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Bad Manners and Brimstone
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#Post#: 35338--------------------------------------------------
Yard, neighbors, courtesy, and possible vandalism
By: jpcher Date: July 26, 2019, 1:19 pm
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I've hesitated to post this for almost a week now because I
don't think there is anything I can do about the situation, but
here goes (background is long, but I believe it to be relevant):
BG: Along the back fence of my yard I have (had ::)) day lilies
and thistles growing.
I understand that thistles are a nuisance weed and spread
rapidly. I did not plant them, they just grew amongst the lilies
only for a couple of years now. The first time I saw the
thistles I started plucking them out until I missed a few and
saw how pretty they were with their purple flowers mixed in with
the orange lilies.
This year, the day lilies and thistles flourished with all the
rain we've been having. Both grew to reach the height of the top
of my fence and it was, in my opinion, a gorgeous view of the
back of my yard.
To the point where I had a couple of friends over and was, with
pride, showing them my DD#2's garden. One person asked (about
the thistles in full bloom) "What are these? They are so
pretty!" Another friend said "This looks so nice, instead of
seeing a fence. How do you do it?"
I told my friends that the plants (lilies and thistles) were
basically weeds and they take care of themselves. Absolutely no
maintenance on my part.
Reiterating, I was very happy with the growth because the orange
and purple flowers along with the contrast in greens from the
two different plants looked, oh, so pretty! endBG
However, thistle flowers, like dandelions, turn into white
puffball seeds that get blown around with the wind.
One day last week I sat on my patio and watched the thistle
puffballs blowing in the wind. Part of me thought "Oh, my
neighbors are going to hate me!" while the other part of me
thought "Let them deal with a thistle or two that decides to
grow somewhere in their lawn."
My feelings are mixed with this. Maybe I was wrong with enjoying
my thistle/lily mix?* Rude to my neighbors for the thistle seeds
going into their yard?
On to the main point, reason why I'm posting . . . I came home
last Monday after work (today is Friday) and saw major
destruction with my back fence plants. Almost everything is
dead, brown and laying on the ground. Some (just a few) of the
day lilies survived, my bleeding heart is still there, but
overall it looks very sad and ugly.
Somebody must have put some sort of poison, in my thinking, to
get rid of the thistles. All of the thistles are dead, laying on
the ground.
I thought about calling the police to report vandalism, but what
are they going to do? Canvass the neighbors and if it were any
of them they would just deny. I thought it to be a waste of
important police time.
I talked to my landscapers today and asked them if they did
something to kill the thistles, they said "No" then I asked them
to take care of all of the brown dead stuff "No problem" extra
charge, of course.
What would you do if this happened to you?
*Many years ago when all of us children moved out of my mother &
father's home, after we were done playing softball and climbing
trees in the back yard, my mother planted (threw seeds out) wild
flowers and other such things in the back half of our 1/2 acre
back yard. She wanted a meadow. Reminiscent of her young life
growing up in Germany then in Austria.
The neighbors complained. Rodents, bees and such. Mom had to get
rid of her meadow. Sigh.
#Post#: 35339--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yard, neighbors, courtesy, and possible vandalism
By: Jem Date: July 26, 2019, 1:39 pm
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How rude! I am sorry that happened.
Are you certain that the fence is on your property? Could it be
that the neighbors believed that the thistles and lilies are on
their property, even though they are on your side of the fence?
I would probably consult the land survey first, but I would go
to the adjacent neighbors and ask them if they poisoned foliage
on your property. I agree this is not something I would go to
the police with right now, but depending on how the neighbors
react I might consider filing a complaint. At the very least
they should have spoken with you before poisoning your flowers,
but again, it could be that they believe (and might be correct)
that they really are THEIR flowers?
#Post#: 35342--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yard, neighbors, courtesy, and possible vandalism
By: Hmmm Date: July 26, 2019, 1:52 pm
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Question: How many neighbors border your back fence where the
thistle grows and do you know them at all? Because if this had
happened with my back fence I would know it was one neighbor who
had access to the shared fence from their property. They may
have treated the thistles on their side. They may or may not
have realized that by trying to kill the thistles on your side
it was also killing the plants on yours.
If you know them, I might strike up a conversation with "it was
really odd but a few days ago I came home to all dead plants
along my back fence. Did you guys have an issue with any plants
dyeing last week?" They may or may not fess up but at least it
makes them aware that you do not see these plants as weeds and
that their actions impacted you.
#Post#: 35343--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yard, neighbors, courtesy, and possible vandalism
By: Chez Miriam Date: July 26, 2019, 1:57 pm
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Oh, that is so horrid; I'm so sorry you're lovely display has
been vandalised.
We have a wildflower lawn at the edges of our (nearly) 'proper'
lawn, and the thistles look amazing. I read somewhere that
Painted Lady butterflies lay their eggs on them, so we are doing
our bit for wildlife - as all gardeners are encouraged to do.
Can you find out about the boundary, as Jem says? If the land
is definitely yours, I would install a discreet camera - if it
happens again, you have footage of trespass and vandalism to
take to the police.
My only other thought was: if your yard is big enough, you could
think about installing a second fence a couple of feet from the
first, and then anyone spraying over the top of it couldn't
reach your garden.
If they came on to your property, I would definitely report them
to the Police: what will be next?
#Post#: 35347--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yard, neighbors, courtesy, and possible vandalism
By: Rain Date: July 26, 2019, 3:11 pm
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I love bleeding hearts
I'm so sorry your garden was killed.
#Post#: 35349--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yard, neighbors, courtesy, and possible vandalism
By: doodlemor Date: July 26, 2019, 3:30 pm
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Make a police report ASAP, before they spray poison again.
Call or visit your suspected neighbors and ask them if they saw
anything suspicious, and let them know about the police report.
Also visit any other neighbors who might be guilty with the same
story, especially if they are gardening perfectionists.
You are much calmer than I would be, if someone was spraying
poison in my yard. I'd be tempted to get a security camera to
catch any further vandalism.
#Post#: 35353--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yard, neighbors, courtesy, and possible vandalism
By: GardenGal Date: July 26, 2019, 4:46 pm
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[quote author=Hmmm link=topic=1239.msg35342#msg35342
date=1564167178]
Question: How many neighbors border your back fence where the
thistle grows and do you know them at all? Because if this had
happened with my back fence I would know it was one neighbor who
had access to the shared fence from their property. They may
have treated the thistles on their side. They may or may not
have realized that by trying to kill the thistles on your side
it was also killing the plants on yours.
If you know them, I might strike up a conversation with "it was
really odd but a few days ago I came home to all dead plants
along my back fence. Did you guys have an issue with any plants
dyeing last week?" They may or may not fess up but at least it
makes them aware that you do not see these plants as weeds and
that their actions impacted you.
[/quote]
I think this is great advice, especially if it is a wooden fence
and they couldn't see what you had growing on your side of the
fence. I wouldn't assume that anyone came onto your property to
spread poison, if that could have been done from the other side
of the fence. If your neighbors on the other side of a wooden
fence put poison on thistles growing on their side of the fence,
it isn't very surprising that the soil on your side also got
poisoned, and they could have done this in complete ignorance
that there would be problems for you. I would definitely speak
to the folks on the other side of the fence, asking if they
poisoned "their" thistles and explaining how this killed not
only "your" thistles but many other valuable plants as well.
If they seem at all contrite, I'd offer to come on their side of
the fence next year and hand weed any thistles they don't want
so they don't have to resort to poisoning the soil (which could
persist for years, depending on what they used).
If they acknowledge what they did but don't seem sorry, guess
you'll have to stop planting things you like along your side of
a mutual fence. A PP gave you some good advice about putting up
a 2nd fence away from the original fence, but you could just
leave, say, a 2' gap between the fence and your planting bed,
which could help if they poison their side again.
However, if they say they didn't do anything, I'd put locks on
the entrances to the back garden (honestly, I'd do this no
matter what), start a new planting bed away from the poisoned
area, and hope for the best.
One other thing - it would be thoughtful of you to deadhead the
thistles before the seeds start blowing around the neighborhood,
keeping some seeds for yourself if you want to plant them again
next year. Good luck!
#Post#: 35357--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yard, neighbors, courtesy, and possible vandalism
By: Hanna Date: July 26, 2019, 5:09 pm
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You have plenty of good advice so I’m just offering (((Hugs))).
#Post#: 35358--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yard, neighbors, courtesy, and possible vandalism
By: Elisabunny Date: July 26, 2019, 5:11 pm
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Where I live, certain types of thistle are considered noxious
weeds, and landowners have an obligation to kill them.
Honestly, I would be irked if I was your neighbor, but I would
at least try to talk to you before taking matters into my own
hands.
#Post#: 35360--------------------------------------------------
Re: Yard, neighbors, courtesy, and possible vandalism
By: lakey Date: July 26, 2019, 6:01 pm
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I think that one of the worst things for a homeowner is to end
up in a feud with a neighbor. I would be careful in how I
handled this. I understand how you feel because I like the look
of plants growing along a fence. Where I live, if a plant or
tree is encroaching on a neighbor's property, they can legally
deal with it from their side. When some plants grow on fences,
they end up encroaching on the other side of the fence. Not sure
if that happened here. A good neighbor policy is to discuss any
issues with the adjoining neighbor before acting. I've done
this, and so have neighbors of mine, whether it is putting up a
fence, trimming trees, or whatever. But if a neighbor had parts
of your plants on their side, you may not be able to do anything
about it.
I do love lilies, because they seem to expand and every year
you get a larger mound of them from each plant. Right now I have
9 large mounds of them in my two front flowerbeds. I have to say
that thistles along the fence might annoy me. Maybe you could
think in terms of what to do in the future without being a
problem for your neighbor. How about talking to someone at a
nursery about what you could plant along your fence, and how to
plant, without the plants encroaching on your neighbor's
property? Perhaps if you put some bricks or paving stones along
the fence, your plants wouldn't migrate. Someone from a nursery
should be able to advice you.
Whenever I see those orange wild lilies in clumps along the
roadway, I'm tempted to dig them up to replant in my yard.
They're gorgeous. I don't do it of course.
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