Garden goldmine
As more and more Brits start to enjoy the long summer evenings and relax in their gardens over the upcoming bank holidays, research by over 50s insurance provider RIAS reveals that gardens across Great Britain are worth £9.3 billion, with green-fingered gardeners investing the huge sum in kit to look after and upgrade their gardens.
The RIAS ‘Cash in the Garden' report reveals that Great British gardens could have a total value of up to £5,000 per household, covering the garden shed, its contents and other items including solar powered lighting and greenhouses.
With a particular passion for gardening the over 50's, who between them clock up 8 million of the UK's gardens worth £5.5 billion alone. In addition, today's over 50s are spending almost £200 each year on plants, shrubs and lawn maintenance to ensure sure their gardens are in full bloom come summer - which collectively amounts to an annual £1.54bn.
A man's shed is his castle
The age-old garden shed - the most popular item across Great Britain - is found in over half of all gardens nationwide (54%), and in almost two thirds (60%) of over 50s' gardens, equivalent to 4.8million green spaces. The shed is followed by solar-powered lights, which feature in a third of over 50s' gardens (33%), and greenhouses found in a quarter (25%).
Once the dumping ground for the children's old toys, dirty football boots and outgrown bikes, garden sheds are now home to garden items and equipment at a cost of around £1,386, meaning that nationwide garden sheds are collectively worth £7bn, and those belonging to the over 50s alone can be valued at £4.4bn.
Janet Connor, Managing Director at RIAS, comments: "As the over 50s get their homes back to themselves once again, or move towards part time working or retirement, their gardens really are becoming their sanctuaries, with lots of time and money being ploughed into the maintenance and upkeep of their gardens. And it's this value of just over £5,000 per household that needs to be protected, with garden sheds becoming a treasure chest of gardening gadgets."
Garden goldmine
Almost half (47%) of over 50s risk being uninsured up to the value of £2.6 billion because they may not have any insurance cover in place to protect their garden items. Just 4% of over 50s - equivalent to 320,000 gardens - have taken out additional cover to ensure their gardens' contents are covered.
How does your garden grow?
With eight out of ten (88%) over 50s getting their hands dirty and not enlisting the professional help of a gardener, having the right kit is vital. Popular domestic gardening tools that over 50s use, such as spades, forks and rakes feature in over three quarters (78%) of all garden sheds, along with smaller gardening tools (77%) and lawnmowers (64%)-With the typical lawnmower costing just under £150, that's a huge £768 million towards the overall value of over 50s' garden sheds across the country.
The over 50's clearly take relaxation seriously, with some 96,000 hot tubs featuring in their gardens up and down the country!
The RIAS ‘Cash in the Garden' report also found that over half (57%) of the over 50s in Great Britain use their gardens to grow their own fruit and vegetables, so it's no surprise that they spend more on the upkeep of their garden than any other age group on new foliage, plants and shrubs to refresh and update their garden
Splashing the cash in the South West
Over 50s in the South West and Wales are most likely to splash the cash on their gardens each year than anywhere else in the country, shelling out an average of £284 per garden - that's over 40% more than their counterparts in the North East.
Savvy Scots
The Scots are the most security conscious, with over half (56%) of all gardens covered by general household insurance or by an additional cover provided by their insurance provider.
Janet Connor continues: "With up to £2.6 billion worth of uninsured items in over 50s' gardens it's incredibly important for consumers to check whether their current home insurance policy covers against loss or damage to garden items. For just £32 per year, RIAS customers can protect their garden items against loss or damage with our extra cover option Garden Secure - providing peace of mind for today's green-fingered generation. And with customers receiving £412 on average after claiming on their Garden Secure policy last year, the cover certainly protects and safeguards the garden items that are important to them."