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Home > Car Insurance News > UK Garden Lovers Spent Over £3.7bn on Their Backyards in the Last Year
UK Garden Lovers Spent Over £3.7bn on Their Backyards in the Last Year
80% of green-fingered homeowners spent money on their gardens over the last 12 months with one in ten investing over £600 on accessories, flowers and shrubs, according to research from ". This boom in garden spending seems to be tempting opportunistic thieves so esure.com is urging homeowners to make garden security a priority and ensure they lock up 'stealable' items indoors.
With £3.7bn* having left Brits' wallets over the last year to feed their garden passions, a fifth admitted they spent more over the last 12 months than the previous 12 months on garden goodies. A third of garden lovers (32%) bought new garden furniture and a third (31%) decorated their backyards with ornamental pots in the last 12 months. One in five (18%) illuminated their gardens with new lighting whilst 8% jumped onto the water feature bandwagon.
We certainly aren't frivolous when it comes to choosing our garden adornments and think carefully before we buy. We love all things garden and contrary to popular belief don't regret any of our novelty purchases - not even garden gnomes or trellis. Just one percent of people with gardens regretted buying a wind chime, decorative flowerbed edging, and outdoor candles. So there are officially no white elephants in our backyards.
Nikki Sellers, Head of Home Insurance at esure.com, said: "With light evenings and pleasant summertime temperatures, many of us will be spending more time in the garden than inside our homes. So it's not surprising that as a nation we spent over £3.7bn this year on our backyards. But this investment needs protecting. Garden equipment, toys and bikes left out overnight are easy targets for opportunistic thieves. We should all get in the habit of locking up items in the house and making our gardens as secure as possible."
To keep prized possessions away from opportunistic thieves, esure.com recommends that homeowners take these simple steps to secure their gardens this summer:
Lock up your valuables
Over a third of homeowners (37%) have added an outbuilding - such as a shed or garage - to their property in the last five years and in the last 12 months alone over 3.62 million new outbuildings, including 2.9 million sheds, have sprung up across the UK. Therefore, there is little excuse for people not to lock away garden valuables overnight - out of sight from burglars looking for easy pickings. High value items should be stowed away indoors.
Illuminate and deter
Install security lights with movement sensors to startle any unwelcome garden visitors.
Invest in crunchy gravel
Use gravel on driveways or on flowerbeds to make a burglar's entrance as noisy as possible.
Buy the Mike Tyson of all plants - the holly bush
Defensive planting - using prickly plants such as the holly bush or pyracantha - may put off potential thieves who want an easy and pain-free get away.
Check your home insurance cover
Check your policy documents and ensure that you're suitably covered for garden theft. " has one of the highest levels of garden cover (up to £1000) including plants and garden equipment. It offers up to £2000 of cover for contents of outbuildings - including garden sheds.
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