What a whiney baby she sounds like! Maybe she is envious of your garden ;-)

Eek! I've been working for two years to get pink skullcap to spill over the curb in my hell strip.

My condolences.

Sylvia, your garden sounds beautiful. It's good that your city doesn't have too many restrictions on garden styles. Will they dismiss the ticket if you show you corrected the problem? Around here they give warnings first so hope that's what it was.

I never even thought about the problem of plants over the curb so will have to keep that in check too.

Vent here anytime. You handled it well, so you're the winner.

Thanks all
Whiney...certainly. Plus my front yard garden attracts a variety of people as well as birds and butterflies. Can't have "those" people around her fortress. Well, unless they are doing the actual labor. And believe me "those" people is a very broad spectrum.

The actual ticket from the city of arlington gave me 10 days to handle it. AND it offered a name and number to appeal it if i wanted to. I have considered taking a photo and asking in email if the aster and lantana can stay for another month. I'm still sitting with that. Would like to get it done.

I do admit that the Moon flower was about 2 ft onto the street. Less than if a car was parked there but still on the street. But it was stunning this summer because of all the rain and the 2 neighbors that face it have so enjoyed opening their blinds with morning coffee in hand just to enjoy the view. I left a few law abiding plants. But the big show is over for the year anyway.

Sorry to ramble

Boy, am I lucky Crabby Neighbor doesn't live near me. She would have a legitimate complaint, since I didn't know about the plants hanging over the curb thing... and since the allergies housebound me most of the summer. The bermuda invaded the little hades strip garden, and a plant that might be Commelina or Tradescantia invaded and grew wild in hades strip. Since it survived without water, I was considering letting it grow. Especially if it can choke out the bermuda. But it's invasive?

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=COCO3

"Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest", by Delena Tull, states Tradescantias and Commelinas are EDIBLE?

Whatever this is, it is easy to get rid of if you dig it when it is very small, and keep digging it for a few years.

PS. If your house is on or near Western Blvd, then your house is one of the ones we less talented and industrious gardeners drive past and admire.

Post a picture of it before you dig stuff up. Uh, please!

Just went through my neighborhood on the way to run errands and noted many "violations" hanging over the curb this year and it was a gorgeous sight!

It sounds pretty! Some people just don't appreciate individuality and native plants!

I need to thank you for the rant and Merry for posting. I finally have a name for one of the plants I've been trying to ID! I get tired of the "Oh, it's a weed, use this to kill it" responses.

I am so glad someone started this thread. I have a crabby neighbor that does not like my oak tree. Granted, the leaves are big and it does have acorns that drop, but one year I caught him putting the leaves he had raked up into my flower bed. He didn't know I was watching him through the fence, and jumped when I hollered at him. I had to call the police to inform him that he could not dump refuse from his yard into mine.
This is an ongoing thing of 30 years we have lived by each other. It used to be his kids, now it's him.

Cynthia - So sorry to hear about the problems with your neighbor. I have been one of those people to file a complaint with the city about lack of yard care (lawn grass/weeds way over the 12" limit several times in the past two to three years, fence never replaced in 15 years and falling down-possibility of collapsing into the alley, etc.) It is sad when people neglect their property.

But, when you are gardening to make your yard beautiful and reduce the need for pesticides, etc., you are doing your neighborhood (and local wildlife like songbirds, hummingbirds, butterflies, beneficial insects) a service by making it more attractive. It is a shame your neighbor is so jealous of what you are able to do and she can't - no matter how often she waters. Has she ever come to talk to you about your garden? It would be a great chance for her to learn how to grow such beautiful plants and she might be able to make her landscape look nice too.

cynthia,
I would be tempted to donate some fast growing seeds to her/his yard whenever walking by, something that dosen't take any care to go like crazy.
I'm don't like people who are sneaky like that. I guess I'm sneaky too.

pa

Whereabouts in general do you live in Arlington, Cynthia? I drive though the northern half of Arlington to get to Pantego every day and would love to drive by your garden.

There sure are some great old gardens down that way in the older Arlington neighborhoods. I really enjoy the daffodils and bluebonnets in the spring, and the red spider lilies just finished blooming last week!

Thanks y'all I feel so supported!

1129 Western Blvd is the site of the "violation." I just reread it and it says that I have to Edge the Curb before the 17th. This street is just south of UTA. If you get to Davis take it South until you cross Park Row. Western is the 3rd street on your left. Turn on it and you'll see it. I think that's the problem.

As an aside, I did remove irises that were not happy there and replaced them with some pumpkins and plants in pots to fill the space until it's time to plant for spring. I didn't have to do that, it was just on my list already.

My neighbor across the street has her house for sale. Last Sunday they had an open house. Today her realtor came by to take more photos...and she included a couple of my notorious front bed. Prospective buyers were obviously not offended. Now she's trying to decide how to put it on the listing site and let potential buyers know that it's the view not their property to be....grins

Western's soil is like winning the soil lottery. I couldn't grow grass but everything else is happy if I get them enough sun.

Neighbor is not interested in these plants. She was making snarky comments about how awful it is to look at. I'm always polite to her and have rescued her tiny dog a number of times.

Saturday I'll cut the flowering plants back to the edge of the curb. Will take some photos too.

good thing...I have had lots of folks stop to tell me how much they love it including the city worker who had to write it.

c

I like Prince Albert's idea. Just because I am that shallow! Personally, I'd sprinke winter grass seed in her yard in an ugly word! Of course, she'll probably be able to guess who did it, but she'll have hell getting rid of it! Talk about Geurilla warfare gardening!

My neighbor called the city to c/o my hell strip. I was out digging as usual when a city truck pulled up, the guy got out, looked around, shook his head and was walking back to his truck when I saw him. I asked if I could help, he said he had received a complaint. Then he told me, well, this stuff has been here for years! They couldn't see around the cars anyway bunch of idiots always wasting my time. And he left!
Tally HO!

Cynthia you are so nice, more than she deserves! But I still recommend you report her sprinkler 'malfunction' to the water dept. My DH used to work for a water dept and they were always so grateful to anyone who alerted them to malfunctioning sprinkler systems! We only have so much water to go around after all. And it would be a SHAME for your neighbor's water bill to jump up due to an equipment failure. The Water Dept can help her reset the timer so it goes off at midnight instead of noon!

I just looked up your address on street view and your yard is just gorgeous! I'm sorry your neighbor is giving you such a hard time about your yard. She's probably the one with the unnaturally square shrubbery, right?

Thanks for the additional support. Tally...I love your story! Marti thank you for the compliment...yes, very square hedge edges right up to the tips that poke out above my azaleas. Yes, folks I do mean that she had the big hedge squared off right to the very edge.

It's trimmed every two weeks I wish her guys would just finish it so there wasn't weird fringe but that's the way it is. The benefit from this practice: any branches that fall on top of the hedge are removed....see, I'm not so nice. But I've had crabby before and they can do it so much better than I it's just easier to let it be.

I've been pulling english ivy out from under that hedge for 10 years. I considered some roundup but was horrified at the thought the hedge might go with the ivy since it comes through. Worse than a wall and hedge between us would be none....grins.

She also had huge pecans that are cut so high they look like palms. I don't know if the datura seeds will root but she has some of her own now. One of my favorite stories was when she walked across the street to tell our new neighbors that parking a car in front of their house was devaluing her property . No laws against it but she tried.

Cynthia, she just needs to get a life...........imagine what she could do if she put her mind to doing GOOD .

I did street view too. And I can sort of see why your neighbors reported you. Every other house on the block is a manicured look. Not that there is anything wrong with the cottage look, but it is NOT your street's "look". One of my pals put up this beautiful massive Adobe/stucco house in the middle of a traditional/classic neighborhood. It was awesome, state of the art...but it was so out of place, and all her neighbors shunned her for ruining their street look and property values.
So what some people see as beautiful others see as tacky.
Did your house look like this when you moved in? I would sort of hesitated to move into a stiff looking neighborhood like your street if I had wanted to cottage garden.
There are some "cottage" gardens in and around us. Most look horrible. Some look cute. But they look like a store you would see in Old Town spring, not a neighborhood.
My HOA has spent about 250K fighting a cottage gardener. I think the lawsuit got out of hand, but on the other hand her yard is hideous!

http://www.ahrc.com/new/index.php/src/courts/sub/submit/action/display/id/158

gee yummykaz. I do appreciate your opinion. And your opinion of hideous, horrible cottage gardens. I would just say that I have no HOA. There are other cottage gardens in my area and this view is the worst look at my garden available.

What it does not show is the manicured pathways with shade plants, the fountains and the people who come to just sit. BTW the house directly across the street sold in 2 weeks so it must not be too terrible.

I tried to grow grass but I was not willing to cut the trees down nor turn them into palms. For some reason the city code enforcer went out of his way to compliment me. But if all you see is vines and a fence that isn't lawn...and can't see the flowers, the fragrance the butterflies and humming birds because all you see is different then I am sorry.

One person's paradise is another person's hideous.
respectfully
c

So, yummykaz, how did the countersuit lawsuit come out? Who prevailed, the hoa or the homeowners? (The information may be accessible from the link you provided, and I just haven't figured out how to access it.)

And, yes, cottage gardens that are not well maintained can be an eyesore. There are many cottage gardens in that area of Arlington; some are well maintained and some are not. There are houses with the look of cynthianovak's neighbor's yard, too. Most-- but not all-- are well-maintained. If I remember correctly, the cottage gardens began to go in about twenty years ago. The neighbor's style of house is older than that in that area. The changing viewpoint about what is pretty in that area may be part of the problem.

cynthianovak's garden is well maintained, but she does use every bit of space in the yard. I wondered if part of the problem with the neighbor could have been avoided if the fence had been placed about one foot farther back into the yard? Don't know why I think that might have made it easier to make a transition area between cottage garden style and manicured formal style?

cynthianovak, is your house the one that had the beautiful display of dutch tulips last spring? Can't remember.

If there's such a thing as a manicured cottage garden, Cynthia has it and I am surprised that anybody would not consider it an asset to the neighborhood.

well i have the neighbor from he?? she never mows the lawn and if the lawn gets mowed the ditch doesn't (i live in a rural area and not laws on keeping up your lawn) i have been mowing the ditch and she told me not to mow her property, but since the ditch is county prop. i continue to mow it. last week it was a beautiful day and i was mowing my lawn and didnt really want to go into the house to do housework so i decided i would mowed the her yard!!! well around dark i had a knock on the door and there was a cop there to write me a warning for criminal intent!!!! i am to stay off her prop. if i step onto her lawn i will be charged with criminal intent(i guess killing weeds by lawn mower). needless to say i am not to fond of my neighbor but she get a one finger wave ever time i past her precious prop.!!!!

Hi Cynthia,

Just drove by your house on my lunch (I work in the Pantego area of Arlington) and just LOVED your yard. (It doesn't look at all like the Google Street Map picture other posters wrote about.) It is very cottage-y and homey and full of flowers!

You live in an eclectic, established neighborhood with lots of different kinds of housing, mostly ranches, and your house and yard stand out - but in a good way. Down the street I noticed some other cute gardens, too. I'll have to make sure to drive by often so I can watch all the changes in the garden through the seasons.

To follow up..

The neighbor in my area that was sued, buys plats of flowers in plastic 2-3 inch containers and just dumps the plastic tray and all. WITH the tags. She has broken down tricycles I guess that are supposed to look antique. But they look trashy. The thing I did not agree with the lawsuit, is they sued them for running a business out of their home which is against HOA rules. But everyone from a stock broker to an Avon lady does! But I think she was selling plants and with the whole lawsuit about her plants in the yard, maybe they thought her yard was part of her business.

There is only one cottage garden in my area that is manicured and cute. And in NO WAY would I ever win even runner up yard of the month! My front yard is NOTHING! I have too many massive pines, oaks and maples. Nothing, not even knockout roses can compete with their water theft!

I am just saying there is a place for cottage garden, and your street looks like plain jane builder grade landscape and it looks like your neighbors like it like that and this is why they complained.

I guess I also see it as my backyard is a tropical paradise! But I would never put it in front as my house is a typical 70's "spanish" style house and it would look out of place.

But I say if it is not against HOA and you don't mind your neighbors being upset...then enjoy.

yummykaz

You are assuming that there is more than 1 neighbor who complained. You use the plural repeatedly. It is singular.

The street is more manicured this year than last because of the 10 inch snowfall in January. There had been huge live oaks and pecans whose branches literally reached out over the street for many year. Sadly, the weight of the snow took them down.

This neighborhood was built into an orchard so what is normal in an orchard might be out of place somewhere else. The soil is deep and rich, the sun is where it is. The fence went in where there was the most sun and where I tried to do lawn but failed.

That google street image appears to have been taken on a really hot dry sunny day. I don't know the date, but the vines unfortunately do droop in the heat and sun....I do too, smiles

bedforda I wish I was home today! Did you see the new front-yard landscape just down the street with black mulch? Gorgeous and done by a landscaper. Maybe this will be normal in time. Y'all stop by or beep or something when you drive by. Feel free to wander in. Sometimes I'm working in my office that looks out onto the garden.

OCDgardener posts here sometimes: He has a great front yard garden just a block and a half to the west on Marshaldale.

Yes, this will die, I will roll it up and plant tulips in about 2 months.

hipmom... I'm sorry, some folks are just not neighborly and that's a sad thing

Y'all are a joy
c

yummykaz- thank you for explaining more to me about the HOA lawsuit. I appreciate it.

cynthianovak- the datura and the lantanas (and the unhappy iris earlier) have all been splendid to my eyes. I do ohh and ah over your yard every so often (and truth be told, over the crabby neighbor's as well. Both your yards are in different ways worth viewing.)

Your yard, imo, is the more imaginative and exquisite. It lets me dream for the happy day when the allergy shots should actually work. Then I might get a garden going that my neighbors won't lynch me for. The yard is getting more and more shady from a big pecan, so your use of plants in the shade is very interesting.

respectfully,
Killer of Blackfoot Daisies, Drowner of Sage, Murderer of Violets, and Grower of #/?! Nutgrass

c, that's awful! Maybe one day that lady will calm down. It's not like you have noisy,vicious dogs,trash,dead cars and unruly teenagers. It might not be her style of gardening but showing a bit of tolerance goes a long way.

My neighbors in both places I've lived in Texas have been really nice. The hell garden here and in Benbrook have been so hit-and-miss I wouldn't have blamed anyone for complaining. Folks aren't kidding about "hell strip".

The Kidneywood trees (small right now) and lantana always look good. The assorted perenials are so weak from the blazing sun and reflected heat, bugs are a constant problem. As the Kidneywood trees get bigger they are adding shade and nitrogen which really helps. Meanwhile, I pray my neighbor's patience holds out and thank God I'm in a tiny cul-de-sack partially hidden from most folk's view!

Hopefully, your hellstrip will encourage other's to try the same and a lot of people will start making homes for the wildlife we all love.

Beach, we need to clone that guy!!!

pj I'm glad you came to Texas. Did you run a marathon or do I remember that wrong? Thank you and I would agree that we have some wonderful neighbors. merrybookworm...do I know you? If you want to try some plants just let me know when you are ready...we'll find you some.

It's slow, the the hellstrips around are coming alive. There is even talk of public garden plots a few streets north of here. It's very exciting.

neighbor has been quiet, haven't seen her except to drive by. That's a good thing. There is a group who wants to stop the city from making Davis street a designated bike route. Fear is flying. Such is life in the city... .

c,
Yes I was the one hitting everyone up for money for that marathon. Does anyone else remember when running was fun back when they were kids? I chanted to myself,"It's for a good cause, it's for a good cause" the entire way.

I would love to have a designated bike trail! There are people who blog that call hellstrip gardens,"bike gardens". These folks take pictures and blog about how nice they are. If that bike trail goes in your garden might be famous on line!