Is it true there has been a huge increase in garden crime

A.� Yes, although it is almost impossible to quantify it exactly. A recent prediction by a major insurance company suggested that one in three gardens in the UK will suffer some form of theft this year, up from one in five the previous year.

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Another survey claims that thefts from gardens are costing us as much as �2 million every week. It found that thieves took �105 million pounds worth of garden furniture, equipment and tools pots, statutory and even plants last year. Officially the figure is more like �20 million, but this is down to the fact that many thefts are in themselves small and don't get reported and often when they are they're recorded as household thefts by the police.

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A.� The insurance industry points at the explosion in interest in gardening, particularly on the back of all those make-over programmes. Apparently our spending on the garden has rocketed to an amazing �3 billion a year.

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Serious gardeners and those with big gardens are liable to have a lot more of value than a few bedding plants. For instance, tractor mowers, chainsaws and other state of the art tools can cost hundreds if not thousands of pounds. A well-made set of wooden garden chairs and table can set you back over �500, while even a mature bamboo or decorative maple in a large terracotta pot probably represents in the region of �150-worth of expenditure.

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With household security improving all the time it is little wonder that thieves are turning their attention to gardens which are not only further away from the house but also generally far less secure.

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A.� To help put thieves off in the first place it is important to have a secure barrier between your garden and the outside. You could put up fencing or walls, but a more attractive alternative is thick and thorny hedging which is too thick or too painful to be breached. Good plants for this include berberis, pyracantha, hawthorn and wild rose (Rosa rugosa).

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A.� Until recently most insurance policies will cover things like garden furniture, especially if fixed to the ground or a building, and the contents of outhouses. However, very few offer cover for plants, often worth hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

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It is worth checking the terms of your household insurance to see how well the contents of your garden are covered. It may be just a case of paying a little extra on your annual premium to cover all your outside valuables, or if you think you might need a specialist policy call the Association of British Insurers (020 7600 3333) for advice.

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