A woman has shared her disappointment after a neighbour made a comment about the new flowers she planted in her front garden
A woman has turned to Reddit to voice her frustration after a neighbour made a cutting remark about her front garden. Posting under the handle LumpyStarr, the gardener gave her story the title: “Neighbours hate my yard.” She detailed how she’d been grafting to transform her front garden to feature more wildflowers, all while juggling a “full-time job”.
She revealed: “I’ve been trying to make a native yard. I have several sage and monkey flowers, yarrow, coyote bush, etc. I also spread baby blue eyes and clarkia seeds. Miner’s lettuce comes up strong in late winter.” The woman admitted she’d been battling various weeds and grass, tackling the project entirely on her own, reports Wales Online.
Providing background on her circumstances, she shared: “[I’ve been] living alone as a single woman for most of it (fiancé moved in last year) and working full time at a job that burns me out every day. It’s been a lot of work.”
She continued: “Each year I think it gets closer to my vision, but it’s my first time home owning (bought in 2021), my first time gardening at all, and several family tragedies have interrupted progress at times. I’ve been learning as I go and my neighbours have seen me trying.”
She revealed that she’s done all the gardening herself, from digging up the turf to laying mulch, planting shrubs, and watering them with a hose throughout the summer as she doesn’t have an irrigation system. “I watched some die, I replanted at a better time of year, I spread seeds”, she continued. “Many neighbors are encouraging to my face when they see me out there.”
However, a chat with one of her neighbours left her feeling disheartened. “But one neighbor who is kind of like the ‘neighborhood watchdog’ just told me that people text him all the time asking if I have died or if I’m a renter and letting weeds take over,” she shared.
“I don’t know why this bothers me so much. I live in an old neighborhood and the crowd is of an older generation that prefers lawns, but like all this effort and people assume on a renter trashing the place or that ive died… really?” She added: “It just hurts.
“No real reason for posting this other than to vent and hear if anyone has had this struggle. I’m going to keep trying to stay on top of grasses and weeds but damn. Everyone compliments me like crazy when the wildflowers bloom, but that’s only for like 2-3 months out of the year. It’s just disheartening.”
In the comments section, she posted a couple of photos of the blooming wildflowers she planted in her front garden. The images were met with plenty of praise and support. Other Reddit users in the comments section encouraged the woman to keep going and shared some handy tips and tricks.
One person encouraged: “You’re doing a very cool thing – don’t let haters give you doubt.” A second offered a practical tip: “Put a sign in the front yard – “pardon the weeds – native garden in progress!” It’s worked for my son and DIL.”
A third complimented: “Your yard is gorgeous!” Another suggested: “I’d post a sign explaining that it is a native garden planted to support pollinators and increase biodiversity.” Someone else praised: “Your plantings are awesome.” Another commenter noted: “No matter what you do… Someone won’t like it.”
The woman later updated her original post to express gratitude for the positive feedback, saying: “Thank you so much for all the support. I really appreciate the encouragement as it’s felt like quite a battle. All of your suggestions are great. Edging, irrigation, late season blooms, signs, etc.”
She added more context about her neighbour: “I should’ve also mentioned that the neighbor is a landlord that owns 17 houses in the neighborhood. He’s always been nice and respectful so I never thought he cared about what I did. He always left me alone.”
Reflecting on the situation, she said: “But you all make some great points about him maybe not being honest. And tbh it’s possible he is only concerned about his property values and the optics of a non-pristine lawn. Anyway, thanks again! I’ll keep the hope alive.”