Garden plant theft, keep your garden safe!

New statistics have been released from More Than Home Insurance showing that overall more UK residents are becoming victims of plant theft from their gardens.

The research has shown that the majority of these thefts occur in the front garden, with plant pots and hanging baskets being swiped from outside front doors.

Results found that the top 10 most stolen garden plants were:

1.  Hanging baskets
2.  Bay trees
3.  Rose Standards
4. Olive trees
5. Rare lilies
6. Bonsais
7. Miniature palm trees
8. Magnolia trees
9. Daphne Shrubs
10. Conifers

You may think that there is no way of protecting the plants in your garden, but there are a few things that can be done to help prevent the theft of your plants.

What you can do:

Mark it - Mark your plant pots, containers, vases etc with your postcode, using an indelible marker pen.

Secure it - Hanging baskets are an easy target for thieves, so make sure these are secure. Make them difficult to undo by using wire or a small chain and lock.

Go large - the bigger and heavier your plants are, the harder it will be for thieves to steal them. Choose heavy bulky pots that are difficult to move.

Get thorny - add some thorny plants to your garden around access points and fences, to deter thieves.