A MANICURED lawn, clipped hedges and rose bushes were once the hallmark of the British front garden. Today residential streets are more likely to resemble car parks because gardens are being paved over to make room for vehicles.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is so concerned by the loss of greenery that it has begun a campaign to save the British front garden.

The RHS, which is the country’s leading garden charity, is pleading with householders to keep their gardens green, and is urging the Government to change the law to insist on planning permission before a garden can be turned into a drive.

Switching from turf to concrete can have a serious impact on the environment, with a rise in the risk of flooding, subsidence and even rising local temperatures, it says, adding that property values may fall if the road loses its leafiness and fragrance from gardens.

Rebecca Matthews-Joyce, the RHS’s principal adviser on the environment, said: “Paving your front garden affects more than the environment on your doorstep. Unlike soil, concrete cannot absorb rainwater and the excess run-off caused by paving can increase by as much as 50 per cent.” The extra water usually flows into street drains but these are often unable to cope with the excess, especially in a storm — so the water backs up driveways and floods houses.

“While paving over one garden might seem of little consequence, when neighbours on both sides do the same, the loss of vegetation can have a negative impact on local temperatures and affect house prices,” she said.

“A lack of vegetation means that hard surfaces absorb heat in the day and release it at night, making it hot and difficult to sleep.”

A study by Halifax found that areas with attractive gardens were worth 23 per cent more than the regional average. A loss of grass verges and trees also means that dust from the road cannot be absorbed and there is nowhere for birds to nest or insects to feed.

The RHS has published guidance on how to achieve the greenest off-street parking spaces. It also hopes to inspire homeowners to create prettier storage areas for dustbins and recycling boxes to clear the clutter from our streets.

The RHS’s advice is available in a leaflet called Front Gardens, compiled by Leigh Hunt, a horticulture adviser at RHS Wisley, who was influenced by his experiences in West London. “I remember witnessing vast swaths of gardens being turned into hard surfacing. The roads became inhospitable and grey,” he said.

He has devised ways of mixing paving with plants to create attractive gardens. The first rule for householders, however, is to take care when choosing a car, so it does not stick out on to the pavement or is too garish.

For a terraced house with a small garden, he suggests that only two paved tracks are needed to take the car wheels; the rest of the area can be covered with plastic membrane to suppress weeds, then topped with gravel. Plants can be grown through the plastic and spill over the gravel.

Shrubs should be planted in dead spaces and blank walls dressed with climbers.

Mr Hunt says that plants can grow underneath a car as long as the vehicle is moved most days. He suggests hardy varieties such as thyme, bugle and creeping Jenny.

PAVED OVER

Number of front gardens that are mainly paved:

North East 47 per cent

London 14 per cent

Source: RHS and Horticultural Trades Association

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