Last spring I gave a little garden tour for some fellow rose lovers. The biggest reaction was over the huge pile of mulch that had just been dumped on my parking pad by a local tree service - "Don't the neighbors COMPLAIN about that?"Well, no they don't - except for one gent down the street who is obsessed with the notion that the mulch is somehow running down the street, (a full city block) across the street, up a slight incline and then spreading itself all over his lawn. This is the man who parks his pickup truck on his lawn. Changes his motor oil in the driveway. But somehow, this mulch really drives him to distraction!
Mulch makes a lovely garden. It enriches the soil, moderates soil temperature, conserves precious water. In the last 6 years I've added literally tons of mulch to the garden - and a dozen or so truckloads of horse manure.
But on Friday the mulch phobic man struck again - and I was cited by the city for this. (Bear in mind, the mulch had been delivered just the day before - and would have disappeared in a week or so.)
It's certainly a lesson learned - not everybody views the world with the eyes of a gardener!
17 comments:
That just @#*&)(* sucks! What a moron. Here he is, letting motor oil run into the watershed, but you are the culprit? Wow. Unbelievable! I have avoided having a pile like this delivered to my house in my current 'hood for the very same reason. Non-gardeners need to loosen up, man! Sorry about the ticket. :(
You've got to be kidding! I see piles like that all the time, especially on my property ;) I once over heard our crotchety neighbor ask "What the hell are they doing with all this?" But that's as far as it goes. Does you neighbor's truck move? If not, maybe you could call that in, or get him for improper disposal of the oil!
Oh my! Neighbors can be funny creatures, can't they? We once had a truckload of good dirt delivered and what we couldn't use right away, we moved to our backyard near the compost pile. One day I came home early and caught my next door neighbor stealing my dirt. He was scooping it into a bucket and handing it over the low fence to his wife! I also had a similar situation at our current house where we had some dirt dumped in the shared alley. My neighbor complained about getting good dirt on her side of the alley (which was basically bare). Good grief. Sorry about your ticket.
Karen,
It is funny how non-gardeners just see the mess - and not the the potential beauty in mulch, manure and dirt!
Chloe M.
Gardeness,
Sometimes it is hard to imagine where the sheer volume of the piles go - I had one guy ask me (jokingly) if I was filling in a swimming pool in the backyard.
Chloe M.
Jean,
That is hysterical - stealing dirt!! And his wife as an accomplice.
People are really funny and territorial sometimes.
Chloe M>
Sorry to hear about your citation. I hope it doesn't require payment of a fine. What was the citation actually for? Lunatic neighbor aside, sediment runoff and stormwater mangement is a really big issue for cities these days, and sediment discharge to the storm drain sediment one of the principal issues in sustainable land management. Just something to think about .... But, if ever the old saying rang true.... "One man's beneficial amendment is another man's pile of horse-sh*t!"
What!? How in the world did he conclude that the mulch was ending up in his yard?! I guess I am really lucky that I have never been cited. I'm curious...what are the guidelines for mulch in your neighborhood?
Dennis Ladd -
I was cited for not having a tarp over the pile, and for being over the property line into the street. Guilty on both counts! (I've now corrected both)
I really do appreciate the immense efforts of our city and local non profit organizations to ensure clean creeks, watersheds and ocean beaches. Our neighborhood storm drains have screens across them all, mostly because we do live on steep streets and the runoff is significant.
But honestly, changing one's car oil in the driveway? That's far more serious, in my opinion.
Chloe M.
Kate,
Some debris from the recent rains washed down the street onto his lawn, and he drove up and down the street until he saw my mulch pile (not hard to miss, I'm afraid.)
Our guidelines call for any dirt, mulch, construction debris to be tarped at all times - rain or shine.
Chalk it up to a lesson learned!
Chloe M.
I might also add that the guy down the street can't even see the pile of chips from his window nor does he have to drive by it because the street dead-ends a few blocks up. I think he's a bit of a nut case.
Hee hee! Once I left a pile of mulch too long in my street-side parking pad. My neighbor finally (after about 3 months) called and said "I just got back from 2 wks out of town . . . is that MY pile of wood chips on the street?" Ha! I hustled out with the wheelbarrow before she could nab it. Love your mulch wars. --Diana
No matter how tempting, don't accidentally give the address of the complaining neighbour the next time you order a load of manure to be dropped off, "and drop it close to the front door please." :)
Northern Shade - that's a good one!
I must admit my first impulse was to go kick more dirt all over his lawn, but in the interest of neighborhood harmony I refrained.
Chloe M.
So sorry your neighbor feels that way, but some people have strange ideas about what bothers them. Maybe a batch of chocolate chip homemade cookies would sweeten him up. I find those cookies to be like a magic wand, especially to men! :-)
Frances
It is amazing the things people complain about - or give a pass to. I am so jealous of that mulch pile. I've just talked to our selectwoman about asking all the tree trucks that have been working in our town since the ice storm to dump some of the wood chips where we gardeners can pick them up and use them. For free.
Neighbors aren't always neighborly. I consider myself very lucky to have neighbors that don't care and that our gardens are hidden behind a huge hedge.
Our city pays their zoning and codes employees to drive around looking for violations....
Gail
clayandlimestone
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