It's officially spring! Time to come out of hibernation and brave the outside world again. So when the sun sports its headgear, why not take to the garden with Confused.com's top tips for the green-fingered!
Our top money-saving garden tip:
Do you have adequate contents insurance for your outbuildings? It's a pretty good idea to. Although this may not seem like an instant money-saving tip, it could well prove worthwhile in the long-term. We are keeping increasingly expensive items in our sheds and garages - mountain bikes, surfboards and other sports-related equipment, pimped-up lawnmowers and so on. As such, the cost of replacing such items can be unexpectedly expensive.
In Britain last year, those who claimed for items stolen from their outbuildings on their contents insurance made an average claim of £587.94*. The largest claim for a theft from an outbuilding was £30,005, made in the east of England.
So it's sensible to keep outbuildings locked and secure when out of view. Plus, it's probably an idea to tally up the cost of items kept in sheds and garages, and see that they're included in your home insurance contents cover.
Listing particularly expensive items individually on a policy is a good move. Items which cost around £1,000 and over are best listed because they may not be covered by standard contents policies. Plus, in order to avoid dispute should it come to a claim, those who take out contents insurance could take digital photos of any items that they wish to cover on their policy.
Confused.com staff gardening tips
We asked the Confused.com team for their top gardening tips, and here were some of the gems they imparted. Be warned that some are more advisable than others, and Confused.com do not necessarily endorse each one:
- "If you need to keep birds away from your plants/seeds, have you thought of putting some rubber snakes in the flower beds? They can be mistaken for predators, and (arguably) add character to your garden!"
- "Old tea-bags are good for the garden. It's those delicious tea nutrients!"
- "If you have a wasp or bug problem in your garden, a good trick is cut a pop bottle in half, and put the top into the bottom half so that it makes a funnel into itself. You can then fill it with sweet liquid and flying pests will fly in but then find it difficult to get out."
- "Everyone knows that putting manure on your garden earth is good; but male urine is also very good for it. Ladies stay away though - this is too acidic. Apparently."
- "Concrete. The solution to all my gardening problems." No green points for that one.
- "Maybe you don't have a garden. If not, don't be disheartened! You can grow herbs and some food plants on a windowsill. Fancy spicing up your cooking? Grow some chilli peppers and coriander - no extra land required!"
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