Remy, that gnome deserves to be front & center! I have 4, there were 5 but someone stole 1. I also have a pair of pink flamingos, in the front yard no less, that hubs despises. It's just not a garden without gnomes and flamingos!

OK so what is red mulch? Is that stuff I always call hairy gorilla bark that looks like it's from redwood trees?

(and no, I don't have it....though I *did* when we bought this house but I actually paid the landscapers to take it away after they had put it all in....)

I can't believe no one has mentioned whiskey barrels tipped over with annuals "spilling" out.

I also hate seeing Hosta in full sun in the front yard.

And plastic anything, and I mean anything, in the front yard.

Also the bridge to nowhere that crosses the fake dry creek bed.

Red mulch is like Christmas cookie red coloring gone wrong; terribly, horribly wrong. It's normal (aside from the tint) chipped/shredded stuff and it's likely available at a Home Depot or Lowes near you. In fact, I think it's a Scott's product - created by their R & D dept. after a 4 martini lunch.

Oh, and red mulch, anywhere, anytime. Although it is not red at all. It is clearly orange.

I'm not going to cast stones (because I see a couple of my sins listed). But I can name one unforgivable sin...seeing a once beautiful garden fall into ruin. My last nine years in San Francisco, I lived next door to a beautiful Victorian that had been converted to two apartments. You could tell that at one time the garden had been spectacular. As a matter of fact, it had been featured in a gardening magazine in the 1950's (or so I was told). There were remnants of paths, long covered over by nasturtium, unkempt roses and jasmine. Several mature fruit trees suffered from all manner of disease but still managed to bear fruit every year. There were gorgeous fragments of broken pottery scattered in the underbrush and the ghost of an old pond that looked original to the house. Three camellias grew over the fence and were magnificent reminders of what it once was, and what it could be again. I used to climb the back stairs of our building and sit looking over the fence, wishing it were mine to restore. It always reminded me of Miss Havisham and made me feel frustrated and sad.

As neglected as the garden was, at least amid the jumbled jungle there was always something in bloom. I went into the city to visit my old neighbors just before we left for Costa Rica. The greatest indignity of all had happened. The building had been sold as Condos and every trace of the original garden had been razed. In its place, from fence to fence was planted grass. I wanted to cry.

There are worse things than plaster gnomes and red mulch.

Fake flowers (plastic or silk) around the mailbox or stuck elsewhere in the front yard. The colors are often so outrageous that they almost scream FAKE!! My parents have a neighbor who "plants" a variety of fake flowers around a tree in her front yard - the flowers are changed with the seasons. Another neighbor has a fake clematis vine "growing" around their mailbox.

Steven, I feel your pain with regard to the lost garden. And yea, there are far worse things than tacky lawn ornaments and red mulch. Agreed.

Renee

I'm pretty much an "anything goes", "live and let live" sort when it comes to yards and gardens. Though I'm not crazy about having the neighbor's RV and speed boat ruining my view. For me a garden sin would be more in the nature of plants that I see are struggling because the person who planted them didn't bother to find out what conditions they need.

I felt the pain of a lost garden over the weekend. It was my garden at my old house. We drove past to see it and our hearts sank. The flower beds are all weeds...around the mailbox...all weeds, and the mailbox is falling off the post. The stones I used to line the beds with were tumbled down and some were just tossed in front of the stairs. All of the plants I left are dead, with one lone artemesia growing in the middle of weeds. The gutter is falling off, filled with debris and the stairs are starting to tilt from the poor drainage. It just broke my heart.

I'm not going to cast stones either, but sprinkler systems going off in rainstorms is both a garden and an ecological sin.

We have had heavy rains and flooding around here, and unbelievably to me, I am still seeing sprinkler systems being activated. Automatic timers are great, but common sense should prevail!

Marilyn

My no.1 is a reminder to myself, immediately I find something growing in a odd spot that I definitely want to keep, drop everything, track down DH, lead him to the spot, and a very firm voice say "THIS IS NOT A WEED, I KNOW IT IS GROWING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PATH etc, etc, etc," I just lost what I think was going to be a beautiful poppy, and had plans of keeping the seed:o(.

I have been known to be out in the rain watering, some of our rainfalls especially this time of year just don't do enough good, what the rain does do is get the surface moist enough so that the water from the hose or sprinkler soaks in instead of running off.

I don't wear crocks or anything like them in the garden, it would take forever to get my feet clean after a day in the garden. In lousy weather, I have a pair of those red soled rubber boots I wear, they're real comfy too.

I feel your pain too, Steven, even in disrepair the bones of a garden are still there just waiting patiently for some caring person to come to it's aid.

Annette

"yes my garden look like a place of worship."

Now *I'm* LOL. What's that old saying about "One is nearer God's heart in a garden...?
I never said I was against all garden statues, just those resin ones with the blank, scary eyes. I've seen some of those pudgy cherubs that looked like they could use a pair of dark glasses and a tin cup with pencils.

I know the feeling, Annette. DH picked my beautiful breadseed poppies growing in the cracks of the driveway. I just about had a stroke.

Nell, the little fairy is absolutely precious! Such a beautiful little girl.

Steven, what a tragedy. I most likely would have cried.

Edna

Love the lists...a few of mine are:
1. Mulch mountains around tree trunks
2. Red mulch (and painting the fence/house to match)
3. White/small stones against a grass line (how the heck do they mow without breaking a few windows or knocking eyes out..?)
4. Dead plants in containers, or empty containers (if your house is for sale, please replace dead flowers with live ones and water them...LOL).
5. Garden hoses thrown in a pile on the ground
6. Gardens overjunked with dollar store junk
7. Creating an airport landing strip with too many path lights going in all directions

Lavendrfem, I feel your pain.
My 'old' garden is only four blocks from here and I'd have to go out of my way NOT to pass it on my way downtown.
It's beyond sad.

I took quite a few perennials with me (was part of the contract) when I moved but I just about broke a leg in making sure the new owners were left with lots of beautiful plants and no 'holes' in the landscape, since they were all excited about the garden. I shouldn't have bothered!
I wish I could go there and take some of my babies back. I don't even want to know what the backyard looks like!

What's worse, friends and aquaintances feel it necessary to report on the demise of my garden whenever THEY go by and see it.

This is the first time I've ever been to this thread. Thanks everyone for my laugh of the day.

Most of my pet peeves have been addressed, although I'm always saddened by those homes that have a few half dead impatiens (or, your annual of choice) planted around the mailbox.

Come to think of it, there is one "sin" I find unforgivable; planting a tree under power lines, ensuring that it will be topped out by the utility company and left ugly and whacked up.

Our old garden was demolished when the house sold; the new owner bulldozed ALL the small flowering trees, flowering shrubs, and 15 year's worth of perennial beds, replacing them with, ahem, "artistically" planted clumps of weedy looking, "ornamental" grasses every three feet all the way around the house. It's just ugly and bare and pathetic.

When they got a wild hair and cut down one of the mature trees in the front yard, it was too much trouble to cut it up and haul it away, and instead burned it on the spot. The resulting heat irrepairably damaged the other mature tree in the front yard which had been one of the finest mature Elm trees in the county. It's been desperately sending out shoots on the off side, but, as over 1/2 the tree was effected, it is obviously dying. As far as I can tell, they've left the Elm in the backyard alone, but I figure it's only a matter of time before they kill that one too. After seeing the destruction they wrought in just the first six months, I've come to the realization that some people really do *want* an ugly house plunked down in the middle of a bare field.

Still, as sad as it made me to see everything I had cared for destroyed, it just makes me double up on my efforts with *this* house. This garden is already so much better than the old one that it's a blessing everyday.

Chris,
That's got to be hard being so close. I'd go out of my way too. We decided not to drive past there anymore, but it's 20 minutes away and easy to do. And you were being very nice, not leaving holes in the garden. I honestly didn't worry that much. These people tried to nickel and dime me right to the very end. I'm a single mother on one income and they wanted me to pay for new roofing materials too! I even had to put my stuff out in the driveway on closing day so they could do the walk-through. Then one of the movers opened a door that had a big sign that said "Do not Open - cat is inside." And my cat, Sebastion was lost for hours. I was hysterical in the yard calling his name. We lived near 110 acres of woods and he's never been outside. The wife had the audacity to ask me about a few things that were left in the garage - two pieces of wood, and two chairs that the husband said he wanted. So in the middle of a meltdown I had to tell them I'd remove the wood and the chairs if he changed his mind. I found Sebastion - he crawled inside the wall in the basement. But I'm so sorry I sold that house to them. Sorry for the rant, but this subject hits so close to home and it's been a year! :)

Estelle

Talk about seeing your old house and garden - we are living directly across the road from our old house! Thankfully, the new owners have actually improved some plantings and even added a new flower bed which looks great. They apparently aren't veggie gardeners though, as that area has been turned into grass, but I can't complain about that.

How sad it must be to see all of your hard gardening work go down the drain. :-(

ThinMan

littledog, I just saw your post. I completely agree with you. I don't care for the pudgy eyed elfish looking demons either *lol*.

Most people genuflect when they go by my garden *lol*. I just gotta make sure all my little critters are blessed and looked over.

Love that little saying. I must remember that always.

Well mine are:

1. A full 6 foot statue of liberty in the middle of a white rock lawn with plastic flowers coming out her head, and tons of weeds coming up through the white rocks.

2. Plastic flowers of any kind stuck in the yard.

3. People (My neighbors) who plunk flowers and plants in the wrong location i.e. Hosta, Impatiens struggling and giving up the ghost in full sun.

4. Individuals that just plunk plants in the ground and forgetabout Âem so then it looks like a flower graveyard. (Neighbors on the other side!)

Well thatÂs all I can think of for nowÂÂÂÂ..

The Garden Pooter!

as a follow up on the subject of white gravel please see the picture below for several gardening sins

gravel, spacing, trashcan, shade plants in full sun, etc, etc...

No one is without sin, rnbwgrl :) It's all in good fun.

I'd worry about all that white mulch creating too much reflected heat for those plants.

Off topic, however, I wonder about your downspout. It looks like you have one of those trays below it to redirect water, but then stop it with the bricks. You could end up pouring water right up against your foundation, which is not a good thing in the long run. The water should be directed well away from the house.

BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

OMG
can't....breath....laughing......tooooo....hard....

Chris, this is my NEIGHBORS house, which sits 12 feet from the back corner of my house and right next to my work-in-progress cottage garden.

Melissa
-who is GLAD GLAD GLAD this is NOT a picture of her house

Makes you want to go and rescue those plants! Do they have plastic on their furniture too? :)

This has been such a fun post. Thank you all for the tears of laughter.

Edna

lavendrfem, that's exactly what I thought, too--oh, those poor plants. I want to sneak there in the dead of night and rescue the poor hostages.

lavendrfem and xantippe,

I almost cried, she has a BEE YOU TEE FULL hosta, crisping in the sun, and those poor lonely lillies :-(

This was a great thread to read.

How horrible for some of you to see your old lovely gardens come to ruin. That is heartbreaking.

My peeves:

Leaf blowers

Golf courses being watered (they can pay a large fee to do this by the way) while we are in drought conditions. The rest of us have to worry about our flowers and other plants croaking.

Ugly, boring lawns around ugly, boring McMansions and other boring residences, some where people only 'live' (if you can call it that) a month or so out of the year.

Litter thrown into our front hedgerow.

I'm sure I have some stuff that wouldn't pass muster here, but we are all individual with a love of gardening and that's the important ingredient, a love of gardening.

*************

"In his garden every man may be his own artist without apology or explanation.

Here is one spot where each may experience "the romance of possibility ."

~ Louise Beebe Wilder ~

*************

Happy Gardening everyone wherever you are ~ FlowerLady

Flowerlady, even my little electric leaf blower, I've been thinking of another use for my hair dryer, I set it on air, use it as bellows when I can't get the darn wood to light in a damp fireplace, I use it to dry my T-shirt when I've spit toothpaste on myself and had to wash the spot.
I noticed yesterday my Hostas have all kinds rose petals and small stuff that have fallen on them, thought I'd try blowing them off with my handy dandy little blower before the rain hits them and everything rots, hmmmm, come to think of it, I never seem to use it on my hair, but it is handy for other things.

Annette

Boy can I relate to some of these stories!

1. Big water wasting front lawn. (We have a drought going on).

2.Neighbors who plant invasive running bamboo so they can have a lovely screen and don't care that it grows into my yard and garage.

3.These same neighbors (although we mutually very dislike each other)insist upon shouting out hello to me in my private backyard every time they see me. Since I have planted responsibly, my shrubby yew pines are going to take years to block out their nosy faces. (They do not say hello to me in my very public front yard, although we live feet from each other, go figure).

4. "Foundation plants" crammed against a house.

5. Ditto on the red mulch, same goes for red lava rock drenched with Round Up so the sickly looking plants have no competition.

6. Narrow,cramped,straight paths.

7. Completely paved over front yards with abandoned cars parked and leaking oil.........

8. And yes, Steven, worst of all to see a beautiful garden bite the dust. There was one in Berkeley on Shattuck, not too far from the ACCI art gallery, behind a little antiquey kind of store. They sold things out of the garden and it was a green and flowery paradise. A few years later it was torn out and turned into a parking lot. ("They pave paradise and put up a parking lot.")

ok, here's one - a 6 foot concrete Elvis, standing next to the Statue of Liberty, waving a Confederate flag!!! I have to admire the nerve...

....oh, that reminds me,...those plastic, blow-up holiday things (sculptures????)....do they sell those in annual packages???....thank heavens they don't seem to have come up with one for 4th of July yet.

pagan - lol. I'd love to see that. Just not next door!

The tree burning reminded me of my neighbor's down the road. We have to pass their place on our way home. (no other road or I'd take it) I tried not to notice the body of a rusting truck and junk everywhere and focus on the large beautiful Pine trees blocking most of the view. Every summer, they let their lawn grow to an unbelievable height and then about kill themselves trying to mow it. During our drought last year, they came up with the wonderful idea of just throwing out a match and let fire take care of their mowing responsibilities. Yes, they burned down the only pretty things in their yard. The pines blocking the view. What were they thinking???

Shawna

I'm the ultimate garden sinner, in my fantasies anyway. I would love to own a bridge, but over a real stream, with a wishing well on the other side that I could wish in. I'd cross my bridge in my croc offs, (what I call my knock off crocs. Gnomes make me smile at their silliness, and I always think of the traveling gnomes that one hears of, and sees picture of in far off lands, from time to time. Of course I would never steal a gnome to travel with. I'd just buy one. :)

Pet peeve. Known invasives being marketed and sold to unsuspecting people who just want to grow pretty flowers. Buyer beware all the time. That means the seller is never responsible?

Yeona

Here is a link that might be useful: Travelling gnome

Shawna, that's awful....I think their cousins live next door to me! lol

What -- no Crocs outside the garden?

Guilty of #1. I wear Crocs 'Mary Jane' in the garden, in the kayak and yes, out and about in casual, public places. We live in a college town with lots of students, environmentalists, vegetarians (no leather shoes), liberals, artists, outdoor folks, etc. It's common footwear in Chapel Hill, NC. I used to work at a software company (DH is still there) and some folks even wear them to work -- with their shorts, jeans, T-shirts. We're just very casual around here.

I just wish they came in more styles! :-) The Mary Jane Crocs are SOOOO cute and comfy! Try them, you'll like them -- and I'll bet you'll wear them around town, too.

Cameron

Here is a link that might be useful: Mary Jane Crocs

I just wanted to let you all know that I had to sign up for this forum after reading this thread. I havn't laughed so hard in along time!!!

The whole red mulch and white stones got me started then seeing that picture did me in!! I have to be a memeber now :)

So I guess this is Hello from Western NY :)
Chelsie

I hate, hate, hate the "hurricane trim" so-called landscapers in Florida inflict on palm trees. It's cutting off not only the dead, close-to-dead, and thinking-of-being-dead-sometime-in-the-future fronds but the ones that are green and would be green for a long time leaving only the brand new fronds sticking straight up in the air. The claim is that this helps them to with-stand hurricane winds while totally ignoring the fact that palm trees were designed to withstand hurricanes without "help" from idiots with saws. That's why their fronds look "shredded" in the first place! The "hurricane" cut just deprives the poor palm of the nutrients those fronds would have provided to the tree and can damage the bud and kill the tree faster rather than slower. But this is what happens with people who are sure buying a pair of clippers makes them a "landscaper" rather than a vandal with a sharp weapon.

Suzanne

Love the peeves, have had a great chuckle on a day I needed it, agree w/ 99%.........The only one that I have a comment on (@ this moment) is the golf course one...Here in Oregon most golf courses I know of (in towns w/ a sewer treatment plants) use 'reclaimed' water from said plant. Hence good sized signs sayin' 'don't go in the ponds'. So, as far as I know they don't do any of their watering w/ 'clean' water (wasting it)..........

Also I TOTALLY agree w/ the gnomes (sorry) truth be told for some reason, since I was very young they give me the creepin' willies (sad to say ceramic clown faces absolutely do me in too...)

Whirlygigs!! I had a neighbor that had about 20 in her yard. Border on side of the house had that red lava rock and about 6 of them stuck in there. No plants though! And they used that orangey colored mulch, which is even worse than the red. UGH!

She loved the inflatable decorations too. Put them up for halloween & christmas.

She strung lights all around her deck and fence and added a cheap metal arch arbor for Big lots and put lights on it too.

ditto for the following

the gnomes, whirligs, windmills, wishing wells, the buddhas, the easter island statues, saints and grottos

animal figurines starting with the pink flamingo, deer, bear, cat, dog, chipmunk, ducks, swans (especially plastic white swans),

butterflies, bees or dragonfly - ones that sway with the wind and are on sticks,

ugly plastic fences,

odd water features (table top fountains, misting fountains, gigantic 3 tierred fountains, gigantic waterfall ponds oddly set in a bare yard,

The oddly located large rock surrounded by orange mulch and little marigolds.

multi windchime collections

and don't get me started on the tacky stepping stone varieties out there.

my sin first:
I have a garden gnome. He is small and carved from wood and he stands at the edge of my tomato garden where I pretend he fends off my evil groundhog. Given to me as a joke he now is named Walter and I suspect will be in my garden for years to come.

other peoples sins:
red mulch....and again red mulch (why do people want their yard to look like a gas station?)
the single line of tulips, daffodils, marigolds, red salvia etc
"gardens" with anemic plants because the "gardener" has no idea that they need to pay attention to the soil and maybe water
wiskey barrels plopped out front with a few boring lame annuals (marigolds red salvia etc) just poking above the top.
too much garden wimsy (not sure where the line is...know it when I see it)
a garden with nice perennials but also a whole bunch of weeds
mulch (of any color) gardens

Welcome Chelsey.
I do want to state for the record that this forum, especially, is generally NOT judgmental. Never worry about asking ANY and ALL questions or posting your pictures/stories.

Now that we've ran everyone ELSE through the wringer, lets hear about what sins everyone here is guilty of. C'mon, fess up.
Jackie already started, and I'll step up, too.

My Garden Sins:
I own a buddha, but he's a jolly fellow in terra cotta.
I also have a gnome but I removed the battery that made him go off in a wild cackle every time someone walked by.
I grow cherry tomatoes in the middle of the perennial bed (it gets the best sun!)
I put clover seed in my lawn on purpose
I'm growing Palace Purple in full sun. Muahahahahaha!

Taking the battery out of the gnome absolves you!

Tee hee, I have an empty shepherd's hook. The squirrels broke my feeders so right now I'm using it to stake up my Rose of Sharon than blew over in a storm.
I also have a very uncared for flowerbed right in the front. I just dug and planted it a few weeks ago and the plants are still small and the weeds are getting big. I've been so busy trying to reclaim a wretchedly neglected bed at church that I haven't been keeping after my own things.

Chris, I have Palace Purple in full sun too. It seems to like it there.

Haha I love the buddha!! I have a buddha also but it's my 120 lb bullmastiff's name ;) he don't count haha :)

For my sins.. hmm well I have empty shepards hooks this year because I didn't buy any flowers at all!! I could pull it out but my birds love to perch on top of it before going into the feeders.

I did have a gnome...my SIL gave it to me, I'm still not sure why but she brought it all the way up from Texas so I felt I had to put it out when she was here. Funny thing though it was broke in alot of pieces this spring, still not sure how that happend ;) Crisis cured :D

Oh I have tomatoes growing in my flower beds too!! They self seeded from last year where I had my veggie garden! I had about 30 of them pop up and I gave alot away but I still have about 10 growning all crazy mixed in.

Chelsie

The dumbest thing I did (recently) is plant a Turk's Cap in the middle of a butterfly garden right outside the kitchen window. I only checked one source for height and relied on "memory". It's the biggest, healthiest, most overgrown Turk's Cap I've ever seen and now has to be taken out. I never like to do that to a plant that is so happy where it is, especially when it's my own fault that it's there.

Suzanne

1. My neighbor who "thinks" she is a gardener and major "green" recyler. With plastic flowers stuck on her front arbor and inbetween plantings. She also has the entire place painted the same color (house,arbor, picket fence, metal window shades). Sorry, but I get irked when she tries to tell me how to garden.

2. The latin names. I was so pleased the group here uses common names. There are times when it is necessary to get the right plant due to growth habits. But, I'm simple and love what grows the best for me. Willing to try new, but having to figure out what a suggested latin named plant is and then finding out it is a "day lily" or something similar wastes my time digging up the information. For some reason one of the forums I loved has become the latin language group.

The "George" picture was beyond funny. We do need to be careful with the sock thing...while working in Austrailia, all my students showed up in shorts, white socks and business shoes.

Glad I found you guys.