Sir, – On arriving in Dublin from “the country”, many years ago, I was struck, among other things, by the range, variety and beauty of the front gardens that bedecked many areas of the city.
These provided beautiful spectacles of colour, especially in spring and autumn as splendid arrays of colour brightened up dark days!
Alas, no more! Like forests laid low by the mighty chainsaw, city gardens are disappearing at a rate of knots, as tarmac, concrete and cobble lock gradually replace every vestige of grass or greenery in the city.
Of course, not only is this a mistake from the point of view of aesthetics, it also has serious environmental consequences as increasingly regular flooding, exacerbated by lack of soil for soakage, clogs up our gutters and creates havoc for citizens.
When will somebody shout stop? Surely there is a way of incentivising people to keep their gardens for their own benefit and that of the wider community?
And many new houses include no green area whatsoever – surely someone in charge of planning can do something about this?
Wouldn’t it be a positive step if the new year brought about a new awareness of the beauty and importance of something as common or garden as the front garden? – Yours, etc,
SEOSAMH Ó MUIRÍ,
Dublin 9.