Discouraging article about one woman's attempt to go native

16 years ago

Here is a link to an article in The Record (northern NJ). It sounds as though town officials have been badgering this woman who departs from the usual suburban lawn paradigm.

I'd like to help here out. What are the best ways to defuse these situations? She is apparently trying to educate her neighbors.

The link is so long that you will need to paste it together (qstr follows php? directly)

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0NSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzE2OTQyNiZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTM=

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (37)

joepyeweed
16 years ago
If education hasn't worked, which it seems is happening then one needs to be armed with previous court precedents.

Unless the property in question is subject to HOA covenants and restrictions, we have certain constitutional property rights to grow what we want on our property as long as it doesn't interfere with the health, safety and welfare of the public.

Key court cases that persecuted landscapers need to be familiar with include:

City of New Berlin, WI V. Hagar.

Montgomery County, Maryland v. Stewart

Little Rock, Arkansas v. Allison

The Chicago 5

Here is a link to a John Marshall Law Review article that discusses these cases and provides the complete summary of the New Berlin case, Vicki Wozniak needs to make sure the judge in her case is familiar with these other court cases.

I don't think she would need to prove the point all over again.

Here is a link that might be useful: Law Review Article
ann_in_nj
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you for your response, Joepyeweed!
Related Discussions
An interesting article, and quite long
Q
Comments (14)
and here is a quite interesting and complementary piece: [Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index] Cultivating diversity underground for better yields above - http://www.newfarm.org/depts/NFfield_trials/0903/daviddouds.shtml * To: lfl@intrex.net * Subject: Cultivating diversity underground for better yields above - http://www.newfarm.org/depts/NFfield_trials/0903/daviddouds.shtml * From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." * Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 23:24:01 -0700 * Delivered-to: lfl@intrex.net * Organization: http://market-farming.com -- Venaura Farm * User-agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.5) Gecko/20031007 http://www.newfarm.org/depts/NFfield_trials/0903/daviddouds.shtml Cultivating diversity underground for better yields above Research at The Rodale Institute® demonstrates how sustainable farming practices can boost yields by nurturing beneficial soil fungi. By Laura Sayre About this series: As some of you may know, The Rodale Institute®, which publishes The New Farm®, is home to the longest running field trials in the country comparing organic and conventional systems of farming called The Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial® (FST). The data from that 23 years of research is a real treasure trove of insight into the economic, ecological and agronomic benefits of organic farming. In addition to this long-running Farming Systems Trial, we have a variety of other research in progress at The Institute. David Douds, as youll read in this story, has been studying soil fungi here at The Institutes research farm for 15 years. Were engaged in no-till research, weed research, compost tea research, composting research, water quality research, and much more. Until now, much of the light were generating here on our research farm has been hidden under the proverbial barrel, but were taking off the barrel and busting it up for firewood. Were going let the light of the amazing research being done here shine on farmers, consumers and environmental activities. Over the next year well be running a series of stories, about one a month, on the significance of our research ... and its practical applications. That includes a few stories on equipment constructiona front-mounted roller for no-till, and a compost turner converted from a junked 18-wheeler. So sit tight, and be prepared to be amazed, starting with David Douds discoveries about how you can increase vegetable yields by 50 percent using homemade fungal inoculants. Enjoy, Chris Hill Executive Editor p.s. Interested in hearing more about how you can take part in the mycorrhizae revolution? Click here and let us know. Send your name, phone number and e-mail address with your note so we can follow-up with you. "Overall, Douds work suggests that a small amount of mixed MF inoculant can be substituted for a large amount of fertilizer--with no loss of yield, greatly reduced environmental impact, and lower production costs." Home-grown mycorrhizal inoculum can be produced at a fraction of the cost of purchasing commercial mixes. "I've done some preliminary calculations," says Douds. "The on-farm system produces 100 million propagules for approximately $50, not counting the cost of the farmer's labor, which is fairly minimal. To purchase 100 million propagules as listed on the bag of some commercial mixes would cost anywhere from $8,000 to $40,000." FACT SHEET: Mycorrhizae Above: USDA soil microbiologist David Douds with a carrot root-mycorrhizal fungi culture. Under the leadership of Dr. Douds, field trials have shown yield gains of as much as 50% in the presence of healthy mycorrhizae populations. Now Douds is developing a practical, low-cost method for on-farm production of mycorrhizal soil innoculant, promising higher yields with lower nutrient inputs. (Photo by Peggy Greb, courtesy of the Agricultural Research Service Photo Unit.) September 29, 2003: You've read the amazing facts and figures: one teaspoon of healthy topsoil can contain millions of individual microorganisms, all playing a part in the functioning of the soil ecosystem. But how much do you really know about the action of those diverse species and how to maximize their presence in your own fields? Ongoing research at The Rodale Institute® sheds light on one important component of the soil community--mycorrhizal fungi--and its impact on agricultural production. Under the leadership of Dr. David Douds, a soil microbiologist with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, field trials have shown yield gains of as much as 50% in the presence of healthy mycorrhizae populations. Now Douds is developing a practical, low-cost method for on-farm production of mycorrhizal soil inoculant, promising higher yields with lower nutrient inputs. A mycorrhizal primer Mycorrhizae are soil-dwelling fungi that live in and around the roots of plants ('myco-rrhizae' means 'fungus-root'). The fungi and the plants form mutually beneficial associations in which the fungi receive carbohydrates from the plants and the plants receive nutrients and other benefits from the fungi. Since the first mycorrhizae species were described by a German botanist in the 1880s, researchers have discovered that approximately 80% of all land plants form mycorrhizal associations. The relationship is so widespread, in fact, that it is sometimes referred to as 'the Universal Symbiosis,' and is believed to have played a key role in the evolutionary transition from aquatic to terrestrial plant forms. Today, scientists divide mycorrhizae into two major types: endomycorrhizae, which penetrate and colonize plant roots, and ectomycorrhizae, which form sheaths around plant roots. Whereas ectomycorrhizal relationships tend to be highly specialized--with some 6000 fungal species worldwide associated with tree species of the oak, beech, and pine families, among others--endomycorrhizal associations are more generalized as well as more widespread, with fewer than 150 fungal species opportunistically colonizing the roots of the vast majority of terrestrial plant families. Ectomycorrhizal inoculants are already widely used in commercial forestry, but the possibility of developing endomycorrhizal inoculants for production agriculture is a more recent idea. "These are beneficial soil fungi that colonize the roots of plants and help them take up phosphorus" and other immobile soil nutrients, such as zinc and copper, Douds explains. "The fungus colonizes the root and it also grows out into the soil; the part of the fungus that's in the soil acts as an extension of the root system, to explore a greater volume of soil and take up nutrients and bring them back into the root." In addition to facilitating nutrient uptake, some mycorrhizae secrete a gluey substance, called glomalin, which helps develop soil structure and soil aggregation; others may help plants fight disease. Yet because endomycorrhizae are 'obligate symbionts'--they must have living plant roots to colonize in order to complete their life cycle--their numbers will decline under conventional agricultural monocultures, which have living crop covers fewer months of the year than organic rotations. The drop in yields typically seen after the first year of cultivation on virgin prairie or forest soils is probably attributable in part to the loss of native mycorrhizae, Douds says. Fifteen years of research prove benefits of fungi Douds has been conducting research in collaboration with The Rodale Institute since 1989, his first year at the Agricultural Research Service's Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. "Some employees of The Institute farm came down to our research center as part of a kind of an interagency show-and-tell about research programs and facilities and what all we could do to help each other," Douds recalls. "Rhonda Janke"--The Institute's research agronomist at the time--"gave a presentation about The Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial," a side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional production systems. Douds recognized it as a great opportunity to study endomycorrhizal associations. "Later that year I started sampling, and right off learned that [the soils under] the conventional farming systems had fewer mycorrhizal fungi than the soils under the low-input farming systems. So right away we all got excited and we branched out from there." Since that first season, Douds' work at The Rodale Institutes 333-acre experimental farm has progressed in three overlapping phases: In the first phase, from 1989 to 1995, Douds and his team surveyed native mycorrhizal fungi (MF) populations at Rodale and examined the impact of different agricultural practices--including tillage regimes, crop rotations, and soil amendments--on those populations. The second phase, which is still ongoing, looks at the utilization of MF by crop plants, comparing yields in the presence and absence of different MF species. The third phase seeks to apply those findings by devising a simple, on-farm MF inoculum production system, so that farmers can harness the benefits of endomycorrhizae without spending lots of money on commercial mixes. (Commercial products already on the market include Bio/Organics Endomycorrhizal Inoculant [$79.95 for 3 lbs, labeled to treat 500 plants], Plant Success Mycorrhizae Tablets [$19.95 for 100 tablets, labeled to treat 50 plants up to 1 ft tall], and Earthroots VAM Fungi by First Fruits LLC [$15 for 3 lbs, labeled to treat 200 seedlings].) On-farm production of mycorrhizal inoculant in test enclosures at The Rodale Institutes farm. Douds chose bahiagrass as a host plant "because it's a tropical grass and the first frost will kill the shoot growth"--so it won't escape to become a new local weed and won't harbor any pests or pathogens that might affect either resident crops or northern native grasses. Agronomic practices that boostor depress mycorrhizal levels Although the first phase of Douds's research found larger and more diverse MF populations in organically-managed soils than in conventionally-managed ones, it also revealed how specific agronomic practices can boost or depress MF levels. "Over-wintering cover crops. . . are very beneficial to mycorrhizal fungi," Douds notes, whereas "tillage disrupts the mycorrhizal fungi in the soil and serves to decrease the initial colonization of the plants." Based on these findings, Douds emphasizes that all farmers, organic or conventional, can take steps to nurture the MF already present in their fields: reduce tillage, he says, use fungicides sparingly, and--most important--maximize cover cropping. "Over-wintering cover crops give the MF a host plant to colonize when there's no cash crop growing on the soil," Douds explains. In the coldest part of the year the MF go dormant, but during warm spells in early spring and late fall, the MF will try to grow, and can exhaust their reserves if they find no plant hosts. "During these periods. . . the fungus is still respiring, it's still burning up its carbohydrate storage in the spores, it's burning up the lipids that were stored," leaving it "less viable when the time comes finally for the crop plant to be present." A cover crop or even just a weedy fallow will maintain healthy MF populations, which can then benefit the cash crop coming on to the field. Crop rotations are another factor to consider, since a handful of crop species belong to plant families that do not form mycorrhizal associations (said to be 'non-mycotrophic'), including the Brassicaceae (rape, broccoli, cabbage, turnips, etc), the Chenopodiaceae (beets, spinach), and the Polygonaceae (buckwheat). Not only will these crops not benefit from the presence of MF, but MF levels in the soil will be depressed after these crops are grown, potentially showing an effect on any mycotrophic crops which follow. Potatoes and peppers inoculated with mycorrhizae get yield boosts of up to 50 percent! In the second phase of his research, looking at the impact of MF on crop yields, Douds began inoculating plants in the greenhouse and then tracking their performance in the field. "We had some plants that were inoculated with a control mix with no inoculum, another one inoculated with a mix of mycorrhizal fungi, and another inoculated with just one species commonly present in commercial inoculum," Douds explains. "We transplanted them into the Compost Utilization Trial,"--another ongoing experiment at The Rodale Institute--"and we found over the course of the 3-year experiment that the mixture of mycorrhizal fungi increased the yield of marketable-sized peppers up to a maximum of 34% over the control. Last year we tried inoculating potatoes, and we got up to a 50% increase over the controls." David Douds and a research intern dig potatoes in this season's mycorrhizal test plot at the Rodale Experimental Farm. In last year's trials, potatoes grown with mycorrhizal fungi showed yield increases of as much as 50%. Other crops known to respond dramatically to mycorrhizal colonization include citrus, onion, and strawberries. This year they are repeating the potato trial, measuring yields under four different treatments: one with no added MF; one with a commercially available MF; one with a mixed MF inoculant grown in a leaf compost and vermiculite medium; and one with a mixed MF inoculant grown in a dairy manure compost and vermiculite medium. Overall, this work suggests that a small amount of mixed MF inoculant can be substituted for a large amount of fertilizer--with no loss of yield, greatly reduced environmental impact, and lower production costs. One unexpected finding of Douds' work at Rodale "is that mycorrhizae can be used to increase the yield of crops even in soils that are very high in phosphorous." Some of the soils at the Rodale Farm which have been heavily composted, Douds notes, "have available P in excess of 300 parts/million"--well above the level at which mycorrhizal responses are typically seen, around 20-50 ppm available P. "The generalization would be that P as high as 300 would be a situation in which the plant can take up all the P that it needs by itself without relying on the mycorrhizal fungi." Douds believes that at high nutrient levels, some of the other benefits of MF--enhanced disease resistance, improved soil aggregation and better water relations--could be showing an effect. Build your own on-farm inoculum production system The third phase of Douds' research at Rodale Farm focuses on developing an inexpensive, practicable system for on-farm production of mycorrhizae inoculant. As obligate symbionts, endomycorrhizae have so far resisted attempts to create what scientists call axenic (or isolated, single-species) cultures--they can only be grown in the presence of a host plant. Douds' system works within this constraint, using bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum), a tropical grass native to the southeastern US, as a host. A myccorhizae factory: The basic procedure is for the farmer to construct a simple enclosure out of landscape fabric, fill it with a mixture of compost and vermiculite, and then transplant pre-colonized bahiagrass seedlings into the mixture. Over the course of the growing season the bahiagrass spreads within the enclosure and the mycorrhizal fungi spread and reproduce along with it. When the grass dies back in the winter, the farmer is left with a concentrated mycorrhizal inoculant that can be incorporated into his or her potting mix when starting seedlings in the greenhouse the following spring. The basic procedure is for the farmer to construct a simple enclosure out of landscape fabric (75 cm square and 20 cm high), fill it with a mixture of compost and vermiculite, and then transplant pre-colonized bahiagrass seedlings into the mixture. Over the course of the growing season the bahiagrass spreads within the enclosure and the mycorrhizal fungi spread and reproduce along with it. When the grass dies back in the winter, the farmer is left with a concentrated mycorrhizal inoculant that can be incorporated into his or her potting mix when starting seedlings in the greenhouse the following spring. This year, Douds gave inoculated bahiagrass seedlings and other materials to a few Pennsylvania farmers to see how the method fares in the real-life conditions of farming. Meanwhile, Douds has 12 soil enclosures growing at the Rodale Farm in an experimental grid designed to identify optimum growth media. Douds chose three different kinds of compost--yard-clippings compost, controlled microbial compost, and dairy manure-leaf compost--and then diluted each kind with vermiculite at four different ratios, ranging from 1 part compost:2 parts vermiculite, down to 1 part compost:49 parts vermiculite. Each soil enclosure, finally, has nine separate sections, three with no inoculant and three each with two different mixtures of MF. At the end of the season, says Douds, "we'll sample the mixtures from within each enclosure, quantify the inoculum production, and then hopefully develop a prediction formula, where the optimum ratio [of compost to vermiculite] is a function" of the nutrient analysis and other properties of the compost. All the farmer will need to do, then, is get the nutrient analysis of his or her compost, plug it in to the formula, and find the optimal ratio of compost to vermiculite to use for his or her farm. "On-farm methods have several advantages over commercial inoculants," Douds explains. In the first place, whereas commercial formulae typically only contain a single MF species (frequently Glomus intraradices), Douds' method yields a diverse inoculum containing many MF species. This is crucial because MF show significant 'functional diversity'--"some are good at holding the soil together, some are good at gathering nutrients," others help fight disease. A second, related advantage is that by mixing in some soil from a nearby woodland, prairie, or hedgerow, the farmer can use Douds's system "to produce the native or indigenous strains of mycorrhizal fungi. . . the ones that are already adapted to his [or her] particular soil conditions." This could be especially important on problem soils, such as those with high aluminum, say, or high or low pH, where commercially-produced fungi may not survive. Growing fungi in real life: David Douds with one of his on-farm mycorrhizal fungi production systems at Shenk's Berry Farm in Lititz, PA. John Shenk, the cooperating farmer, grows 5 acres of strawberries, 3 acres of raspberries, and 10 acres of mixed vegetables in a low-input system, selling on-farm and at the Clark Park Farmers Market in Philadelphia. "We try to farm thoughtfully," says Shenk. "And do lots of reading and research to keep improving our farming methods." Next season, Shenk will incorporate the soil from the enclosure into his greenhouse potting mix. Last but not least, home-grown mycorrhizal inoculum can be produced at a fraction of the cost of purchasing commercial mixes. "I've done some preliminary calculations," says Douds. "The on-farm system produces 100 million propagules [in a single enclosure] for approximately $50, not counting the cost of the farmer's labor, which is fairly minimal. To purchase 100 million propagules as listed on the bag of some commercial mixes would cost anywhere from $8,000 to $40,000." Commercial inoculants are sold in a peat- or vermiculite-based medium, so purchasers have to buy (and pay to have shipped) a large volume of material to get a small number of viable MF propagules--another reason it makes more sense to grow your own. At the moment, Douds' system (like commercial MF inoculant) is suitable for two types of farms: vegetable growers on any scale who produce their own seedlings and can mix the inoculum into their potting mix; and smaller, labor-intensive farms or urban gardens where "the inoculum can be incorporated by hand, directly into the planting furrow or planting hole." Farmers growing field crops on a large scale can only take advantage of MF inoculants if they want to try them out in a relatively small area. "Delivery of MF inoculum to the field is a problem," acknowledges Douds. "Commercial companies are working on this for their particular inocula." He smiles. We can only hope that he will be too. OPX e-letters to the e-editors news & research columnists gleanings 1000 stories talking shop certification the pig page this farm life newsletters mid-atlantic marketing new farm japan FARM LOCATOR PRESS ROOM Farmers: Is organic certification worth it? CAST YOUR VOTE NOW Stay Up-to-Date Sign up for our Newsletter NewFarm.org changes daily! Don't miss out on the latest interactive features, columns and news. Sign up now for our monthly e-newsletter and stay connected. ACTION ALERTS Save foundation seed stocks from GM contamination Support Saskatchewan farmers in efforts to block GM wheat Raise your voice against factory hog operations Share Your Stories Are you a farmer? A consumer? Whatever story you have to tell, let it be an inspiration to others. Share it with us now... T H E N E W F A R M R E G E N E R A T I V E A G R I C U L T U R E W O R L D W I D E ©2004 The Rodale Institute® PRIVACY POLICY Design: www.homeworkdesign.com Check out our other sites: The Rodale Institute® Kidsregen.org -- L.F.London lfl@intrex.net http://market-farming.com http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech * Prev by Date: Re: [compost_tea] numbers * Next by Date: [compost_tea] compost tea additives and NOSB * Previous by thread: Re: [compost_tea] numbers * Next by thread: [compost_tea] compost tea additives and NOSB * Index(es): o Date o Thread
...See More
Article about native bees
Q
Comments (6)
Timely post. They're heeeeeeere.........the honey bees! I was out walking with my dog and started to deadhead a daylily when I heard a familiar sound - a thousand bees buzzing. Looked up and there they were like a bee tornado above the courtyard garden and in the privet hedge nearby. I walked around the back of the house quick to check the siding where they always try to go in. Last year I caulked that siding heavily, leaving no holes for them - I hope. So I walked on around behind the house to the front yard to get a better look at them in the hedge and sure enough they were swarming big time. Stood there a long time, and they seemed to be moving across the road and into the ditch. Then half of them started swarming across the road and right into the ditch, thought I saw a bunch take off across the field but not sure. So now there are thousands in the ditch and some still in the hedge, stretching themselves across the road like a barrier. Wouldn't you know, the neighbors down the road, the visiting father and mother pull out of the drive in a convertible! They drove right through it before I could call out to them and I heard the woman exclaim. They stopped and talked to me about it for awhile. I stood and watched for another 20min. or so then walked back around the house to where I could see the courtyard and I think they have all or most have moved to the ditch on the other side of the road. The queen must be in there. Just heard a motorcycle go by so went out to check, walked a little closer and got a good look at a huge swarm on the ground up against the side of the ditch. Either they are wild or someone has lost the bee colony out of one of their hives. This happens every year in June, sometimes a few (scouts?) sometimes the entire swarm. There is old honeycomb in my house walls that they smell and try to get at, I can't afford to rip all the siding off and dig all the old comb and honey out. Have you ever smelled dead bees? They die over winter if they can get settled in there; there is so much caulking on that side of the house! ha. Well, hopefully they move on by tomorrow morning and don't greet me at the back porch.
...See More
First-time gardener discouraged by cold snap. What now?
Q
Comments (24)
Hi Steffie! Your experience with bermuda grass reminds me why I HATE bermuda grass. :) My brother put down black plastic (plain old black plastic like trash bags are made of, not the fabric mulch type) on a newly tilled flower bed and planted perennials right through it. When he removed that plastic FIVE YEARS LATER, there were still those long bermuda runners everywhere. I never try to make a new lasagna bed without removing the sod first, having learned the hard way. I found it interesting that your grandmother raised her crops in stages. I do the same thing, and have never met anyone here who does it in the precise, regimented way that I do. I'll use tomatoes as an example since they are the crop I grow the most of. I start my earliest seedlings, about 70% of my main season tomato crop, on Super Bowl weekend. Then, six weeks later I start the other 30%. I plant out in cycles, beginning in mid to late March most years, and get the late ones from the second planting into the ground by late April. Then, in mid to late-May I start seeds for fall tomatoes, or take and root cuttings in mid-June. I get the fall tomatoes in the ground in late June to early July. In late August I start seeds for a few winter tomatoes in containers, generally small-sized ones like Window Box Roma, Red Robin, Yellow Canary, etc. These tomatoes in pots can go into the garage or house during cold spells and extend the fresh tomato season quite a bit. I do similar succession plantings of most veggies, including beans (every three weeks), corn (every 5 weeks), melons (generally an early planting in mid-April and a late planting in late May), summer and winter squash, peppers, okra and black-eyed peas. I do the same thing with flowers. Take sunflowers. I plant different ones for each season. So, my spring sunflowers which will begin blooming in May most years, are some of the ones lightest in color like Italian White and Moonshadow and any of the ones with the lemon-yellow petals. The summer-blooming ones, which usually begin blooming in July, are the really golden-colored ones, of which there are many varieties. The late-summer to fall blooming ones are those in tawny fall-type colors like Autumn Beauty, Earthwalker, and any of the red-flowered ones like Chianti or Prado Red. So, I always have flats of replacement plants started and it is easy to put them in the ground and plug them into holes in my garden at any time. It can get rather complicated to keep track of what needs to go where and at what time, but by staggering plantings, I have found I can have a wonderful garden each and every week of the summer. Right now, I am starting flower seeds in small paper cups. These plants will go into the ground in mid-May. The first week in May, I start flower seeds that will go into the ground in June for blooms beginning in July. And so it goes, on and on and on. With all the stages of planting, I always have something new coming along and that pleases me. Dawn
...See More
nice article about Newfoundland in the NYTimes
Q
Comments (7)
Ohh, I wish I could return to Newfoundland. We circumnavigated it in a leisurely, stop and go way ten years or so ago. Our trip was typical of my planning. I like to go to the ends of things. I only regret that I didn't insist we take the ferry to Labrador. Our only planned stay was several days at Tickle Inn, which a woman on the ferry to the island had told us about. As did others who have commented here, we absolutely loved the island. My most vivid memories of life on "the rock" was the garden art--whirligigs, gnomes, other critters--that replaced perennial borders and rose gardens. And the memory of the sight and sound of them makes me smile. OH, and the little vegetable gardens along the road where the fill from road-making made fertile soil deep enough for gardens one after another, set off by string and twigs, maintained by people who lived miles away. And the cottages clad in beautiful pastel pinks, blues, and greens that lined the coast. As does the gentleman at Tickle Inn who proudly showed us his wood shop, and, in answer to my question about his favorite season said, "Winter." I must have gaped. He explained that spring was sodden muck, summer was hot and mosquito ridden, fall was also inhospitable, but in winter, with his snowmobile, he could go anywhere. He also told us about a polar bear, having crossed the frozen sea from Labrador in midwinter, that stood up, peered through, and pushed in the high windows in the dining room, then wandered off while he crouched down inside, gun ready if the beast came into the house, but hoping desperately that it wouldn't. And the several locals who invited us into their homes for tea and dessert, for conversation and sharing. I hope you can return soon. Thank you for evoking memories I treasure.
...See More
kwoods
16 years ago
Link to article

Sounds like a very nice yard to me.
silent1pa
16 years ago
Sounds to me like she should sue the township for harrasement.
That and the neighbor who is doing all the complaining since that is gonna be why the township is pushing her around. Makes me wanna go out in the field and collect some seed to play johnny weedseed in her neighbors lawns.
knottyceltic
16 years ago
That's terrible. Though...you never know until you see photos of the place just how messy she keeps it. I mean... I live in a middle-class suburban lot and although I have planted an all native woodland garden in the woods and the rest of my property is heavily laden with natives and non-native plants shrubs and trees, I 'do' tend to keep it as tidy as possible to avoid what this lady in the article is experiencing. I 'LOVE' the naturalized look and have many books on the subject but living in subburbia, you have to know that if you let things get too wild looking people aren't going to like it. I certainly feel that it's none of their freak'n business but to avoid conflict, I regularly pick up, or rake up dead flower heads, fallen leaves, twigs and weed by hand to keep the little bit of lawn I have from looking messy. I hate turf-grass but being in the city I don't want to create any controversy so I keep swaths of grass wide enough for the mower to cut the lawn and that's it. I keep it weed free by pulling or digging out the weeds and my little bits of grass are as nice looking as those who have professional lawn companies come to take care of their lawns. Every year I lose a little more grass and add a little more shrubs and by next year I will have no more than little green pathways winding about my property. It's neat and tidy and if the neighbours don't like it (one has already said she hates it...too f'ing bad I say) that's THEIR problem.

I hope that lady can find help/support from sources such as the Ministry of Natural Resources, local horticultural societies etc... to help her with her legal problem. How sad that it got to that point.

Barb
southern Ontario, CANADA
waplummer
16 years ago
Some years ago there was proposed a controversal housing project with a large number of people vehemently opposed to it. I unkindly made a remark to a neighbor about her landscaping- the basic minimum foundation planting. She retorted and referred to my "jungle". For some time afterward I would go on a safari after dinner.
knottyceltic
16 years ago
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder waplummer ;o) I have a neighbour (24 yrs old mind) who thinks she can tell everyone on the street how to landscape their yard and then is ever so kind as to tell everyone when they are also "ruining the neighbourhood" with their chosen garden designs. I live right next door to her and she's already told me in the course of 3 years that I'm ruining the neighbourhood with my red mulch (which isn't really red, but a dull cedar colour) and that my landscaping should be in the woods... and DUH! We live in a f'ing WOODLOT!!!! She is the type that moves to the woods to cut down trees and plant grass and that's exactly what she's done. %$#@!

Barb
southern Ontario, CANADA
Lynda Waldrep
16 years ago
Well, I have a house on a mt. top with 26 ac. I left it all natural except, of course, for the footprint of the house and the driveway. Our property is covered with trilliums, jacks, lady slippers, orchids, etc. (You get the picture.) Several years ago people began buying up here, cutting down the trees (the view, of course!) and clear cutting at least four ac. around the house. Then they planted grass, hostas, and other nice but not native plants. No more trilliums, no more ferns, no more Gray's or turk caps lilies. They have made their area look like any suburb in the southeast. Why come to the mts. and then destroy the very part of the landscape that attracted a person in the first place? Go figure. It is not just in the neighborhoods that people have very different ideas of beauty. Oh, now they want to pave the road. What's next? Cable TV??
chocolateis2b8
16 years ago
Just my 2 cents. First, if I was ever forced to live in a city limit again, I would be the renegade neighbor who goes as natural as possible, I wouldn't have a blade of grass. When I have to visit town, I have seen a few people who also enbrace this and personally I think their yards are lovely, I've even been so bold as to knock on their doors and ask to tour their garden. Granted there is a difference between a weed patch and a true native garden.

But it is ncrescue that prompted me to respond. It is a shame your new neighbors could not realize that you can have the best of both worlds. I only have 4 acres, 3 of which I garden, the other acre is given to whatever rescued livestock I happen to have at the moment. When I bought the place 20 years ago it was 'professionally' landscaped, meaning, formal hedges and straight lines. I have slowly got rid of all that as I can afford to do so, my gardens are very informal to say the least. I have my hostas, I'm a collector of them, but within all those are native wildflowers and ferns I have rescued from sites being developed. Most native wildflower die back by mid summer, it's then the hosta's are the showpiece, I get the glorious spring show of wildflowers and the later show of my extensive hosta collection. Want a lovely picture, have trillium, toothworth, trout lilies, bloodroot, spring beauties, jack in the pulpits, ect, blooming in the middle of newly emerged hostas and then have the hostas come to full glory as the native wildflowers die back. Been doing this for years, they do not compete with each other. I have a wonderful herb garden of culinary herbs, but in within those are herbs that are food sources for native butterfly cats, and I take great pleasure in watching my cats grow, they almost become pets to me. To me milkweed of several varieties is a beautiful plant, lovely flowers, pretty leaves, more than welcome in my gardens, even the ones eaten up by Monarch cats. I have them growing right next to ornamentals.

I won't climb on my soapbox about other issues such as organic gardening at this point, you wouldn't shut me up, lol. I'm just trying to say you can mix the old with the new if you really want to. I do my best to keep the old alive, but I also move forward, I am a avid gardener, I love all plants. Still it all seem to work, or least works to my standard of beauty, my little 4 acres is a wildlife hot spot, and that works for me, even as I'm cursing the barn swallows that nested in my garage and mess on my car, lol.
Lynda Waldrep
16 years ago
Chocolate, Thanks for your thoughts. I, too, have hostas on other property. (I did say they were nice plants.) I guess I was complaining about people who take out valuable plants in an ecosystem because they are considered weeds to them. As for loving all plants, Sorry, I cannot say that. Japanese honeysuckle, lugustrum (privet), and Japanese stilt grass cause me a lot of grief on the Piedmont property. At least they have not invaded the mountains...yet.
chocolateis2b8
16 years ago
LOL ncrescue, sorry if I gave the wrong impression, I did understand what you were saying about the people developing around you and taking out the beautiful native to plant only ornamentals, I agree with you, it's a shame. When I think about how much work I have put into reintroducing natives, it breaks my heart to see them plowed under, I'm the weird lady who goes in just before the bulldozer and digs up the natives, that's how I got all of mine. I was just trying to say it is a shame they couldn't see the beauty in the natives and work with them. You don't know how much I would love to have a ton of trillium, they are my all around favorite flower in the whole world. I have a few I rescued, but they are so slow to spread.

And yes, you are right, I may have said I love all plants, but I too have my 'pest' plants that I would about give my eyes teeth to get rid of. That's part of the problem with organic gardening, pulling weeds and mulching does not work on plants that I swear reseed the second they emerge from the ground or have roots that reach all the way to China and sprout again if you leave a microscopic peice of a hair root. I pretty much consider dandilions a mild weed compared to the quick weed I picked up in some livestock beding straw I composted and spread on the gardens, burdocks carried in on the rescued horse, or the tall bellflower that came with the property.
fossilbob
16 years ago
Many native plants take years to bloom and set seed, and a second to destroy. Friends sold their lake-front property (filled with North Woods wildflowers, including orchids). Passing through the area a year later, they were told to visit their old property because the new owners had done "wonderful things" with it. Yep...completely obliterated! A perfect bluegrass (alien weed grass!) lawn, with typical nursery ornamentals. A perfect example of someone moving out into the woods just to bring suburbia with them (and they also have to put up bright lights 'cause they're afraid of the dark:)
Lynda Waldrep
16 years ago
Yeah, forgot about the ourdoors light part. Fortunately, the folks on the mt. who DID put in outdoor lights are far enough away from our property so that I can still see the stars at night, which I cannot do in the Piedmont due to lights from the nearby city.
fossilbob
16 years ago
The Amish around here get disgusted with the "English" (as they call us:) moving into the country, turning the land into lawn, putting up lights (the Amish don't need lights) and thoroughly destroying the night sky and the country scene for everyone.

Back on the original subject...my yard is virtually all wildflowers...the neighbor's yard is "golf course lawn". He's not REAL happy with that, but...

Urbana is definitely a garden-friendly place, and many yards have little or no lawn at all. In some places it's just Creeping Charlie, but in many yards it's anything from natives to hostas. A drive around takes you past Bloodroot, Bluebell, Blazing Star,Butterflyweed, and Asters... depending on the time of year.

We did have a similar situation a decade or so ago when someone WAS cited for their yard (made the papers..he was a lawyer), but in that case he had allowed shrubbery to block the sidewalk...people were having to walk in the street!
flgargoyle
16 years ago
ncrescue- Trust me, if those folks could level the mountains (to improve the view), they probably would! We have 7 acres in NW SC, and we plan to disturb it as little as possible when we build. Our 'landscaping' is going to be almost all native, with an eye towards letting it gradually return to its former state. We made an interesting discovery- in the winter, when the leaves are off the trees, we have a nice mountain view. But rather than mow all the trees down to have a permanent view, we'll keep it as is, and look forward to the view changing with the seasons! It's been proven that when presented with a beautiful view constantly, after a while, you don't see it at all, but if you only see it occasionally, it remains special in your eyes. So we'll get to 'rediscover' our view every fall, and retain the splendor of nature always.
silent1pa
16 years ago
If that lady wanted to let her lawn turn to a giant weedbed than that is her right. It doesn't matter if it is sloppy or messy. It is her land. She owns it. If we allow to put restrictions on what is allowed to grow on others land than we should all have dirt lawns. I have a neighbor who's entire lawn (perhaps an acre) is entirely covered in types of ivy. No exageration ... a driveway, a house and an acre of ivy. Not even a tree. Guess what? I am all for it "for them". Blah or not they save alot of money on mowing I'm sure. It's not my place to tell them what to do with the land as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. I took out some norway maples from my yard and my neighbor got mad cause it was blocking his gazebo from my yard view so I was nice. I planted six nice new eight foot tall Mulberries. Ha-Ha should of kept his mouth shut. To think I was gonna put redbuds in til he opened his mouth. All that nice about to be purple wood but boy are mulberries tasty.
fossilbob
16 years ago
Has anyone heard the outcome of this? She was supposed to be in court on August 28th.
barton
16 years ago
I can relate. We bought a house with 5 acres of oak-hickory woods. A vacant 5 acre lot next door was woods too, till someone bought it and bulldozed it. That's it just bulldozed it. Never built a house. The nice thing was, the prairie was starting to come back. Then someone else bought it, bulldozed it again, and built a house. No landscaping, guess they can't afford it. Why not leave things alone if you aren't going to do something with it now? Maybe the prairie grass will come back if they can leave it alone for a while.

The neighbors on the other side ripped out trees to put in a swimming pool. The pool is surrounded by banana trees (In Oklahoma!) and non-hardy hibiscus; evidently they have money to burn. The few trees they have left have been thinned so they can mow under them. They "cleaned out" all the dead leaves and brush under them. I can predict what that dirt will look like in a couple of years if they keep mowing. They have not one but THREE large lights on tall poles. She made some sort of comment about how she wasn't really into the "natural look".

The dirt around here is terrible red clay mixed with sandstone. The only way you get non-natives go grow here is to import some expensive-ass dirt. Usually full of weeds. Their lawn looks sparse. It's bermuda grass, awful stuff but a reasonable choice if you want a lawn in this area.

I quit mowing except around the house (fire danger) and the 15-foot strip along the road and the strip bordering the neighbor's property. The big bluestem is coming back, along with other native grasses. The smooth sumac makes a beautiful display in the fall with its red leaves. Coreposis, coneflower, ironweed, helianthus hirsutus, butterfly pea, baptisia, aesclepius are all coming back. I didn't plant them. Plus lots of things that I don't know the names of. I leave the dead trees for the woodpeckers, unless the tree poses a danger if it falls. Pileated woodpeckers still make the rounds, but not for long if the rest of the neighborhood goes the way of the places adjacent to me. I haven't seen the quail in several years.

I'm not 100% native and never will be. I did make a concession to my veggie garden, and have a big zinnia patch near the house for the butterflies. The zinnias will be replaced with natives. I thought I wanted a fruit tree but I may just put in a patch of sand plums; no spraying or watering or fertilizing.
ann_in_nj
Original Author
16 years ago
It looks as though a compromise was made- nobody is entirely happy with the result. Thank you for so many interesting responses. Link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: Deal Spares Hefty Fine
msmarieh
16 years ago
Here's a picture of the woman in her yard (not sure if it is before or after), from one of the articles:

This picture shows her in front of her yard after she cleaned it up a little:

{{gwi:1062806}}
msmarieh
16 years ago
Another after picture:

{{gwi:1062807}}
msmarieh
16 years ago
Another after picture:

{{gwi:1062807}}
chazparas
16 years ago
I hate to say it but the place is a mess. Broken clotheslines and a lot of other "stuff" around in addition to the plants. I'm a strong believer in live and let live, but I wouldn't want her next to my place. You can have a backyard habitat and not have it be a mess. Look how close those houses are to each other.
rutgers1
16 years ago
I am in the camp that, if you choose to live in an area where the homes are close together and where other people have to look at your property and what you plant - or don't plant - you should conform in some way to the overall aesthetic of the neighborhood. To me, this also involves painting your home, replacing the roof when needed, and other such things. YOU might not care about that, but others do, and it is the neighborly thing to do. If you don't want to "blend in," there are thousands of places where you can move where you won't be under the microscope.

I always feel bad for people when I see a neighbor with old cars littering his property, or shingles falling off, or other eyesores. I realize a native landscape is not necessarily an eyesore, and in many cases is beautiful, but the owner should still consider the neighbor's reactions when tending to it.

I know my opinion might not be popular here, but that is how I feel.
joepyeweed
16 years ago
I certainly feel old cars and litter certainly isn't the same thing as gardening.

I think we have been brainwashed to think a mowed manicure lawn looks nice and everything else looks icky. ITs a bit communistic to think that we all have to conform...

The last two pictures, to me, look like she was working in the garden. The hose is strung out I would guess that its not always that way. Even the most manicured cottage garden can look messy while the gardener is watering, mulching, weeding etc.

The first two pictures look very nice and I would assume those are the front yard.
carol23_gw
16 years ago
It's a matter of the appearance affecting neighbors' property values.
1/8 acre is quite small and houses are very close. Home ownership is a huge investment and I cannot fault those living in the vicinity for not being happy about the situation.

What percentage of potential buyers would select a property with that view?
fossilbob
16 years ago
Think how offensive it is to some folks to sterilize a place, and cover it with an alien weed grass (Kentucky Bluegrass).

I've long said you should have to get a permit to plant it!

A home is a place to live and enjoy life. If one's view of a house is as just an "investment"...well, fine. But people shouldn't impose restrictions based on their perceptions on MY property. Safety is one thing...esthetics based on ignorance is another!

The city, of course, lied...claiming mosquitoes bred in the yard (they breed in water!). Why should ignorant people make the decisions?

I'll bet on a hot and sunny day, her yard is a cool and green sanctuary...I know MINE sure is! I can look from out of my "woodland" to my neighbor's harsh, sun-baked yard just a few feet away. Kinda' sad, really...
alenka
16 years ago
She does have a pond though, according to the article linked in the original post. And a pond can very well be a breeding site for mosquitoes, if she is not taking measures against that. I know when my neighbors were leaving empty buckets outside, and they would fill up with rain water, they were full of mosquito larvae, and there were a lot of mosquitoes in the yard. I know in a pond they would be somewhat controlled by their natural predators, but still you would have a lot of mosquitoes, not something you want next to your house at all times, especially if you have young kids. I'm not saying that woman is not treating her pond for mosquitoes, hopefully she is, I'm just saying that would be my only, but very strong, concern if a neighbor of mine had a yard like that woman has, in a situation when houses are so close to each other.
Iris GW
16 years ago
When houses are that close together, what one person does with "their" property can't help but reflect on the area around it. People that want to live outside the norm should reconsider living in a tightly packed area.

I'm not saying she's wrong in what she wants, but I think that is not the place for it. 1/8 of an acre is pretty small - you can plant native plants all over it, but it doesn't have to look overgrown and unkept.

And "hear, hear!" for getting rid of alien grasses and people's perceptions that they have to cover the majority of their property with it. That is so wrong on so many counts: alien, fertilizer, mowing, watering .... I'm with you on that one, fossilbob.
fatamorgana2121
16 years ago
With regards to the pond bit, how many suburban people have "water gardens" with those little preformed pond liners? Isn't that standing water where mosquitoes can breed too? How many yards have some sort of standing water in this woman's neighbor from buckets to water gardens? Are they all going to be cited as a public nuisance too?? If not, that whole argument is total garbage.

Someone just didn't like her idea of a yard and tried *real* hard to make up something to charge her with. My opinion is when my neighbors start paying my taxes, then they can say what happens in my yard.

FataMorgana
fossilbob
16 years ago
I think I read (?) that she uses Mosquito "Dunks" in her pond. Of course, mosquitoes go for any still body of water...birdbath, etc...
kwoods
16 years ago
I think her yard is quite nice. In fact I even prefer it to all the thousands upon thousands of illegal multifamily dwellings in suburban areas that I see no-one doing anything whatsoever about. Seems they are the new vogue, the "in" thing. You know, now that I think about it, I even prefer it to the millions upon millions of properties in utter disrepair with rubbish strewn about that I see no-one doing anything whatsoever about. Quite popular as well. It's a funny world sometimes.
EricEden
16 years ago
I can really relate to this woman - I live on a 1/8 acre suburban lot, just one block from a subway stop in a close-in suburb, and I've ripped out nearly all the grass and replaced it with a mix of native and non-native perennials, shrubs, and trees with just grass paths inbetween - my garden is also NWF certified. I'm sure there are some people who hate my garden, but when I am out working in the front yard I get nothing but positive, unsolicited comments from the pedestrians who pass by. But I do make an effort to keep it fairly neat, and I live in an area where all the houses are older, a bit funky, and there is no HOA....we have a tolerant live-and-let-live attitude here, but there are other parts of my town that are HOA restricted and my type of gardening would probably be prohibited. There are some towns near me in suburban Maryland (Takoma Park and Greenbelt come to mind) where the towns actually ENCOURAGE the 1/8 acre suburban lot owners to take out their front and back lawns and plant natives and xeriscapes. There are entire blocks in Takoma Park, MD where everyone has done this and it's just beautiful to walk down those streets in any season. If they keep hassling here, perhaps this lady should move to another area where the neighbors think more like she does...
jerseygardner
16 years ago
Biggest problem I see with the whole concept of Native gardening and landscaping is that there are too many folks that think they have to "scatter" plants aimlessly around their properties to make it look natural. This just ends up looking like a weed patch and their efforts cannot and will not be taken seriously by anyone that prefers order in their neighborhood. Actually this type of attempt is really embarrasing and is damaging to the whole effort of implemnting more natives into our urban and suburban landscapes. I applaud anyone that repects and attempts to go native, but please people, do it with some taste! If you look around you and study some naturual areas near your home you will find that the most pleasing natural areas have a sense of order to them. This order can be replicated in home landscapes without too much expertise or training, just a little taste and common sense. Natives can be just as beatiful and stunning as any contrived-non native landscape if done correctly.
kwoods
16 years ago
I'm not sure who determines what is tasteful and "done correctly". Should a neighbor's yard come before a panel of judges? Aesthetics are different for everyone and difficult to create a "standard" for.

I don't like green houses w/ white trim, I wish people that painted them that color had better taste. But, that's just my opinion and it would be arrogant and judgemental for me to try to dictate what someone else can do with their house dependant on my own aesthetic.
Lynda Waldrep
16 years ago
One problem concerns space. I have seven ac., so nobody complains about my rather wild areas. In an urban area, people are so close and have grown to "expect" a certain look. Also, they are so afraid of what they cannot see, i.e., the proverbial snake in the grass. Many gardeners feel that one must space plants with surrounding mulch so that it is very clear that the owner has control of that space. I have several friends who adore wildflowers but live in neighborhoods in which they must plant everything with precision, keeping all weeded and not allowing plants to "mingle." For me that is lovely but artificial. I prefer what I call the slightly kept state park look. In other words, I do have paths. Everyone has different tastes. I have a small place in the mountains, and now the people who are building up there want to kill all of the wildflowers and plant "civilized" things. That really makes me sad. Hopefully, that homeowners association will not condemn what Mother Nature has planted.
User
16 years ago
Honestly, unless she lives in a community with CC&Rs that allow some board of local control freaks to pass judgment on her landscape plan, I can't see that it's anyone's business what her yard looks like. If they're worried about mosquitos, they should suggest she throw $5 worth of mosquito donuts in her pond, and the problem's finished.

I don't think anyone's got a consitutional right to protect their property values, and I don't think it's been proven that any decorating your neighbors do, short of painting "THIS IS A CRACK HOUSE" on the front door, affect your property values.

I don't like the way my neighbor trims her tree, and it's right outside my dining room window. But there's no accounting for taste, and it's absolutely none of my business.

My father-in-law lives in a community where there's a review board, which recently rejected one homeowner's plan to paint his house THE SAME COLOR IT CURRENTLY WAS. There are only two choices here: live and let live, or allow your neighbors to exercise absolute power over every decision you make. I'll take the former.

Discouraging article about one woman's attempt to go native

Comments (37)

ann_in_njOriginal Author

Related Discussions

ann_in_njOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ann_in_nj
Original Author

ann_in_nj
Original Author