Those in the United Kingdom and California, please share about your yards

I have had 2 people come to my door just this week offering to cut my trees and do general garden work. As far as i know, there is no law on the length of grass although your neighbours can complain to the local council if they consider it an eyesore. The weather is fairly wet right now so the soils quite heavy. I have twice contacted someone to have an oak tree cut back. The 1st firm made a complete mess by cutting off the wrong branches. They did not have the cheek to ask for payment when they finished. The 2nd made a better job. Peole who've cut the conifers have varied considerably but generally speaking are not great. One hid all the cuttings behind my garden shed...

In Southern California, mostly in Pomona and Glendora, grass turns yellow easily because of our climate, so it is hard to keep it green all of the time. As long as it is cut every week, that is what matters the most to people. A lot of people buy seasonal flowers or roses for their gradens because they look nice. There is not really any restrictions on lawn services. The only restriction is that they cannot use machines that are harmful to the environment or really loud. The soil is pretty good, but like I said, things turn yellow easily around here. If things are not watered everyday, it is a problem. We do not get much rain in California. My pet peeve are the loud gardening machines and when people touch my baby rose bushes. Those baby rose bushes are not easy to find or get, and they are so small and fragile.

I don't have a lawn and we have landscapers who do our apartment's lawn work. I don't think there's restrictions on the length of the lawn, etc. However, where I live it's very important that you use plant materials that don't use a lot of water. A lot of people here are going for artifical lawns. Many people use xeriscaping. The weather here is mostly dry with very little rain, so if you use grass, you need a sprinkler system. There are restrictions on watering, though. My biggest pet peeves with landscaping services is the use of leaf blowers for everything. They never use a broom anymore.