My terraced yarden was quieter!

[Hogwartsian]

I have just moved from a Victorian terrace in the city to a suburb/slightly rural neighbourhood. On a hot day in the terraced house, I would sit in my little yarden and just hear almost silence. It was blissful!

Sitting in the garden of my new house, all I can hear is repeated power washing, lawn mowing, and various other power tools.

I feel duped! Anyone else experienced similar? I am missing my lovely quiet yarden so much!

Doesn’t make sense. Did no one mow the lawns in their terraced houses? Maybe people look after their properties much better in the area you’ve moved to.

They didn't have lawns, only yards! I imagine there wasn't the space for any DIY projects and also yes I don't think a lot of people particularly took care of their houses.

Ha, yes I said the same when we moved from London to somewhere much quieter!

It’s nice to have a bigger garden, but my little patio yard was so peaceful!

Sympathies OP but not surprised. I used to live in a suburb right on the edge of the green belt. I nicknamed it ‘Black & Decker and barbecue’. I think it used to be an advertising category for a certain demographic. Big gardens, so loads of noise from power tools and lawn mowers. I now live in an inner-city suburb. A lot of the time in my garden, it’s silent, just birdsong. The noise when the mowers start up is bad as we’re all close together, but people’s lawns are small so doesn’t go on for long.

It’s probably at maximum intensity at the moment at yours OP, as it’s a holiday, lovely weather, the grass needs cutting, and people are giving their patios a good clean. It won’t be this bad all the time.

I'd never heard the word 'yarden' before this thread and now I feel I've heard it too much!

I've just Googled and apparently it's a yard with potted plants etc?

So basically still a backyard?

Yeah, next "What phrase do you hate," thread by MN, and this is definitely going to be my submission.

If I'm not around, can you submit it twice please?

Once for me 😁

And me

Mmmm I don't know - wrt to yarden - I think it gives us quite a good description. Hard ground but with lots of plants is a completely different environment to just a yard that no one has done anything with.

I know what you mean @Hogwartsian. I often wish we had laws around only being able to use lawn mowers, power tools etc at certain times of day. It's the same round here. As soon as one finishes another one starts up.

As PP said, it's a really sunny weekend and a bank holiday too. After a flurry of activity in the next couple of weeks all the jet washing/garden spruce up people will be bored of that, thinking of their holiday. It's a time of year thing.

Obviously they have yards not lawns 🙄 comprehension is hard for some people.

I love the term!

We used to live in a lovely country lane in a small village. Our NDN had a tiny garden, maybe 30ft x 30ft. They spent HOURS mowing their lawn every weekend.

You're going to hate me....

My yard is small and shady. No one has grass as we're all NE facing and it dies. Yards are too tiny for a decent paddling pool/water fight so no kids screaching.

We've all been jetwashing over the past few weekends so now we're all just sitting in the yards. One neighbour has a bbq going but otherwise it's nice and quiet! My dcs are just sitting out doing a craft set (I love having a NE yard when it is this hot!)

I'd never heard the word before but I think it's a great word. Conjours up a picture of a traditional back yard which somebody has put a bit of effort into to grow plants or whatever to make it look good.

I hear you though OP about how noisy gardens can be. Not only gardening noises - lawn mowers, hedge trimmers and the like - but also DIY projects, barbecues, parties, music from open windows etc etc. .

I'm a keen gardener and I spend a lot of time out there. Like a lot of gardeners though I don't tend to sit in the garden because there is always some task to do. As I don't work i can pick and choose my times and I can pick the quieter times to go out and do my hand weeding and fence painting etc and enjoy the peace and the bird song.

This post proves that some people can start a fight even when talking about yards/lawns.

This is my 'yarden' lol. One end of it anyway, its an L shape and ive ordered a garden corner sofa for the other end that has a sheltered area. Its small but the tall houses surrounding mean its rarely windy. Its a suntrap for a few hours a day but not the afternoon. Its very quiet but that's because no one can use lawnmowers etc as we dont have lawns 🤣

I had the opposite. My roof terrace was blasted with noise from the parks nearby and the roads and the pissing tube.

Now, silence.

I thought "yarden" was a typo but actually it's a great word and perfect descriptor.

I'm in a terrace...yesterday I had a rare afternoon in the garden with some
reading and a G&T.

My neighbours either side were out as well (next door and next door but one, thank god not the other ones next door) - so 2 types of music going - K pop one side and hard rock on the other, one side of pissed adults playing a game then involves repeated ringing of a hotel type brass bell, and the other a family who kept asking their small grandchild if he's done a poo yet.

Luckily I'm quite good at blocking out extraneous noise but I did hanker after my childhood garden which backed onto farmland after a while!

This happened to a friend of mine. Moved out of London to a small village in Dorset only to discover that her neighbour fancies himself as a Sculptor of stone! She has to play music all the time to drown out the rhythmic sound of pounding stone and the roar of the angle grinder...

She thought village life was going to be serene and tranquil.

It’s always noisy where I live with mowers going and next doors little children having fun in the paddling pool. Walked past a garden today having all their front bushes cut about. I think that when it’s nice people have a lot of jobs to get on with and the nice weather brings everyone out,
Like the expression of yarden !

We're in the burbs and it is insane

Leafblowers, lawn mowers, power saws etc etc. Trampoline bouncing

In winter you hear nothing. Not a peep.

Ahaha such controversy about 'yarden'!

To be honest I don't mind lawn mowing so much. But some guy near me has been, I assume, power washing something for the last THREE hours. Such a loud droning noise.

I kind of thought in a terraced area, with so many people crammed into a small area, it would have been noisier there! Here there are far far fewer people per square m, yet somehow making more noise. Dammit, I just want to hear the birds!

Grew up in London.
Live in a Yorkshire village.

I see a lot less foxes now... and get woken up by tractors more regularly.

I actually like yarden!

My neighbour is just dragging her extension lead out, here we bloody go 😩😂