You are both so funny! When I was getting the area ready next to the clematis to plant my Morning Glory seeds yesterday, I smelled an awful funk! I thought something had died on her side. Of course, she was trying to see through the lattice to talk to me. I asked her what that awful smell was and she said it was the dead grass that she had piled all around her veggie patch! She's trying to stink ME out!! I really don't understand any of this.
Last year when I planted the Josephine, we put up a big piece of trellis and she saw the flower and told me how pretty is was and she enjoyed the shade, even though the shade came from the cherry tree, which I pointed out. When she cut down the cherry tree that gave her a ton of shade, and me so much of my privacy, she told me that she wouldn't mind at all if I wanted to put more lattice up with more plants on them so that she'd have some nice shade for her bench swing. Nice that she wouldn't mind me doing something on the fence that I paid for! We knew she was getting the trees cut down long before it happened, and had already decided that we had to put up some lattice to save our sanity. So, it isn't like this whole thing hadn't been discussed in advance!
I've never "hung out" with this woman (she's the same age as my Mom). She's always been a good neighbor, and I've always considered her a friend, but this is crazy. She's always been too nosy, and the joke in the neighborhood is that you've really scored if you know something that she doesn't! This has just gotten so out of control and I don't know what to do about it! I don't want to hurt her, but I also want to enjoy my yard in privacy like I used to! I guess I could turn to neighbor warfare, but I don't want to go that route! Maybe the novelty will wear off and she'll butt out! haha! Ya, right!
Natalie
Natalie
What do you grow your clematis on?
I had a neighbor that was real nosey too, but it work to my advantage when my lawnmower came up missing, she knew the vehicle that took it. She has also caught a lot of kids messing in the back yard and chased them away. She would always tell me who was at my house when I wasn't home also. So.. use it to your advantage and relax, you have constant surveillance with out the camera! By the way is her name Gladys??
diamond123, that is so funny that you mentioned the name Gladys! Our snoop when I was growing up was the next door neighbor named Gladys! Everyone in my family still compares all nosy people to her, as in "Is she as bad as Gladys was?"!! My snoop isn't named Gladys, and she's way worse than Gladys ever was!
I really shouldn't complain like I am, because I've had some really bad neighbors over the years. My husband retired from the Navy 9 years ago, so we've moved a lot. Some neighbors were almost impossible to live next door to and the neighbor here isn't impossible, but my back yard has become an obsession of hers and it has to stop. The last 4 months have been an invasion of my privacy, but she wasn't always this bad. She's 71, so you have to think maybe she's getting dementia or something, but I know that isn't the case. She's just obsessed! Today she gave me a report on how many inches my tomatoes have grown since I planted them! Wasn't that nice of her? haha!!
Natalie
She may be bored and lonely. Maybe watching tomatoes grow is better than Wheel of Fortune or the Price is Right.
She's a hoarder and hasn't been able to get to her TV in years! The funny thing is that she's super active, and is always on the go with friends or family, so I can't see what's so interesting about my yard and tomatoes! I'm boring compared to her! She really isn't home a lot, but I sure do know it when she is! She's sort of in and out all day long, and always takes a peek when she's in! Her husband died 5 years ago and she's kept herself super occupied since then. I also thought at first that she may be lonely, but she has more friends than anyone I've ever known, so I'm pretty sure that isn't it. I know she has to hate being inside her house because of the condition it's in, and she has company over a lot, but they always sit on her front porch to visit. At least she does keep her yard nice and tidy. However, she doesn't actually do a lot of yard work, because the only plants she has are some bulbs and a tiny veggie garden and roses. I've been taking care of her roses for 9 years because they are on my side of her driveway, and were planted by the original or second owner of my house because he thought it was on his property. Oh well, I'm beating a dead horse trying to figure out what it is.
Back to the clematis for a minute! They have been planted and are growing well, but I really don't know what to do with them now! I've seen lots of posts about not watering them too much, but I really don't know how much is too much. I've also seen lots of posts about epsom salts, but I have no idea if I need to use it, or when to use it. I'm also clueless about fertilizing! Anyone have any suggestions?
Natalie
Howdy, neighbor! I use Epsom Salts on my Clems and Roses. They go crazy for the stuff. I put a couple of tablespoons around the root area once a month. You can dilute it in warmish water and pour it around them, too.
I love how you've done the lattice pieces. It looks great. We want to see pics of the end results, too.
I hear you on the nosy neighbor. I have one behind me. I guess my yard looks nicer than his, he can't help himslef looking over here. ^_^ We've been tempted to plant high growing thorny bushes along the wall because his grandkids like to run along it, as well.
People of all kinds are drawn to beauty ! may be they just like to see what is growing ???
Gloria
Howdy kwanjin! Nice to see another "local" on here! You're only the second person I've seen on here from Utah!
I'd love to know more about the Epsom Salts. I've got about 2 or 3 inches of mulch around the root area of my Clematis to help keep them cool, so would I sprinkle it on top of the mulch and water it in, or would I push the mulch back and put it right on the soil? I can see moving the mulch being a pain to do, and I probably wouldn't do it more than once! The Clematis aren't exactly easy to get to because I have to climb through the Daylily jungle to get to them. However, I think I could easily mix it in with water and do it that way. How much do you put in the water? I have a 2 gallon watering can that I use. I can't believe that I finally turned on the sprinkler system for the first time yesterday, and only ran it long enough to test all of it! And of course, it rained right after that. It's been a really wet year!
The Snow Queen Clematis that I planted on one of the lattice sections is growing like crazy! It's now about 7 feet tall!
Natalie
Half a gallon of tepid/warm water to 2 tablespoons, is what I use. I recently started doing this and the clems and roses have gone insane.
Pictures!!!
kwanjin, thanks so much for the "formula"! I'm on my way out now to water. I'll also put some on the roses!
If you'll scroll up the page a bit, I've posted a picture of the bed that I planted the clematis in, along with the pesky-neighbor-attracting lattice that it's growing on! You'll see the iris in the front. I'd love to see pictures of your flowers too!
Here's Josephine today. What a beauty!
Natalie
Pretty!!!
I have a few pics but plan on getting more as they come on. I have no blooms on them yet.
I thought I'd update everyone on the nosy neighbor situation!
The newly planted clematis are growing nicely, and so are the morning glory seeds. None are tall enough to block the view, but I'm seeing progress with the plants so I'm happy. Nosy neighbor was out of town all of last week, and it was perfect! I could enjoy the backyard like I should be able to, and never had to worry that she'd be snooping when I least expected it! I also noticed that the dogs were barking a lot less since she had been gone. Actually, they really didn't bark at all! She's always talking to them when looking over the fence, or even if she thinks they are outside when they aren't, and they always bark when they hear her or see her because they love her. The rest of the neighbors are probably starting to hate me because of the barking, and I'm tired of having to tell the dogs to be quite. I don't like it when they bark either, so I know it's getting on the nerves of the other neighbors.
When she got home Sunday, I had a brain storm! She was out front so I told her I had a huge favor to ask of her, and she said she'd be glad to help! I asked her to please stop talking to the dogs when they are out back because they always bark, and it's getting out of control. She said she wasn't to blame for that because she had been gone all week, and I told her that the funny thing was that there was almost no barking at all the entire week! We had a good laugh over it, she said she is probably the reason they bark so much, and she promised to stop. I also pointed out to her that whenever she looks over the fence, even without talking to them, it really gets them going, and I've got to get the barking under control before the whole neighborhood hates me. Hopefully she'll be a good neighbor and do as I've asked. I've had to ask her at least every other month for the last 8 years to stop talking to our older dog when she's out in the front with me and I'm trying to get her into the house, because the older dog always run over to visit her instead of minding me! So, it may take some time, but I'm hopeful that I'm onto something! I'm sure she'll need reminders now and again, but I think I've solved part of the problem - at least for now!
Natalie
Let us know how she behaves for the next week or two. I'm curious if she'll abide by your wishes.
So far so good, but it's only Wednesday! She had company last night so we made sure to stay out of the backyard so that she could enjoy herself, and I noticed that everyone was being really quiet! I wish I had thought of this a couple of months ago, but only time will tell.
Natalie
O, I so hope this is your answer. Good job on thinking of something that would make her do the favor for you.
Thanks kwanjin! I know it will work for a while, at least, and the good news is that she's going out of town again tomorrow and won't be back until Sunday! At least it's a start and the ice was broken, so to speak. I really didn't know how to bring the whole thing up to her, because I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so this was a good way to do it without having to say "keep your nose out of my business"!!! My dogs really do adore her, especially the older dog, so she is well aware of the fact that they bark when she talks to them. I decided tonight that I'm going to make sure that I take them out front regularly when I see her, so that she can at least visit with them that way. They'll bark their heads off as soon as they see her and I can reinforce the issue!
By the way, wasn't that some crazy rain we had a couple of days ago? I couldn't believe how hard it was pouring! I had planted a bunch of flower seeds the evening before and I sure hope they didn't wash away!
Natalie
Yeah! I hope your seeds are okay, too. So much rain that it only added to the flooding of the rivers and creeks coming down from the mountains aiding the snow melt. Yikes! Some of my plants are showing signs of too much water and not looking well. LOL Weeds are sprouting all over this year, too.