Did the Olympics encourage garden crime?

Before the London 2012 Olympics began garden crime was said to be rising all over Britain, with a 10% rise on the previous year.  Reports on garden, bike and shed theft, were a daily occurrence and it was thought that crime would possibly increase over the Olympic period, as these thefts are easy targets. With the majority of the country paying more attention to the TV, less time outside in their gardens and more time away from home celebrating Team GBs Olympic success, gardens could have been a thief’s playground.

Did the Olympics increase crime rates

However recent reports have shown that crime rates were down during the Olympic period. This trend has been reported in Buckinghamshire, Thames valley, Bracknell, Dorset and London.

With the Police out in force in London for the games, crime rates were bound to fall. London’s Mayor Boris Johnson confirmed this, by stating that crime in London had fallen by 5% compared to the same period in the previous year.

The Thames Valley police reported that there has been less crime and fewer 999 calls had been made than usual. Elsewhere in Dorset, it was found that during the Olympic period “crime levels have been lower than for the same period last year”.

The Bracknell police chief said that the London Olympic Games had a ‘calming effect’ on crime in the area. Low levels of crime were recorded across Bracknell. However there has been a 17% rise in burglaries across the area, during the Olympic period, suggesting that criminals have been taking advantage of the public’s preoccupation with the Olympics.

Police report reduced crime

The above are all areas where the Olympics were focused. With the increase in police presence, maybe this isn’t such a surprise. How were areas outside of the Olympics reach affected?

Coventry saw a reduction in crime during the Olympic period. There have been over 1000 fewer victims of crime compared the same period in the previous year, with big reductions in burglary, robbery and vehicle crime.  Read more>

North Yorkshire also saw a 13% reduction in overall crime during the same period, with 1,311 fewer victims.

These statics show that the Olympics didn’t create the crime spree that we were all expecting and the Olympics did a wonderful job at bringing the nation together. Now let’s see if this can last!

How to repair your garden after bad weather

There has been a lot of bad weather and rain this summer and for many it has ruined what was going to be a beautiful garden. All is not lost though, the sun has been out and the stormy rain of July is firmly behind us. If you’ve not managed to get out there and sort it yet, here are a few tips that might come in handy.

Weeds

Weeds will have been thriving in the wet weather, make sure you pull them up from the root as soon as you can. Weeds come up much easier when the ground is wet.

Soil

Heavy rain can leach the nutrients from soil. To replenish this restore with a slow- release fertilizer.  The primary nutrient that will have been lost is nitrogen, if this is lost you will be able to tell from the lack of growth and poor colour older leaves.

Replenish your garden

Lawn

If your lawn is water logged it is important to keep off it until it has fully dried out, then you can begin to make repairs. It’s always a good idea to give your lawn some attention in preparation for the winter and revitalise it after the summer.

As autumn approaches be sure to rake away leaves, as they can smother the lawn and damage the grass. When the frost hits, be sure not to walk on your lawn if it is covered with snow as this will damage it.

For a full guideline on autumn lawn care click here>

Make your garden bloom this autumn

Plants

Make your garden shine and look its best over what is left of the summer and up until the frost hits.

There are still plenty of bedding plants about that love autumn weather conditions and a large number of these will bloom right up until the first frost. Flowers will keep your garden bright and beautiful, you might even begin to think its still summer!

Some flowers that bloom in autumn are:

Baby’s breath

Carnations

Roses

Chrysanthemums

See a full list here>