A Guide to Securing the Valuables in Your Front Garden

Many people plough a great deal of time, passion and money into making their gardens look amazing. For some, a beautiful front garden is a statement of their pride in their neighbourhood. The trouble is that a lot of what is recorded as stolen property comes from the front garden, a lot of it being very portable.

If you’d like to make sure the garden you have invested so much in stays the way you intended it to, you’ll need to find ways of making what’s in it less portable. Precisely what we are looking at in this post.

Securing statues

Even the heaviest and largest statues and sculptures are known to be targeted by thieves. Some thieves even steal to order.

Firstly, if you have just purchased a pricey statue or sculpture, don’t advertise the fact by posting your acquisition on social media. Be aware that thieves scour these sites to see what they can help themselves to locally.

Secondly, position the item in good view of your window so that any attempts to remove it will be seen. Security lighting that reacts to movement outside is beneficial only if you can see what is going on outside. Opt for it only if this is the case.

If you can, incorporate the statue into a pond, or surround it with soft soil so that it is more difficult to access. If this is not your preference, consider having it permanently concreted into the ground. Smaller statues can be fixed in place with plant anchors (see information under plants below).

Tag or mark items to make them traceable should they be taken then later recovered. Keep receipts and take detailed photographs that show any unique features.

If your statues are particularly valuable, it is wise to invest in CCTV with motion detection and a security alarm.

Safeguarding hanging baskets

Hanging baskets are one of the most commonly stolen items from a front garden. To make them more of a challenge to remove, secure yours to their brackets with steel wire.

If you live in a particularly high crime area, consider purchasing specialist security baskets fitted with a steel rod that fits over the wall bracket and is secured in place with a padlock. Ask at your local garden centre or search online.

Taking care of trees and plants

Freshly planted trees, shrubs and plants are regularly taken from front gardens. Thieves are on the lookout for all the signs. Newly turned over soil; labels left in place. Be sure to remove all the evidence of your recent expenditure. Sweep the paths down and cover your planting area with pebbles, slate or bark and make sure all labels are removed.

Plant anchors are a good idea in areas where plant theft is a particular problem. These are made up of a steel cable which loops around the plant’s base and attaches to an anchoring device that is driven deep into the ground. If a thief tries to pull the plant out, the hinged anchor hooks into the soil and won’t budge. Check your garden centre or gardening supplies websites for these types of products.

It is also possible to microchip a plant. This is especially important for valuable and rare species. The chips themselves are tiny and don’t need any sort of power supply. They are read by scanners held by the police, making them traceable in the event of recovery.

Protecting Ponds

If your front garden consists of an ornamental pond, and that pond is home to valuable fish, then you will need to take serious steps to protect it.

A grille that locks into place and covers the pond is an effective crime prevention method. It’s also a good safety feature where you have children around. You may also wish to consider microchipping your fish if they are of particular value, and make a point of letting potential thieves know that you have done so with signage. Be sure to photograph your stock too.

Again, CCTV can be beneficial, both from a deterrent point of view, and as a way of recording evidence of any thefts. Security lighting is another way of protecting your pond, providing it can be seen from inside the house. If it can’t, then you are simply going to light the way for thieves.

Keeping your garden safe and secure, with help from dedicated security experts

Need advice on keeping your garden safe and all the valuable things in it secure? Talk to Barry Bros Security. We’ve been helping homeowners with everything security related for more than six decades. We have a showroom in London which you are welcome to visit for tailored advice, or you can call us for the same personal service. We look forward to helping you safeguard your precious outdoor space.