By 
I often wonder why as a society we continue to let valuable front gardens be largely concreted over. Yes of cause people need somewhere to park, but by dropping curves we often rob other road uses of somewhere to park. Don’t they pay their road taxes too?
Yes people own these front gardens often, but does that give them the right to tarnish the local environment?
They are still becoming a dying asset, but have multifacets of benefits
There is surely another way?
I believe there is and am working with various horticulture colleagues to encourage people in our area to think again.
Isn’t it more pleasant for people to have front gardens that are both functional and aesthetic even with the smallest of gardens often the vertical elements can beautify what would otherwise be a stark space devoid of life
I am pleased to see the Royal Horticulture Society bringing this issue more to light in the media, but wonder how it’s really impacting in reality; it certainly does not seem to in Barnet or Ramsgate. It’s more than just a few containers that are needed, plants grown in situ are far more effective and often less demanding long term. The public are often hesitant at allowing plants to grow on their houses yet there are many benefits to this, depending on the climbers used.
The public see more front gardens than anything else, or are they encouraged by them or depressed by them. It’s probably a combination of both. Let’s make them enthused by them and the horticulture industry should be encouraging the potential more, rather than allowing the landscapers (concrete merchants) to dictate the future of front gardens lets use more plants.
It’s interesting how we supposedly are supposed to have truly porous drives yet a vast percentage is not truly porous. What are local authorities and planning departments doing to address this? Very little it seems, particularly in this time of austerity.
This issue does impact on mental health; many towns and cities are being hardened and made more stark often creating atmospheres that feel less breathable spaces with the lack of plant life. This is further exaggerated by the increasing loss of trees along residential roads. In some countries there is a duty of public, living close by to newly planted trees planted by local authorities to care for these trees. Why not in the UK? Similarly people keeping the pavement and curves outside their property clean like happens in Germany.
I would be interested to hear other member’s comments on this and suggestions as to how we could change this declining path in front gardens.
Kevin Pressland 