London - You do your best to keep your garden at its blooming best, but there’s always one pest you can’t control – your neighbour.
More than half of us get upset if the plot next door is overgrown, a survey has found. Other annoyances for those who like to keep up appearances include litter, dead grass and children’s toys strewn all over the lawn, according to the research.
Broken garden furniture and half-finished decking or paving are also a source of complaints, as is having astroturf rather than a real lawn – and even mock Grecian statues.
The survey was conducted for Amateur Gardening magazine, and a spokesman said: “Over half the population frown on neighbours with an overgrown garden.”
The nationwide survey found that living next door to families proud of maintaining a manicured lawn is the dream of many.
A total of 2,390 homeowners were questioned by online trade recommendation service RatedPeople.com and researchers found that 55 percent judged their neighbours by the state of their garden.
The report also found that many homeowners were frustrated that the pace of life left too little time to garden.
A third said they did not have enough time to look after it, while a quarter said there weren’t enough hours to relax on their plots. - Daily Mail