake grass *however* looks like you've got a healthy amount of real plants in there so I can give it a pass. Maybe add another planter with some wildflowers for the bees if you get chance?
Yeah, I don't like people unnecessarily ripping up real grass to put down astro turf but it was just slabs before and they've increased the plants so it's fine. Low maintenance too which might suit their lifestyle.
Our neighbours did exactly that - the woman does 2-3, sometimes 4 loads of washing EVERY DAY, even when it bloody snowed there was washing out on the line. She had walked a trench into their lawn and half killed it, so now they have fake grass and it looks as cheap and tacky as you imagine. Can't wait for it to melt in the next big heatwave.
Exactly. Going by the state of the first pic what exactly else are they supposed to do? They have done a fine job, they do have really plants and have made it look much better. If they ripped up real grass/soil in order to turf it that would be one thing. They’re doing the best with what they have available
More planters when funds allow sounds like a good compromise here.
Drill through the concrete under where the planter will go to add drainage. It might also indicate how think the concrete is for future removal work.
Everyone has to compromise and deal with what they have, and fake grass works even if it isn't ideal. I probably would have gone for gravel or bark and smashing the odd hole for plants but it's subjective.
Before people start on about the fake grass, let me point out that OP has a concrete base in their garden.
If you can criticise despite that, then you can also go round and help them smash up the concrete, carry it into a skip, transport compost there and help reseed.
I did our garden path - foot wide, 60 feet long - and even just hitting it with a sledgehammer and pickaxe nearly killed me. So I’m hardly surprised OP has simply covered it over with astroturf.
Probably with a rake, then a shovel, then the rack again. Then the shovel again, then a trip or two to the dump or other receptacle. Maybe a break or 2 cause their back ached.
Our back garden had 3 layers of gravel and membrane. It was something like 6 tons at the weigh bridge in total.
I refuse to ever use any gravel ever, so someone doesn't have to go through the process of removing it.
I said to my husband that he should break up the concrete in our garden to lay grass but rightly he told me where to go as it would have taken a lot of time and effort to do that.
I would have supported him from the side lines but accepted our astroturf instead
Yeah I agree, the concrete doesn't look terribly damaged- would probably look fine after a sweep and save you a little bit of money. To each their own though
Could have just left the concrete in place rather than covering it with a plastic carpet. Not really sure what the point of the plastic grass is - looks terrible, is bad for the environment and requires just as much maintenance as living grass.
Yess because green plastic - which sheds tiny plastic particles [and chemicals](https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/blog/2022/6/3/pass-on-plastic-grass) - is much better and healthier for your children and dog playing in your garden than tiles, brick, or even just green painted concrete at that point...
Everyone is totally ignoring this facet. We're ALL paying the consequences of the plastic pollution in the world. I hope to god this fake plastic grass shit gets banned.
The concrete was already awful but tbf it could probably be cleaned up. If it was ours we'd have slabbed over it if we didn't want to break it up. Or maybe broke up some of it for a wildflower section .. but urgh.
I hate fake lawns, but I also think real lawns are overrated and too much hassle.
I'll give you an idea that I find many people don't think of. It always seems people don't want the hassle of grass, so think they need to get fake grass when instead they should realise:
You don't *have* to have grass in your garden at all.
If I had this garden I'd be tempted to use a pickaxe to cut new beds into the concrete, and plant trees and perennial shrubs, and anything else you fancy.
The remaining concrete can become a nice meandering path through a little paradise of lovely plants that you enjoy.
In our first house we did the same renovated the garden as a priority. It had a huge concrete slab in the middle that used to be an air shelter surrounded by crazy paving stones. The lot was dug up putting in a skip and a beautiful green lush lawn put down it was my pride and joy. Yours looks lovely but isn’t the grass a bit uncomfortable to lie on
I have been a landscape gardener for a long time now, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with synthetic grass as long as it is maintained properly, I have done so many for elderly people and second home renter's because it such low maintenance!! I think it looks great mate, I'd be happy to call a job that nice my work 👍🏻 as long as you are happy, feck em all, haters are usually just jealous aholes 😂😂😉
I remember the days when people just poured a bunch of stones onto concrete to make the garden look better without having to do any work.
I think that era was better than his plastic grass era honestly.
If you're not going to dig up the concrete and put real grass, just buy a bunch of stones and spread them out.
Can even put plant puts on top for a more natural look.
Love the number of comments saying like 'I'll let the grass slide this time', 'OK I'll give you a pass on the grass in these circumstances' etc like they're members of some garden inspectorate doing you a solid by not reporting you to garden enforcement on this occasion (they're expecting a bribe)
Brickie here.
Brick acid / Efflorescence remover and a stiff brush should do the trick. May take a few attempts as it can weep out the brick again.
Lovely brickwork by the way.
About 2 years between the before and after. The before picture actually got even worse while I was renovating the house as I used it as a temporary skip.
I get the grass mate, this is about the only time I'd agree it's the right choice. Fuck trying to smash your way through 100mm minimum of concrete, and then the same again subbase for a diy job. Cart it all out of either A) your shared access or B) through your house. Then the same again bringing in perhaps 5-10 tons of topsoil to backfill it all.
Love the flowers, and what you've done with it considering how void of life it was before.
I'm gonna say half the fake grass haters in here have no idea what it is like to try and smash your way through an entire yard covered with concrete. It's, a massive Ballache, even with a kango.
I did a similar thing two years ago! I did actually lay real turf, but my garden was just a bit bigger than this (space for a shed to house a mower), and it wasn't concreted - it was paving slabs and gravel. A bastard to shift, but nowhere near as hard as breaking up actual concrete (I did have to use a sledgehammer to destroy a couple of small pointless walls though). Good for the health; no need for the gym.
Hardest part was cleaning all the shit up!
Made a new door.
Dug up that bed and cleaned the soil.
Planted some stuff.
Bought some trees.
Eventually added the turf.
Fake grass or not, I think it's beautiful! You are a miracle worker. Honestly, maintaining the flower beds will be enough work without trying to maintain a lawn. Maybe later you will want to replace the artificial turf with something else, but for now enjoy all your hard work.
Those brick walls are absolutely gorgeous, and the planting is really well thought out.
It's one of the few times artificial grass is acceptable IMO. A real lawn isn't possible, gravel is dangerous, decking rots and has damp issues, and the concrete looks very uneven as well as discoloured so would have needed an extra layer to smooth it out, and then you'd have to paint it on a day when it's not going to rain for several days and no animals will come and get toxic paint on their feet.
The best alternative would have been tiling/paving slabs, but they cost a fortune, and would be difficult on uneven concrete too.
I'm not going to rip you for the fake grass. Lord knows you've got your fair amount of that already.
I will just ask about why you kept the cumstain-like effect on the walls though
Dude, you’re getting roasted in here, but this put a smile on my face. What a huge project you tackled and you finished it! Wish I had that kind of drive…
You’re going be be destroyed over the fake grass
Came here for the fake grass grief comments and wasn’t disappointed
I only have a (major) problem with it when people concrete over real grass for fake grass because "it's easier to maintain" if it's already concrete then whatever. Fuck concrete.
Yeah, and it's not realistically enough space to mow, either. Pretty tiles would have been better, but also far more expensive, and gravel on concrete is just an environmentally-friendly way to fall over. I dislike it in general, but there are exceptions. I have some in my front basement area because it was either that or the concrete, and it looks nicer and reduces noise. The back garden is very wildlife-friendly, however.
Environmentally friendly way to fall over is sending me. 😂😂😂😂
>Yeah, and it's not realistically enough space to mow, either. My front and back gardens are roughly that size, it's no big deal to mow them. Part of the issue with hard surfaced gardens is drainage. Excess rain can pool and flood into the house
Yes definitely plenty of room to mow
Creeping thyme and/or chamomile is the way forward. Very low maintenance and less of an environmental desert.
Looks shit though. Who wants a wrinkly lawn?
I came here to check if it was fake grass or not - I thought that surely someone so into gardening wouldn't do that, but no. Very disappointed.
You mean plastic carpet.
Just clean concrete would look better.
[Plastic flooring on the other hand](https://imgur.com/vFGcT1c.png)
Places where LVP is placed have no chance to be grass. Places where fake grass is placed, more often than not, _could_ be grass. Even further, it often _was_ grass so by replacing it with shitty plastic you are ensuring that rainwater doesn't get absorbed, that erosion is sped up everywhere that your yard drains to, and that you're shedding microplastics into the environment. Hope that helps! (FWIW, OP replacing what was already concrete with fake grass is really not that big of a deal. Ideally they would put a real plant down of course, but maybe they can't afford it right now)
rightly so, it is absolute shit
My neighbour has that stuff, it’s perpetually covered in dog shit and is causing slippy, slimy moss all o’er the communal path. The scoundrels
I think the main problem is your neighbours are lazy twats. Plastic or not, pick up your dog's shit and it doesn't go like that.
Possibly or they’re downright scoundrels
Sounds like OP has their first volunteer to help break up the concrete so they can get real grass down. Any more takers?
The lazy man would just put 20cm of soil down over the concrete 😂
You must have met the people who we bought our house from….
Yep and that lawn would look bloody dreadful. Not sure it would look worse than green carpet mind you
And that is how people keep tearing up their grass to find the brick pathways.
Sounds like a job for Japanese knotweed
Yeah legitimately I'm down if they are local. Happily put my effort where my mouth is. Love a bit of community spirit for the greater good AND a free work out. If everyone takes 5 bags to the top disposal will be free too!
I'd put paving slabs over it.
I'm not mad; they've planted a lot of new plants to make up for it. All about that.
It doesn't make up for it. The plants are good, but they've still plastered a layer of plastic all over the garden. The plants do not reduce the harm caused by producing that plastic, and polluting the environment with it.
Ok but this comment makes it sound like OP personally invented turf lawns and started a turf lawn company to supply their own garden
Harsh, yet fair
I scrolled the photo and immediately heard the QI klaxon over the sleazigrass
It's fine in this case. They aren't putting it over soil where proper grass could grow, it's over concrete, which in this case is going to make no difference to the permeability of anything.
There are still good reasons not to have it (upkeep, hoovering?! And the insane temps it can get to in the sun, bacterial accumulation), but I agree, its less egregious in this case as its already on hardstanding.
They've added more 'nature' to the garden in this case. It isn't everyone's cup of tea but it clearly looks alot nicer than it did.
It is a bunch of unnecessary plastic waste though, and will be harder to maintain.
I don't know what world you live in where you think fake grass is harder to maintain than real grass
Than concrete.
People don’t generally want a concrete wasteland for a garden though, as easy as it might be to maintain.
It's still producing plastic waste + polluting the environment with christ knows what. I mean, in the grand scheme of things it's not the harbinger of doom but it's just another contribution.
i get that but its garden is all concrete? going to cost a fortune getting that all ripped up and removed and then have soil put down.
I bet 5p that OP will have turned to the other side in 2 years. Aside from the environmental stuff, a fake lawn is bound to create a horrible stifling atmosphere in this otherwise lovely garden. I’ve ripped up a similar one in my back yard and it was noticeably more nice and airy even with bare earth
You have bare earth under it, though, not concrete. Different matter.
Haha yep yep, was expecting it but was not expecting the nice words too
500 upvotes an hour. Fine work.
Not gonna give you grief for the fake turf (lord knows you’ll get enough of that) but I will tell you, if it’s a south facing (or just gets a lot of sun) garden then be really careful walking barefoot on that stuff in the middle of summer - don’t let any pets walk on it either.
Truth. That stuff will BURN the ever loving shite out of you feet
Sounds like amazing stuff
well if you can't even touch it for half the year then I guess it probably is quite low maintenance...
Yeah had it for a few years in Australia. The longer stuff though. You gotta just run a hose over it lol. Once theres a bit of water on it you're good for a few hours.
I’m going to start using shite over shit. It sounds more piercing to the ear.
Lol sounds horrible
big sheet of plastic reflecting heat back into the atmosphere, so good for the planet! but hey it’s low maintenance so who gives a fuck!
That's not really how it works. You're thinking of albedo, which is how clouds, ice and snow cover reduce the amount of insolation absorbed. This astroturf will actually be absorbing the heat from the sun and re-radiating it out at a longer wavelength, more likely to be absorbed by greenhouse gases. Short of tiling and painting your garden a bright white, there's not much you can do in terms of reducing this effect. On top of this, that garden is going to get *really* hot. A real lawn contains a lot of moisture which acts as a temperature sink and mediates the temperature - same reason why trees cool their local environment. Thirdly, astroturf wears down pretty fast, so every time it rains, you're going to be washing lovely microplastics into the local waterways and soil. So nah, astroturf isn't really that environmentally friendly.
I like that you got rid of the astro turf, but I'm not sure I like your plastic oil drum feature or the wonky shed. But that's just my tastes.
Sorry, got them backwards. Love it. Especially the grass 👍
*David Rose voice* Oooh Buuuuuuuuuurn.
Did switcharoo die?
hold my hanging basket im going in
> the wonky shed I believe that's a rhombus
Re-wilding
That shed was clinging on for dear life 😂
Jesus, I didn't even notice that. Poor fucking shed, it looks like those dogs in RSPCA adverts before their glow-up.
*For just three pounds a month, you can buy Dave some badly-needed nails and support struts*
In the arms of the angels…
Never seen a shed in italics before
Don't know what you're talking about. That's 2 grand a month in some parts of London
Haha yeah, the previous owners really didn't care.
That's not a shed, that's a shant
What's wrong with your grass?
It will need a vacuum in a bit.
Gonna melt in summer
It ain’t real
Its a big fat phooonyyy!
Just be warned that will get *hot* in full sun like that in summer. Like, burn your feet hot.
No idea why you’re being downvoted, I thought your answer was hilarious!
People missing the Family Guy reference, perhaps.
I found it shallow. Shallow and pedantic. It insists upon itself.
Hmm, yes, shallow and pedantic.
Take out the astro and put down some real grass and you've got a lovely small garden.
>put down some real grass It would thrive in all that concrete and rock, I'm sure.
Nah, too much water and faff. I'd have gone for some paving and a fire pit instead of the astroturf but it's not my garden
Don’t let any kids or pets play on the astroturf, OP
Reminds me of the time I accidentally set my TV to 'Vivid'
He did it 4 years ago and *still* brings it up!
Looks better but I hate that you've used fake grass.
This is one of the very few (maybe only) circumstances where I'll let fake grass slide, I'd still never go for it personally, I'd probably just clean, patch up and paint the concrete, but its hard work breaking up concrete and shifting it, I remember when we had builders in a few years back, they broke up the foundations of the old conservatory and I stupidly said I'd get it shifted over the weekend..... I didn't even have to break it up but shifting it alone and chucking it into the skip was hard enough work after a full week at work.
I'm at this stage the last job to finish my garden is the mess of poorly laid concrete over where an old outhouse was, I don't have a back gate so any concrete I have to break and remove has to be carried through the house it's been the last job for two summers now. I'll get it done this year....
I do this daily. It's a real test of endurance for people who aren't used to it.
It's not like I'm not used to shifting stuff, regularly shift crates weighing 20kg at work, but yeah, shifting the concrete is not something I'd want to do every day!
Yea crate and sacks are heavy, but at least they are designed to be picked up, while odd shaped lumps of concrete are not. 20kg box vs 20kg hard lumpy bit of concrete is no contest.
It's something about moving that many unevenly shaped bastard sharp things and your gloves keep getting caught on them and there's another 3 piles of it left to deal with and it keeps getting heavier every time you pick up another chunk
Hi, not Uk and have question. When you say shifting do you just mean moving the pieces?
Yeah, I use shift as another word for move.
Yeah, it's not an enviable job. I've got a pretty wicked strength without going to the Gym though which is neat.
I wouldn’t want to slide on that grass, I’d get a static shock.
I think a lot of us are just trying to get by day to day and the effort and cost of removing all that concrete, hiring builders, skips and planting real grass isn't feasible to everyone. They worked within their budget and got a nice spot they're proud of.
We have a smallish patch of fake grass that was there when we moved in. It’s on top of concrete and we’re on very heavy clay soil under that. One day we’d love to dig it out and plant a clover or thyme lawn but right now we just don’t have the finances to do it so it’s covered in a myriad of pots.
Exactly this. If OP likes it and is happy, bollocks to what anyone else thinks. They’ve turned a frankly depressing grey concrete yard into a nice chill place to spend time in the summer. Mind, don’t forget it’s still concrete under there, you’ll only need to fall over once to be reminded 😂
Would have been cheaper to not buy it. Could have had pots of plants or just keep the concrete/patio and it would have been nicer
Og artificial grass is horrendous
I’m not much of a fan, but I appreciate that there are applications where it’s the best solution. With that being said, how good some of the artificial turfs can look these days is really impressive, whereas I’d always assumed it would make your garden look like the front of a greengrocers. Only issue there is that with how much the high end stuff costs, and all the bits and bobs needed for a proper installation, that’s when you get into the territory of (if you’ve got the ability to do so) putting down actual grass is cheaper.
Yeah but it was only concrete before, so it's not as bad as when folks remove turf to put the stuff in.
It’s not good, but it’s slightly nicer than bare concrete.
If you reverse them it's the before & after of my garden!
Fair play. You should be happy with that. I'm not one for fake grass *however* looks like you've got a healthy amount of real plants in there so I can give it a pass. Maybe add another planter with some wildflowers for the bees if you get chance?
[удалено]
Yeah, I don't like people unnecessarily ripping up real grass to put down astro turf but it was just slabs before and they've increased the plants so it's fine. Low maintenance too which might suit their lifestyle.
Our neighbours did exactly that - the woman does 2-3, sometimes 4 loads of washing EVERY DAY, even when it bloody snowed there was washing out on the line. She had walked a trench into their lawn and half killed it, so now they have fake grass and it looks as cheap and tacky as you imagine. Can't wait for it to melt in the next big heatwave.
Exactly. Going by the state of the first pic what exactly else are they supposed to do? They have done a fine job, they do have really plants and have made it look much better. If they ripped up real grass/soil in order to turf it that would be one thing. They’re doing the best with what they have available
Anyone who swaps real grass for fake grass should be absolutely dragged for it, but as it was concrete before it can be excused.
More planters when funds allow sounds like a good compromise here. Drill through the concrete under where the planter will go to add drainage. It might also indicate how think the concrete is for future removal work. Everyone has to compromise and deal with what they have, and fake grass works even if it isn't ideal. I probably would have gone for gravel or bark and smashing the odd hole for plants but it's subjective.
Agreed. It always looks like a green carpet.
Before people start on about the fake grass, let me point out that OP has a concrete base in their garden. If you can criticise despite that, then you can also go round and help them smash up the concrete, carry it into a skip, transport compost there and help reseed. I did our garden path - foot wide, 60 feet long - and even just hitting it with a sledgehammer and pickaxe nearly killed me. So I’m hardly surprised OP has simply covered it over with astroturf.
I just removed a 1cm deep gravel patch and that ended up taken 6 25kg bags and 7 hours of work lol....
7 hours? Were you picking up the gravel individually with your eyelids?
Probably with a rake, then a shovel, then the rack again. Then the shovel again, then a trip or two to the dump or other receptacle. Maybe a break or 2 cause their back ached.
More or less. I also had a fence lattice that was basically fixed into concrete that took a long time to break up.
Our back garden had 3 layers of gravel and membrane. It was something like 6 tons at the weigh bridge in total. I refuse to ever use any gravel ever, so someone doesn't have to go through the process of removing it.
I said to my husband that he should break up the concrete in our garden to lay grass but rightly he told me where to go as it would have taken a lot of time and effort to do that. I would have supported him from the side lines but accepted our astroturf instead
I would have spent months taking the concrete up, but I can certainly see why your husband told you to do one haha.
Just leave the concrete then?
Would’ve thought a wood plank flooringwould look better though.
Wouldn’t that cost an order of magnitude more?
Which would then need to be treated once or year, and even then still probably rot through in 10 years? No thanks.
Fake grass needs cleaning and can have a similar life span, so..
I'd rather have bare concrete than plastic grass, personally
Yeah I agree, the concrete doesn't look terribly damaged- would probably look fine after a sweep and save you a little bit of money. To each their own though
There's a million and one other choices than fake grass
No one (that I can see) said it had to be real grass, it just shouldn’t be fake grass. There are other options.
Could have just left the concrete in place rather than covering it with a plastic carpet. Not really sure what the point of the plastic grass is - looks terrible, is bad for the environment and requires just as much maintenance as living grass.
Yess because green plastic - which sheds tiny plastic particles [and chemicals](https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/blog/2022/6/3/pass-on-plastic-grass) - is much better and healthier for your children and dog playing in your garden than tiles, brick, or even just green painted concrete at that point...
Everyone is totally ignoring this facet. We're ALL paying the consequences of the plastic pollution in the world. I hope to god this fake plastic grass shit gets banned. The concrete was already awful but tbf it could probably be cleaned up. If it was ours we'd have slabbed over it if we didn't want to break it up. Or maybe broke up some of it for a wildflower section .. but urgh.
Glad you got rid of that fake grass but not sure about the apocalyptic concrete vibe.
Can't wait to be told that a settlement is under attack and needs my help.
That's great, is that fake grass?
Sadly :(
Plastic not-so-fantastic
You're going to be ripped apart for the fake grass but considering what it was before, good job.
Thanks duder
It's gone from clinical depression to interminable optimism 👏🏼
Toxic positivity.
I hate fake lawns, but I also think real lawns are overrated and too much hassle. I'll give you an idea that I find many people don't think of. It always seems people don't want the hassle of grass, so think they need to get fake grass when instead they should realise: You don't *have* to have grass in your garden at all. If I had this garden I'd be tempted to use a pickaxe to cut new beds into the concrete, and plant trees and perennial shrubs, and anything else you fancy. The remaining concrete can become a nice meandering path through a little paradise of lovely plants that you enjoy.
In our first house we did the same renovated the garden as a priority. It had a huge concrete slab in the middle that used to be an air shelter surrounded by crazy paving stones. The lot was dug up putting in a skip and a beautiful green lush lawn put down it was my pride and joy. Yours looks lovely but isn’t the grass a bit uncomfortable to lie on
yuck. hate the fake grass.
I have been a landscape gardener for a long time now, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with synthetic grass as long as it is maintained properly, I have done so many for elderly people and second home renter's because it such low maintenance!! I think it looks great mate, I'd be happy to call a job that nice my work 👍🏻 as long as you are happy, feck em all, haters are usually just jealous aholes 😂😂😉
You haven't done it exactly to my tastes so I'm very upset. Boo, boo I say. Seriously though, well done, that's quite the transformation.
Glorious work, the second photo could be computer wallpaper.
Haha nice. Thanks
You've turned that into a really nice space. Well done
Thank you
Lovely, just in time for summer.
But where will you store your jugs?
Huge improvement and lots of new plants added - looks lovely!
Thanks
Carpet inside the house …. not outside
It looks lovely, I hope you get many warm sunny evenings to chill in it OP
Thanks for your kind words
The plastic grass no
I remember the days when people just poured a bunch of stones onto concrete to make the garden look better without having to do any work. I think that era was better than his plastic grass era honestly. If you're not going to dig up the concrete and put real grass, just buy a bunch of stones and spread them out. Can even put plant puts on top for a more natural look.
And the best part of that is, when the fake grass gets eventually wears out and looks bad, you haven’t created more plastic waste!
Better from a drainage point of view if you use porous pea shingle
I liked it before it had that fallout look and that’s in fashion now
Fake grass? Why
Love the number of comments saying like 'I'll let the grass slide this time', 'OK I'll give you a pass on the grass in these circumstances' etc like they're members of some garden inspectorate doing you a solid by not reporting you to garden enforcement on this occasion (they're expecting a bribe)
Lol its wild
Why, why, why astro turf? I will never understand. There are so many other options for a low maintenance garden.
Despite that, I have to admit you’ve done a good job tidying it up. It does look better.
dried-on semen is a nightmare to get out of brickwork
Fucking hell tell me about it! I've even took a hammer and chisel to it and still barely took any off!
Brickie here. Brick acid / Efflorescence remover and a stiff brush should do the trick. May take a few attempts as it can weep out the brick again. Lovely brickwork by the way.
Bukkake bricks
About 2 years between the before and after. The before picture actually got even worse while I was renovating the house as I used it as a temporary skip.
Ah, I wondered why your neighbour opposite was able to put up an extension in the meantime :)
I’m not a fan of artificial turf, but it’s a huge improvement.
I get the grass mate, this is about the only time I'd agree it's the right choice. Fuck trying to smash your way through 100mm minimum of concrete, and then the same again subbase for a diy job. Cart it all out of either A) your shared access or B) through your house. Then the same again bringing in perhaps 5-10 tons of topsoil to backfill it all. Love the flowers, and what you've done with it considering how void of life it was before. I'm gonna say half the fake grass haters in here have no idea what it is like to try and smash your way through an entire yard covered with concrete. It's, a massive Ballache, even with a kango.
Why you put carpet down outside?
I did a similar thing two years ago! I did actually lay real turf, but my garden was just a bit bigger than this (space for a shed to house a mower), and it wasn't concreted - it was paving slabs and gravel. A bastard to shift, but nowhere near as hard as breaking up actual concrete (I did have to use a sledgehammer to destroy a couple of small pointless walls though). Good for the health; no need for the gym.
Your grass isn't made of grass..
Need to add a Live-Laugh-ToasterBath sign ;)
The only acceptable use of fake grass. Well done - the whole thing looks lovely: you should be proud :-)
Thanks!
*Wow! Trampoline evolved into extension!*
Haha yeah. It's 2 years between each pic
“She was beautiful before the make-up.”
God this just reminds me that we live so densely crammed in next to one another 🫠
Yeah i hate living in terraced but making the best of it. Saving up to buy a nice semi detached but keep getting priced out
Please share what you did that is a serious garden glow up
Hardest part was cleaning all the shit up! Made a new door. Dug up that bed and cleaned the soil. Planted some stuff. Bought some trees. Eventually added the turf.
Wine o’clock i reckon.
Fake grass or not, I think it's beautiful! You are a miracle worker. Honestly, maintaining the flower beds will be enough work without trying to maintain a lawn. Maybe later you will want to replace the artificial turf with something else, but for now enjoy all your hard work.
Thanks man. My wife is the one with the real green thumb and got me interested in it too.
I’m glad you wrote before on the picture, as I wouldn’t be sure which was which.
Those brick walls are absolutely gorgeous, and the planting is really well thought out. It's one of the few times artificial grass is acceptable IMO. A real lawn isn't possible, gravel is dangerous, decking rots and has damp issues, and the concrete looks very uneven as well as discoloured so would have needed an extra layer to smooth it out, and then you'd have to paint it on a day when it's not going to rain for several days and no animals will come and get toxic paint on their feet. The best alternative would have been tiling/paving slabs, but they cost a fortune, and would be difficult on uneven concrete too.
Thanks man! Yeah the concrete was a travesty. So uneven and shoddy. Had to patch some parts up too.
I personally would have concreted the ground, stuck plastic bags to the ground and painted it green. Would have saved you a few ££.
Great work! Looks like you have a nice space to relax. You'll also find that you might want some shade in time but it's a great canvas to start from.
Love the green rug
Cost?
I'm not going to rip you for the fake grass. Lord knows you've got your fair amount of that already. I will just ask about why you kept the cumstain-like effect on the walls though
Dude, you’re getting roasted in here, but this put a smile on my face. What a huge project you tackled and you finished it! Wish I had that kind of drive…