turf or fake grass in a small townhouse backyard? Anyone have fake grass?
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Anonymous
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We're looking to overhaul our small townhouse backyard. It does not get enough sun for grass, and is currently just a mud pit of 50% weeds. I hate it. We're interested in breaking up the yard into sections of hardscape and maybe fake grass or turf to add some "green." Maybe some raised planters.
Does anyone have turf? Do you like it? Is it easy to maintain? Does it look nice over time? We don't have dogs, but there are neighborhood critters that come and go (squirrels, stray cats, birds, bunnies, etc). |
Anonymous
| Hardscape that is water permeable and raised planters. Please no fake stuff. So tacky. |
Anonymous
| Have you considered native ground cover? |
Anonymous
| Neither. Microplastic cesspool. |
Anonymous
| My aunt has half turf/artificial and it starts to smell even though they don't have dogs- they think its pee/poo from foxes, deer, etc. |
Anonymous
| Could you do shade tolerant shrubs? Something trimmable to give counter-height or waist-height greenery while blending in with your hardscape and containers? |
Anonymous
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Also see if your backyard will support hostas. They are shade-loving and can get quite big in clumps.
Or a row of little shaped pine trees. It would be great if you could find something to suck up the water. My parents had a SFH with a muddy backyard. Eventually they had to spend money on improving the drainage that went to the storm sewer. |
Anonymous
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Plastic? Never.
Please look online at what natural, but decorative spaces, you can build. You could have a nice Italian or French-style patio with interesting flagstones, and a trellis on the warmest and sunniest wall, with shade-tolerant plants in planters. A small amount of sun with the backing of a wall can do wonders for plants that would otherwise not survive with those hours of sunlight. In such spaces, small recycling water features are charming. You could have a decorative wall fountain, or a little mini pond with goldfish. Lots of options, OP. Please don't use plastic grass. |
Anonymous
| My friend and her neighbor installed it alongside her front driveway two years ago. She loves it and it looks real. |
Anonymous
Please. It never looks real, unless you're blind. |
Anonymous
This. |
Anonymous
They went with the mid-grade artificial turf. My BIL had the premium grade installed in his backyard of his $6 mil home two years ago. Both yards look nice. |
Anonymous
| Agree with installing a permeable surface with planters and possibly an edge of soil where plants can thrive in that environment. We looked into turf but we have small children and read about some of the dangers (gets very hot, off gassing VOCs, PFAS, microplastics, and not great resell value). |
Anonymous
 I hope you're joking. What a loser polluter. He could have been able to afford so many sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions, but no, he buys crap that's going to fill our lungs with microplastics.
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Anonymous
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OP here. Thanks for the advice. I'm not opposed to all hardscape, but I do wish for some color.
Clover = soil = weeds and mud. Too much maintenance and still so muddy. We could possibly section off a part for hostas or something that is shade-loving, but again, we want low maintenance. And honestly, less bugginess. I'd be happy with bees but I'm tired of gnats and mosquitos, which is what we have now. |