One aggravated homeowner took to Reddit to vent when their local HOA damaged their beloved garden.
The r/gardening subreddit is usually home to plant hacks, advice threads, and progress photos. But occasionally, someone just needs a sympathetic ear for their gardening woes.
"HOAs suck," this mournful Redditor said, before sharing a photo of what could have been considered vandalism if anyone but the user's HOA had done it.
The photo shows several bushes and flowering plants where the Redditor's front walk meets the road. One large, low bush in particular is covered in flourishing pink flowers — except for the front, which has been sheared off flat, exposing green leaves, woody stems, and empty gaps inside the bush.
"Ahhh yes," the original poster griped in a comment. "Let's cut all the beautiful flowers that pollinators love so that it will look 'clean.' I'm sure it'll look better that way!"
Aside from the obvious eyesore this Redditor says their HOA created, the association's hack job also deprived local bees and butterflies of food.
These pollinators are essential to help many vegetables and crops develop correctly, as well as allowing seeds to mature and produce the next generation of plants. Plus, these little critters are food for animals higher up the food chain, so supporting pollinators is supporting all the wildlife in the area.
It's not the first time that an HOA has gone after a perfectly healthy plant in a homeowner's yard. One homeowner actually received a demand to cut down their peeling river birch tree because their HOA thought it was "diseased."
This time, though, the HOA simply took matters into its own hands.
As one Redditor pointed out, it might not have the authority to do that. "If you didn't sign an HOA agreement, you can tell them to pound sand regarding anything on your property," they said. "If they don't like it, it's not like they can arrest you…"
The original poster did leave on a more lighthearted note, though. "To share something cool, the dirt pile on the top right and hole in the bush in the left/middle are the burrows of Sammy, my ground squirrel friend!" they said.
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