A day will come when all landlords respect their tenants, but it's not today. In a post shared to Reddit, a tenant was dismayed to find that their tulips, days away from blooming, had been mowed down.
Landlords destroying tenants' plants and gardens with impunity is an all-too-common occurrence.
This Redditor wrote, "My landlord mowed the tulips that were just about to bloom in the front yard. They know/care nothing about plants and did it while I was out of town so there was no saving them."
They go on to ask for advice on how to save the tulip bulbs. Tulips are perennials, meaning they come up every year. However, if they do not get adequate sun and nutrients, they may not have enough energy stored to bloom again. Cutting the leaves back makes it hard for these plants to get needed nutrients.
In a separate post, they uploaded a picture of their efforts to save the tulips by digging them up and moving them into a pot, asking if they look like they are dying. Commenters generally agreed they weren't going to grow right back but might return the following year.
Gardening is a fun and healthy pastime, plus it's beneficial to the environment. Gardens can help increase biodiversity, clean the air, and improve soil quality. With our warming climate, many of us want to help the environment, however, renters often struggle to make eco-friendly changes due to careless landlords.
A report from Vox detailed some of the challenges facing renters. "Most leases tend to prohibit all but the most minor adjustments to an apartment or house; federal programs for both climate preparedness and disaster relief tend to prioritize homeowners; and landlords often don't have any incentive to invest in improvements to profitable properties, especially if they don't live in the building or pay any utility bills."
Commenters on Reddit gave some hope for the tulip bulbs.
One commenter said, " It's not fatal. The bulbs store energy. If this hasn't been done for years in a row then there should be enough energy in the bulb for them to put up at least leaves next year to recharge."
Another person commented, "If you're going to pot them they'll probably be fine. Bonus points if you're able to confidently spade them up with the surrounding soil, so as to not disturb the roots too much." The original poster responded, "Oh, I'm going to leave a giant hole in their grass for decapitating these poor babies. I'll be petty about plants, 100%"
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