Woman faces jail time for planting Veggie Garden

Of all things! It's getting pretty ridiculous out there these days!

http://moneyland.time.com/2011/07/08/wo ... le-garden/

 

One woman's vegetable garden is another person's "unsuitable vegetation."
I hate to say it, but I can understand the town fathers' position. When we lived in town we had a nicely maintained yard, but no one else in the neighborhood did. I would have loved for some of the weedy, messy, trashy yard owners to be cited, fined, and given a court hearing! This woman's front yard vegetable garden is well-maintained and attractive. How about her neighbor who decides to do the same, loses interest, and ends up with a mess?
I hope she gets to keep her front yard garden as an inspiration to others, but I hope the others who are inspired are equally dedicated and tidy.

 

I agree with marlingardener - I work for a municipality and I understand am familiar with some ordinances - unfortunately they are created because of the few that don't maintain their proerty and have to be enforced on everyone. Having said that, I do hope this woman is able to keep her well maintained front yard garden.

 

Vegetable garden, flower garden. Both hve blooms. Usually both are permitted to go to seed. Both are maintained in a simialr manner. Many times, both are edible. If maintained, both are, and can be attractive. If left unattended, both become rank and unsightly.

Would the same municipality, warn/ticket/ fine, someone for an unkempt flower bed?

 

You gotta be kidding ! I don`t think so ! In giving in to this you are allowing the city to tell you what is "suitable" for you and your property. When she bought the property was she given a list of suitable plants ? That is property that she bought and paid for. Not the city. I would tell the woman to stand firm and fight it.
I believe we have enough intrusion in our lives !

 

Ridiculous!

 

I've heard of many "horror stories" of neighborhood associations. Maybe this is the case here?
When I was looking to buy my first home/land, I checked out a place that came with so many restrictions, I drove off within minutes and never looked back.
It wasn't in a city, town or even a community... just a vacant lot out in the middle of nowhere on the other side of the mountains from Albuquerque.
If rules are in place, you have to abide by them... no matter how silly they seem.
I sure hope the judge in this case is sympathetic to this lady's garden and just let her finish out the season. Fines and/or jail time is just absurd.

 

Thank goodness I am not staying there, my mini farm is right in my front yard too!

 

Well I agree. Ridiculous! Unless her garden looks like the yard in the commercial about the lady that is on an all natural kick. In the commercial everything is grown over their heads and is turning brown. It's a cute commercial if you have never seen it. I've got a good one. Some friends of mine moved into the small town of Wapaca,Wis. It was in the fall. So the trees in their yard had shed their leaves. They raked them too the curb for the city to come by a pick them up. That is what the city did in mine and their home town. In fact a lot of towns in Wis. do that for the city dwellers. So they left on a Fri. morning for a weekend getaway. Upon returning on Sunday they got quite the shock . All the leaves had been blown back into their yard and away from the curb. The city had left them a notice that doing that was not permissible in that town. Nice way to welcome your new residence. They didn't live there to long as it was one of the most unfriendly places they had ever lived. So much for the welcome wagon.

 

Picking where you live is certainly important. Did you see all the other yards in the neighborhood, all lawns with no flower beds. Glad someone is shaking that neighborhood up some.

And what about the weedy yards that weren't be prosecuted? Why aren't they going to court also? Ordnances can be changed or at least need to be uniformly imposed.

 

Just call me old fashioned but no one is going to tell me what I can or cannot grow on my property ! While I can see if it were grown up with weeds, but not with any reasonably maintained garden irregardless of what is grown in it.

 

Front yards are often the cause of problems with either neighbours, or, as in this lady's case, with the local authorities.I think as long as things look neat and tidy, it doesn't really matter what plants are used, veggies or ornamental plants.

Where I live there are certain height restrictions for front yards, e.g. the council allows hedges and fencing to be no taller than 1.50m.

My Housing Association has a rule for front yards too: in their contract it says the tenants should keep their gardens tidy at all times, and no tall trees should be planted. If only the Association would practice what they preach, because lots of people have front yards that are a complete eyesore. In my street too!

One of my neighbours has a bit of a "wild" garden, but to help her I suggested to trim a box-bush whenever I cut my own hedge. She was happy with the idea, and since then she makes an extra effort to keep the rest of the yard as tidy as the box! Works two ways

I really hope this lady wins her case. (Wasn't there something similar in Canada, where someone had wildflowers in their front yard?)

 

This is why I live in the country.

My nearest neighbor has several old cars sitting on his property. Yes, they are ugly. So what?

I wouldn't dare complain. His cows do a great job of mowing my 3.5 acres except for the space I protect with fencing.

Sorry, I guess I forgot that city folks don't much like pet cows on or off a leash.

 

Pricklypear, sounds great! I am neither city nor country person, most of The Netherlands is somewhere inbetween, but well on the way of becoming one big urban area without farms and fields.... :'(

There are less and less of those lovely green meadows with grazing cows, and where I live they have almost completely disappeared in the last 10 years. All for houses, industrial estates and roads. Yuk!!

Give me cows 'off the leash' any time, I love those large living lawnmowers with their big brown eyes.

 

thats bizzare!! i don't see why anyone should care whats grown front or back, if its your property you do what you want with it! especially if you've bought the house, that alone gives you the right to grow what you like. some of the gardens round my area an absolute eye sore, but its not going to effect my life in anyway so why should i care. my garden still looks good :-D