Neighbors Thinking Your Strange?

We started talking about how neighbors look at us gardeners funny at the end of this forum for Texas Gardening:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/589902/

I think there could be lots of funny stories here to share!!!! I saw someone else started a thread on planting by the moonlight. It reminded me of how me and my husband work. One night he was still putting up gutters on the house and he took his worklight up there and clipped to the roof so he could finish it up in the dark. That same week I was putting in a row of Japanese Boxwood along our curved corner lot and I was doing it by the light of the moon and the lamppost. When our neighbors came out to smoke their cigarettes and saw me digging in the dark by myself I smiled, only imagining what they must be saying about us!!!!

It's really fun when you take more pictures of your plants than people especially if you are taking MANY shots of one plant from all different angles. Can you imagine what the person at the film development place thinks when they go through them? LOL.

I would think that the wildest ideas come from the people that talk to you the least.

There is a new house going up on the lot next to me. The builder dug up a corner of my lot by the sidewalk to connect to the sewer line.
I have his OK to use the top soil from his big pile to set up an upgraded flower bed there. I suspect one neighbor in particular will think me a thief. Ask me if I care.
Andy P

The house next to us is for sale, I want a gardener in there or at least someone that doesn't mind my compost, winter sowing, and on and on. when someone comes to look at it I wander out to look at my garden and check them out. Most people talk to me about what it is like living here. I make sure they know that we are gardeners and it is important to the neighborhood.

This afternoon someone came to look at the house and their toddler was in my garden tromping on things and playing in the bird bath. I sent my 20 year old son out to be noisy to scare them away.

We are definitely a gardening neighborhood and want to keep it that way.

Alamoaimee:

At least what you were doing doesn't cause cancer. You came out to beautify the lawn...they came out to fill their lungs with smoke....I think they're the weird ones! :o)

LOL noobie! Thanks for the compliment. They are somewhat "organic" as they don't damage the landscape a whole lot....they leave their wild weeds and invasive grasses as nature plants them in their yard. Because I work in mine so much I think they don't really care for us but I've mowed their yard for them once. Make sure to rinse your mowers though so you don't transplant their weeds to your lawns!

Aimee:

I know what you mean. In our neighborhood, the neighbors just mowed the lawn but didn't edge or fertilize or anything. Then we moved in and I fertilized and had this beautiful lush green grass. Suddenly, the whole neighborhood is concerned about their lawns. Oh well, at least we're a good influence.

Noobie,

Same here! It does tend to rub off on some neighbors when you are taking care of your lawn so well. We do the works!

Yes it is nice when others see your work and it rubs off.

Today we added a new garden bed and expanded another. We got several strange looks when we were covering the grass with newspaper and then farmpost. I think we have the reputation of the strange couple on the corner.
I don't mind at all, infact it is fun.

We kept having neighbors parking alongside the curb by our house, meaning we could never park there when we needed to. We put some "alamogrow" cow compost dirt along the whole side to build it up and fill in areas. Wow, it sure smelled like a pasture for about 1 week and ever since then NO ONE has parked along the curb by us?! Killed 2 birds with one stone!

LOL, maybe I should try that.....got a cure for nosey neighbors?

Hmmm noobie, good question. We've introduced ourselves to many neighbors being an all new neighborhood....no one bothers us with being nosy. Everyone sticks to their own yards and lives....only encrouching on neighbors with their weeds or dogs who roam free. LOL. A possible "cure" might be a full array of perimeter plants? I did boxwood around one side and front.

I moved from a suburb with neighbors who, when seeing me plant a veggie bed, sort of sniffed in derision and said how it must be nice to have time for such silly things. Now I live in a rural area. I thought my new "country" neighbors would understand my love of gardening, but I was wrong. The people around us have between 1-5 acres and all they seem to love is their lawns and a few neat, tidy beds that consist mostly of mulch. What, build a new garden bed and destroy all of that lovely grass?

Seriously, the guy across the street won't let his wife put in a small veggie bed on their 5 acre lot because "it's messy." She's not amused.

I don't really care what they think, 'cause you know what? They suddenly don't think I'm so crazy when I show up at their door with a bag of tomatoes to give away.

I finished planting 50 daylilies in a drizzle last week. I know my neigbor thinks that I am nuts! I was determined to get them in the ground quickly. I had driven close to 80 miles to pick them up the day before.

I also grow veggies, annuals, perennials, tropicals in KY look pretty funny in a rural setting, but I am having a good time!

Hey, I think that they are weird driving around their lawns on their funny little tractors and wasting all that lovely gardening area.

Amen, zen! I'd be happy with a lot less grass here, too. I just keep bringing the beds out a little futher each year. The neighbors here are nice, and mostly keep to themsleves.

The people on either side of us are really nice. The neighbors on the east side, though, I'm sure think I'm insane. The wife leaves early for work, and frequently sees me out with the sun just coming up pulling weeds or deadheading in my bathrobe and crocs.

We have a few gardeners in the subdivision, and one lady who is on the garden tour every year. You'd think that she would be friendly, but no so much. I was driving by the other day, and saw a gorgeous clump of soft pink tuips blooming. She was out working on the beds in front of her house, so I stopped to ask which kind they were. Her response was that they were very expensive ones that she special ordered, and I probably wouldn't be able to buy them. Charming.

Maybe the kind lady would like to donate some to you.

yeah, right. LOL! Maybe she'd be willing to trade for some nice garlic mustard in bloom. I'd be happy to share it with her.

what a kind and thoughtful person you are. Please don't bother to send me any.

sstateham-you actualy take the time to put on shoes?! LOL Im out in my pjs and barefeet before the kids get off to school and Im back out as soon as I get back from dropping them off. Ive never had anyone stop by and ask me about anything Im growing. Guess Im just not weird enough yet or something.

lol Dcat. I put on the crocs because I don't like the way mulch feels on bare feet. I can, howver, do a good cruise out back in bare feet - concrete, lawn, and stepping stones are a little easier on the tootsies.

Stacy

LOL mulch dosnt bother me as much as stepping on a stray worm or late departing slug but Im still out there in my bare feet happily meandering until I go eeewwww.

My problem is getting my feet clean.

Ok I am going to pull away from this computer and go out to the garden.

I don't DO bare feet any more, not since I stepped on a bee.
I've had comments from people about flowers near the sidewalk but the gardening bug has not hit any of them.
Actually, one neighbor who only did veggies now does flowers too. I think I helped steer him that way.
Andy P

Good job Andy!!! I have heard a lot of neighbors comment on what they PLAN to do but am still waiting to see some gardens. I'd be just as happy to see their yards growing something nice as I am to see it in mine.

I like to be barefoot....I did step on a bee for my first sting though. Was so proud I made it to the 4th grade and had never been stung. Then I went out playing as always with no shoes and there was the bee!!!! Sitting a freshly cut onion half on it removes the pain quite fast.

I still like to be barefoot but I am more careful with the many critters living in the grass we have down here. But we treat for bugs and it gets many but we never have fire ants in the yard so I'm happy!

I didn't know about the onion, thanks.
My lawn is shrinking, too.
I don't know what the infatuation is about lawns, lots of work, water, chemicals and large empty green patches. Give me diversity and color.
I see kids playing on lawns that had chemicals sprayed on them the day before, duhhh.
Andy P

I like a nice lawn, especially up front, I don't want to much clutter with color. I kinda think of the lawn the way I decorate inside, I don't want a lot of knickknacks and pieces of furniture in every corner. I like a nice huge area rug to bring the room together rather than artwork and a fresh green lawn looks just as nice. I like to plant with borders like walls around the lawn. It really doesn't take me any more effort to maintain than a bed of flowers or veg garden that we have. =)

Right now I am not the most popular person on the block. I just fertilized my entire yard (front and back yard) with fish emulsion. The high school across the street evacuated two classrooms and the neighbors all decided to go somewhere. My son (25 years old) decided that he really did want to go to work today after all. LOL

What do other people do about this problem?

Thanks,

Chuck

Hey I have used it on house plants but never the lawn. It is lucky you didn't have home land security checking up on you.

Actually I didn't use it on the lawn, I used it on all my butterfly and hummingbird plants ans shrubs. I usually do every four weeks during the growing season; however, it has been a while.

Take care,

Chuck

Chuck,

My husband uses it on the veg garden and plants are bigger than ever this year. We have a 20x40' garden and over 200 tomatoes and the squash leaves are literally so huge and overflowing in the raised bed that we can't count how many are on it, it's taller than the corn stalks. All the plants love it and I don't think the smell really lasts that long. Cow pasture smells stronger to me but I like that smell okay.

Funny that a h.s. would evacuate based on the smell???? LOL, must have a been a public school at work. HAHA.

Last year I lived I planted a bed of catnip in along the back of the garage as we hadn't had any luck getting grass or much else growing there..being a mint, I figured it would take over and give the cats something to play in..I also planted wildflowers along the adjacent patio. Apparently one of the neighbors didn't like my style of naturalizing...I came home one day to find my catnip mowed flat...later the neighbor from across the street (this was in the BACK yard btw) came over and said that he "took care of those weeds" for us....needless to say, I had other issues with this man's intrusiveness, but he must have thought I was batty for being so angry about a "big patch of weeds" that I had "spent months growing" some people!!! lol

OH NO!!!! OPPS!!!! I guess you could look at it either way....either he didn't like your growings or he was just being nice!!!

Wow... you guys have some great stories. Well, I know all my neighbors on my street and they are all super nice and really look out for us. It's just that anytime I am doing things in my yard everyone comes over and asks "whatcha doin'?....how much was that?" While I don't mind having friendly neighbors, sometimes their questions are just a bit too personal, and sometimes I just want to putter in my yard and have some me time. Oh well, I guess it could be worse.... :o)

Noobie, If they become too much, ask them to help with weeding.
Use the old "While you're here" routine.
Andy P

Speaking of weeding, I think I've mentioned garlic mustard.... you can send them over here to help me pull these buggers. One acre down and five to go before they set seed.

Are those perennials, have little white flowers, grow to about 18 inches tall?
I've been fighting them for years.
Andy P

I have never heard of this weed. Thanks for sharing! Wonder if we have it down here?

Since my garden is very public I have lot's of people stop to ask about this or that, I enjoy it. I guess it is the teacher in me, I taught art and math for several years.

I don't have any garlic mustard either and I do believe I want to keep it that way.

I enjoy people that comment, but I have had several that want a start of this and that. Now, I can just say sure you can bid on it at www.daylily.com.

Good idea I will have to remember where I get things and then tell them where they can get it too.