A HOMEOWNER who ripped up her artificial lawn has shared how she created a ‘whimsical’ wildlife haven complete with Facebook marketplace freebies. Kayleigh Gaskin, from North Hertfordshire, moved into her home in 2022, with partner Mason and their cat, Oswald. One of the first tasks on the list was to rip up the artificial lawn in her garden.
She said: “They [artificial lawns] are awful for the environment. "They take so much energy and water to manufacture and end up in landfill as they cannot be recycled. “I wanted to create my own wildlife heaven, [and] a plastic carpet did not fit in with this vision.
” Sometimes, homeowners lay artificial lawns over concrete - luckily for Kayleigh, hers just hada layer of gravel and membrane then soil. Once the artificial lawn was removed, then came the question, what to put down next ? “I thought about just planting a normal lawn, but I saw a photo of a clover field and thought ‘I could do that in my garden!'” Kayleigh explained. She added: “I think they look so gorgeous, they give a real whimsical feel to the garden.
"They are also fantastic for pollinators as they flower in spring and summer. “Perfectly pruned lawns are a big thing, but I love the wild look. "I wanted my garden to be a haven for local wildlife and to break into the new trends of rewilding and allowing nature to do its thing.
“It is also so much safer for Oswald [the cat] now – I don’t have to worry about him burning his paws when the plastic h.