In yet another episode of "Neighborly Love," a frustrated Redditor reached out through the r/f***lawns subreddit to voice a complaint: "My neighbor calls the city on my home every year."
A response post echoed a general sense of agreement across the board: "So much for [the] land of freedom." It's hard to argue. The Redditor's post is fairly lengthy, though entirely understandable, reading in part:
"Each year, I get a visit from the city saying they received a complaint. I receive a notice, they come back, and it gets 'resolved' after I mow down everything on the ground- a mix of flowering ground cover, wildflowers, [etc.]"
Complaints (from both neighbors and the city inspectors) focus on several aspects of the property, but the dandelions seem to be a major sticking point. Dandelions are classified as weeds, but it also depends on the context.
Botanically, they are herbaceous plants and are only considered weeds in gardening and agriculture. The problem with the "weeds" point of view is the lack of biodiversity such a stance cultivates. For those looking to naturalize their yard or rewild it, dandelions are a beautiful addition.
They do tend to propagate rather fiercely, but controlling and cultivating them versus wiping them out (the latter of which the inspectors are instructing the OP to do) are two different things. There are several good reasons to leave some in the ground.
Native plants are already adapted to the local climate. Fostering biodiversity also supports local pollinators like bees and butterflies. More insects mean healthier ecosystems. Native plants tend to have deeper root systems, which trap carbon in the ground more efficiently.
Native lawns also reduce one's carbon footprint. Lawnmowers, weedeaters, leaf blowers, and other landscaping equipment are less of a necessity, and the plants themselves reflect more sunlight, lowering local temperatures.
In other words, the benefits to the environment, especially on a large scale, are incalculable. Unfortunately, some neighbors, HOAs, and city inspectors don't see things in the same light.
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Should homeowners associations be able to determine what you grow in your garden?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Yes 💯 Some commenters offered good ideas or appealed to logic and reason. One response served up some advice that might work: "Something that can help is digging holes and planting containers of milkweed …"
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Another post found a happy medium: "Probably the easiest way to get the city to stop complaining is to make clearly-defined garden beds and plant native plants. There's a big difference visually between a yard that's been allowed to run wild with whatever weeds are there and a deliberate garden with marked paths and borders."
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