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John Lewis has reported a whopping 46 per cent surge in its sales of artificial horticulture

"Everything in the garden is... FAKE! Bare lawn? Tired blooms? Ersatz gardens that defy the elements are all the rage"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2714410/Everything-garden-FAKE-Bare-lawn-Tired-blooms-Ersatz-gardens-defy-elements-rage-fence-YOU-on.html

We've been laying imitation stone for decades. Composite plastic fencing and decking has been around for ages and artificial lawns are becoming very popular.

As gardeners, designers ad landscapers, do we resist the temptation to create artificial gardens or do we go with the flow?

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  • PRO

    Resist. An outdoor space should be alive IMO. And it can be whilst still being perfectly functional.

  • Fake turf aside, I don't think this will take off widely. For £3,500 you get a load of plants that look the same all year round, and I think people would get bored of the same scene every time they look out of the window. OK you can buy more flowers to change the seasons a bit but that just doesn't involve more outlay, you'll have to store your spring/summer flowers somewhere safe for winter.

    Despite being weatherproof for five years I doubt the flowers will be indestructible, so wouldn't be able to grow back if hit with a football from next door (or if next door's kids put nails through leaves like they do to me...) so I think people would find themselves buying more and more flowers to replace accidental damage. All this effort for no scent either!

    £3,500 is a lot of outlay for a tiny plot, and certainly if you were buying real plants you could get some decent stuff for that instead of a few foxgloves and some never-growing sweet peas! The turf you could say was a good idea given that a lawn that big would wear quickly and be fiddly to mow. I think the plastic plants would probably only have a very limited appeal.

  • Are yu ever likely to be asked to create a plastic garden? Plastic "cut" flowers and indoor plants have been with us for a very long time. They have hardly set the wrold alight. About the only place they have become popular is in venues such as cellar bars and restaurants which lack natural light. Not many gardens suffer from such a level of light deficiency. Possibly useful on a 15th floor balcony where the neighbours below may complain if natural plants are watered regularly?

  • I am of the same opinion as 'Fake', sorry 'Artificial' turf. It just looks artificial, too good, never reflects or absorbs light the same, and just looks so out of place during certain seasons.

    I think like bad cheap decking, it's a fad that will come and go. Would I ever incorporate it in a design? Then I would say no, or at least persuade against it. Would I ever fit it if someone was paying me too? Then personal opinions aside, of course I would, it pays the bills.

  • Where would all the wildlife live?

  • PRO

    I do think artificial grass is here to stay. Whether it will maintain its current popularity remains to be seen.

    Fake flowers...maybe for a one-off exhibition or even - at a push - at a wedding, but not in a garden.
    Plastic flowers do fade and attract dust so they do have a certain life, if they are to look fresh.

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