A homeowner seeking landscaping advice on Reddit drew the ire of other users for their use of artificial grass.
The homeowner shared a post in the r/landscaping subreddit explaining that they recently moved to a new building in the United Kingdom. After removing "random plants" and wood chippings from their front yard, they "had some landscapers come in and fill, compact and lay artificial grass, which suits me as I don't want to have to do much maintenance."
The homeowner was satisfied with how the yard looked after the artificial grass was installed, but their concern was how high and close it was to the wall of the house. While they asked whether the artificial grass should be moved a few inches away from the house, commenters instead suggested they never should have had it installed in the first place.
"I can't blame you for wanting something that is easy and looks nice, but I really wished this didn't exist," one commenter wrote. "A wildflower garden is just as low maintenance, but doesn't destroy the environment. This trend makes me sad."
Artificial grass may seem to be the low-maintenance option in theory, but that's actually not the case.
It still requires watering in order to maintain its condition. Plastic turf usually retains heat more than real grass, so it has the potential to cause burns if it's not watered regularly. Also, a recent investigation determined that the plastics used in artificial lawns may be a potential carcinogen.
The homeowner had other cost-effective alternatives that would have been equally aesthetically pleasing and less harmful to the environment. The National Wildlife Federation suggested that native plants "require much less maintenance than turf grass."
A clover lawn is also considered low-maintenance, and American Meadows pointed out that it "attracts beneficial insects to reduce the need for pesticides, improves soil health to reduce the need for fertilizer, keeps new weeds at bay to reduce your need for herbicides, and is drought tolerant to reduce your need for watering."
Instead, the homeowner settled for artificial grass, and Reddit commenters did not hold back their disdain for the decision.
"This is awful looking and terrible for the environment. Artificial grass should be banned," one commenter stated.
"Congratulations you've made your garden a lifeless wasteland," another declared.
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