Gravel gardens are history
The state of Baden-Württemberg was the first to enact a law that prohibits landowners from deciding for themselves how to design their gardens. This is an important step in the implementation of the regulation that has existed since 1950, that building or planting must basically be done in the way that the current and prevailing government would like it to be done for private property.
It is only a question of time before the other federal and then the EU countries follow suit. It would be unthinkable that such an important step for environmental protection is put on the back burner. For the representative of beekeepers and horticulturalists, this step does not go far enough for the progression of species extinction. After all, the area of privately owned front gardens amounts to almost 0.00538 % of the designated building plot area, whereas industrial or unused and concrete-filled areas occupy only 22.78 %, to which the new law does not apply. Not counting car parks and manoeuvring areas for environmentally friendly trucks.
This is because industrial companies are, of course, not obliged to maintain designated green spaces (cf. Grünheide becomes a grey factory), as they consequently do not pay taxes in the country where their business premises are located.
Is this even a new law?
What is sold as news today is actually old hat. The state building code stipulates that undeveloped areas must be laid out as green spaces or otherwise landscaped. The gravel-producing industry, which has been set back by the law, has therefore switched without further ado to offering its gravel only in green colour from now on. An important aspect here is that the paint used must be of natural origin, i.e. contain natural basic elements such as lead or naturally occurring, fibrous crystallised silicate minerals (known as asbestos), so that no one can claim that the designation 'otherwise to be greened' has been misinterpreted.
Within two weeks, existing gravel gardens that do not have a plant the size of a square metre must be converted accordingly. It remains to be seen whether resourceful house builders will come up with the idea of looking at commercial enterprises instead and paving over their expensively created front garden with concrete slabs so that the area is considered built on and no longer falls under the law. If the 'garden', which can then no longer be described as such, does not protrude above ground level, it will not need planning permission despite being 'built on' as, for example, a scooter parking area or ant migration test track, and everyone will be happy.
Greening or planting?
Laws and regulations in Germany are a funny thing. For years, authorities haggle over every word, and then a federal state that is one of the founding members of the republic does not manage in 70 years to find a correct formulation so that the arrogant house owners can even understand why the development plan forbade building the house right up to the street. From the beginning, the issue was that house builders should not be allowed to spare themselves the upkeep of their little piece of land in front of the door in order to protect the environment. The state governments are really doing everything they can to make our cities green and liveable for insects. If the whole thing had happened in NRW, there would already be a catalogue of penalties for how much a square metre of potential private green space without an insect nest should cost.
Act quickly so that the UK can still enjoy it
No other topic heats up the tempers in the Brexit negotiations more (yes, who would have thought it, even if the Brexit has been decided, all regulations of trade, construction and personal relations must now be clarified and put into contracts by the end of the year). Because, of course, what was so wisely approved in Baden-Württemberg should also apply to the stubborn islanders as the last decision to be taken before they are no longer subject to the continent's observation. The British in particular are known for treating green spaces more carelessly than anywhere else in the world.