BBC: "The decline of the British front garden"

Link to web site

"The Royal Horticultural Society says British front gardens are disappearing. Why are people paving over their lawns?

"When people imagine a classic British front garden, they may first think of a small slice of well-tended grass. Perhaps with a box hedge.

"But over the past 10 years the number of front gardens with gravel or paving instead of grass has tripled, now making up a quarter of all houses, a survey for the RHS shows.

"There's an environmental cost. Paving increases the risk of flash flooding - instead of grass and soil soaking up moisture, it runs straight off paving and overwhelms drainage systems."