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How many front gardens on your street are green not grey?

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  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016

    Our front garden is shortly to lose the green bit.  I refrain from calling it lawn because that implies grass.  I've tried all sorts of things but it has never grown properly.  I'm widening the borders and having the green stuff replaced by stone chippings on a permeable membrane.  Although we don't plan to use it for car parking, the spec will allow that use if required.

  • A tree has been removed from a lawn further down our street due to honey fungus. Apparently the idea was that a bit of lawn was going to be removed to make the drive wider. Last seen, the conmen doing the job have ripped up the whole drive with a digger before dumping a load of sand onto bare soil with no hogging to support it... This is going to be interesting.

    They put a flyer through our door, you can't imagine how fast it went into the recycling bin!!!

  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    aym280 says:

    Steve the Gardening Vet:  Yes, I have found that most front lawns are just glorified car park. 

    KT, you could add a feature of two like Natalie L to soften the look and it could inspire neighbours to do the same. Pragmatic and yet attractive and low maintenance. 

    See original post

     There will be pots and planters, it certainly won't just be an area of stone chippings or shingle.  I won't have permanent features such as small trees or beds in it as that would prevent it being used for parking if needed.  It's not a huge area, roughly 4.5 x 6.5 metres.  It will still have flower beds on 2 sides.

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719

    Why grey as opposed to "green". we had our old broken concrete drive replaced last year, didnt go for the cheapest option, half is paved,small pavers,border left, half shingle,large size called "beach" both soft gold,and greys,variable sizes like the shingle on the beach, valarian and other plants allowed to self seed.  direct planting of Cordalines,and Yuccas,grasses,Olleander, 3 large pots with climbing roses,Olleanders, 2 with Acidanthera just coming up now,scented pelargoniums, petunias, 2 hanging baskets.  Reason for expense, tiny road, folk opposite have 4 cars (drive plenty big enough for all 4) garage in a block,in a sliproad right opposite rear of Tesco store, lorries coming and going from before 6am.  We didnt need Planning Permission, but had to pay, and get certificates from local and district councils, the drive slopes towards our bungalow, with acro drains, and onto a border by the side of the property.  Yet, they build new properties with tarmac, still and told me we could have tarmac if we obtained Planning Permission, which is porus, I asked how theat then worked, (bloke from council was quite rude!)

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719

    Sorry, meant to say, which is NOT porus, yet, magically, becomes no drainage problem, IF you have and fork out for PLANNING PERMISSION.  There are a lot of very elderly folk living nearby, and they would not be able to carry their shopping from their garages en block.  Also meant to say the Tesco deliveries are regular all day, once their lorry is there you can just about walk past it.

  • LoganLogan Posts: 2,532

    There's 10 grey in our close out of 20.image

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719

    Thought taking out the dogs I would have a good look, funnily enough the folks that still have a lawn, in the majority, thats ALL they have, a bit of boring grass,  whereas  most people with paving also have pots, and borders.  Apart from the end plots, which are huge, nicely planted, these properties have very small back gardens, often only about 30 feet.   A lady a few doors down on my side, grows tomatoes every year in her front garden, which is as small as is  her back, it is mostly square paving slabs,  (not big enough to park a car) with a couple left out where she plants the tomatoes, she gets a really good crop every year.I often see her tending them, when I drive by.  It appears about 25% of the gardens are paved.   A lot of the elderly widowed ladies do not drive.

  • LoganLogan Posts: 2,532

    Round here it's not old folk who has it done, it's the young who does it. They buy the house with a big garden and they can't be bothered to look after it.We bought ours because I wanted a big garden.image

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719

    Same here, we ve got an eighth of an acre, but why do people buy places with big gardens when the obviously hate gardening!!! Some "new" elderly neighbours, had a new lawn laid in the front,  in the height of last summer, it all died they had it re-laid, NOW, they have to have a gardening company come and cut it.  They might just as well have left the "old" lawn there!

  • wakeshinewakeshine Posts: 975

    I remember reading an article in the Evening Standard recently about London getting greyer and landlords getting rid of more and more lawns for concrete or fake lawn because the busy professionals renting can't take care of them. And the knock on effect on wildlife.

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