One gardener said they faced backlash from their neighbors and landlord simply for growing the pollinator garden they always wanted.
Pollinators are a vital part of every ecosystem, carrying pollen from flower to flower to allow fruit to ripen and plants to produce seeds. Not only do they help plants produce food, but these bugs and hummingbirds are also food for many other creatures. Supporting pollinators by planting flowers they love is good for the environment, not to mention it's great for every garden in the area.
But that doesn't stop some busybody neighbors from complaining, as this Redditor discovered.
"When we moved into our current house a few years ago our landlords said it was fine to garden," they said in their post in the r/NoLawns subreddit. "Well, apparently a neighbor has called the city, and some really uptight, lawn-loving, upper class acquaintance of my landlord (who apparently has nothing better to do but drive around randomly to check on my landlord's properties without them asking her to) has also griped about it. The main things I've gotten from the brief messages from the landlord are them saying it's 'overgrown,' 'unkempt,' and 'neglected,' etc."
The Redditor shared several photos of their lush, healthy garden, which is full of an incredible variety of flowers blanketing the yard and vines climbing the fences. Small trees shade a charming stone bench.
Admittedly, the flourishing plants in the photos do seem to be overflowing their beds, but the Redditor said they were well cared for despite the complaints. "It's honestly kind of hurtful to hear, as I'm spending hours every week out there pulling weeds, cutting things back, general 'tending' and what have you," they said.
The Redditor didn't want to give up their garden; they loved "having the pleasure of sitting to revel in the beauty of the new flowers that are coming in, all of the different kinds of bees, moths, butterflies, dragonflies, birds etc., some that I haven't seen around since I was little." However, at the request of their landlord, they asked for ways to "tame" it a little.
"I think edging and paths go a long way toward communicating intentionality," one user suggested. "If you can do those things without sacrificing too many of your plants, it's probably worth a shot!"
"Also, name tags with plant genus, species, and common names, and what the plant hosts for pollinators," said another user.
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