Latest news with #conservatory
The Guardian
04-07-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Country diary: An extension to the house? Or the garden?
The estate agent called it a conservatory, but that suggests a level of polished Edwardian elegance that isn't borne out in reality. Rather, the structure is an extension to the extension, in the manner of many rural homes. It is a flexible space – and the various domestic functions of workshop, greenhouse and studio ebb and flow as the seasons rotate and the distinctions of indoors and outdoors fluctuate. In winter, it acts as a sanctuary for those outdoor potted plants that can't tolerate frost, and also as a refuge for the occasional wood mouse that sneaks in under the back door. I allow the mice a certain licence, but sanctions result if they decide to invade the kitchen. Summer, and an impulse purchase at a National Garden Scheme event, has brought a series of large pots to one of the broad, sunlit windowsills. This row of tomato plants, which began as foot-high newcomers, has grown into a green wall of sturdy stems and interwoven limbs. Some of the early-setting fruit have already reached a good size and are clearly an unusual cultivar – although I seem to have misplaced the label during repotting. With some of the tomato plants still in flower, I opened the back door early this morning to attract pollinating insects. Just now, I heard a series of unusual noises, which – as those who live in older houses will attest – often presages an expensive intervention. The intermittent knocking was loud and insistent, and seemed to be coming from behind the tomatoes. Looking into the conservatory, I see the red cap of a juvenile great spotted woodpecker – just visible between the leaves. It moves in an unpractised, lurching flight and fetches up on a window handle, proceeding to attack the wooden frame in an attempt to escape. I walk slowly towards it in the hope of opening the window. Spooked, it flies upwards and around me with a whirr of wings, escaping cleanly through the open door. The adult birds are regular, if nervous, visitors to our feeders and it is reassuring to know that they have raised at least one offspring this season – but perhaps the notion of a shared space has gone too far. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
I had to demolish my entire conservatory because of my neighbour's bamboo... we couldn't believe our eyes when we first discovered it
Peter Barnes and his wife had been happily living in their detached property in Brighton for a year when they started to notice green leaves growing inside their conservatory. They assumed it was grass from their garden but as the plant started to emerge from the walls and floor the couple realised they had a bigger problem on their hands. Their neighbours had planted bamboo and the trendy weed had blasted its roots underground, growing between the two properties. After lifting sections of the conservatory floor and removing plaster from the walls they discovered the bamboo had been lurking under its concrete base, inside the cavity walls and extending into the brickwork of the house. 'There was a large stand of bamboo growing next door when we bought the property, but we didn't think anything of it and nothing came up on the survey,' Mr Barnes explained. 'When we first saw the green leaves emerging inside our conservatory we thought it was some kind of grass, but then pretty quickly we realised it was bamboo.' Bamboo grows rapidly and can be stronger than steel, giving it the ability to punch through walls and turn over entire patios, making it the fastest-growing plant on earth. Mr Barnes added: 'We hoped that if we dug up the rhizome underneath the path between our properties that would solve the problem, but it quickly became apparent that it was much more serious. 'When the conservatory floor was taken up and we saw the mass of bamboo underneath, we couldn't believe it.' Bamboo spreads through underground stems called rhizomes, and Mr Barnes discovered an intricate network of them. The rhizomes are 'aggressive' and can form a colony, creating new shoots, sometimes meters away from the original plant. Bamboo is removed by excavating the root ball from the ground and getting rid of every plant stem, including those that have been severed to prevent new shoots from emerging. The only way to deal with their invasion was to demolish the entire conservatory – a cost which is being borne by the neighbour's building insurer under a liability damage claim. But on average the price of removal is hefty - costing between three and six thousand pounds per residential property. The demand for bamboo removal has skyrocked in the past through years, explained Emily Grant, director of Environet. 'We're receiving significantly more calls about bamboo infestations than Japanese knotweed these days, and in most cases the damage caused to property is far greater,' she explained. Despite this increasing demand homeowners and gardeners continue to underestimate the risk posed by bamboo. In fact, 54 per cent of people are unaware that it can cause problems such as property damage or a legal dispute, a YouGov survey found. There was a craze for bamboo in the late nineties and early 2000s, and only now are we seeing the repercussions, explained Ms Grant. 'There was a particular craze for bamboo around 15 - 20 years ago and where it's been planted into the ground rather than in a pot, those plants are now fully mature and causing havoc.' Bamboo is still a popular plant because of it is considered a great screen in gardens. Unfortunately, it is sold in garden centres and plant nurseries with minimal warnings or advice. Ms Grant said: 'If you do decide to plant bamboo in your garden, it's your responsibility to make sure it doesn't spread into adjoining properties. Choose a clumping variety and plant it in a pot lined with a bamboo-proof root barrier. 'If bamboo is present on a property you want to buy, or on the boundary, it's a good idea to get a bamboo survey so you understand any risk you're taking on and ensure there's no chance of a legal claim against you as soon as you move in.'
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Couple have their home ruined and are left with £60k repair bill after bamboo from next door grows through their floor
A couple have been forced to demolish their conservatory after bamboo began to emerge from the walls and floor. The husband and his wife, who have chosen to stay anonymous, had been living in Brighton for a year when they noticed leaves sprouting from the floor of the conservatory. They were unsure what it was at first, but quickly realised it was next door's bamboo after digging up the path between the properties. While bamboo isn't officially classified as an invasive species in the UK it spreads faster and further than the well-known Japanese knotweed. The plant is stronger than steel and can reach up to 28 thousand pounds per square inch of tensile strength. On lifting sections of the floor and removing sections of plaster from the walls, they quickly found an extensive network of mature bamboo rhizome. Bamboo spreads through underground stems called rhizomes which can form a colony, creating new shoots, sometimes metres away from the original plant. In this case it had sprouted beneath the concrete base of the conservatory, growing inside the cavity walls and extending into the bricks. They were unsure what it was at first, but quickly realised it was next door's bamboo after digging up the path between the properties The conservatory is now being demolished – a cost which is being borne by the neighbour's building insurer under a liability damage claim. The husband said: 'There was a large stand of bamboo growing next door when we bought the property, but we didn't think anything of it and nothing came up on the survey. 'When we first saw the green leaves emerging inside our conservatory we thought it was some kind of grass, but then pretty quickly we realised it was bamboo. 'We hoped that if we dug up the rhizome underneath the path between our properties that would solve the problem, but it quickly became apparent that it was much more serious. 'When the conservatory floor was taken up and we saw the mass of bamboo underneath, we couldn't believe it.' Speaking to the Telegraph, he said: 'We've had to have the conservatory demolished, it will cost us around £60k to replace it.' Running bamboo varieties have evolved to spread rapidly, colonising vast areas of ground with roots often travelling over 10 metres. Their spear-like shoots are strong enough to pierce tarmac, paths, cavity walls, and exploit cracks in concrete or gaps in brickwork. Some varieties of bamboo actually have a higher tensile strength than steel - 28,000 PSI compared to steel's 23,000. Yet homeowners and gardeners continue to underestimate the risk posed by bamboo, with a YouGov survey of over 2,000 people conducted in March 2025 showing that 54 per cent of people are unaware that it can cause problems such as property damage or legal disputes. Emily Grant, director of Environet, an invasive plant removal firm said: 'We've seen it growing out of living room skirting boards, kitchen floors and even sprouting out from behind an oven. 'In most cases the only way to deal with it once it's found its way into a building is to dig up the floor and remove every rhizome. 'In this case, the conservatory has had to be completely demolished, through no fault of the homeowner's. 'If you do decide to plant bamboo in your garden, it's your responsibility to make sure it doesn't spread into adjoining properties. 'Choose a clumping variety and plant it in a pot lined with a bamboo-proof root barrier. If bamboo is present on a property you want to buy, or on the boundary, it's a good idea to get a bamboo survey so you understand any risk you're taking on and ensure there's no chance of a legal claim against you as soon as you move in.'
