One self-described avid gardener's complaints about their neighbor's weeds won them a mass scolding on Reddit.
More and more homeowners are opting out of labor-intensive, expensive lawns. Some replace them with water-saving landscaping, but others simply let the yard go and see what sprouts — often with gorgeous results.
This time, the homeowner in question was this Redditor's neighbor, and the result was a field of dandelions.
"My neighbor's garden is covered in dandelions," the Redditor said. "I don't mean many dandelions, I mean so many yellow flowers and white dandelion puffs that you can barely see the ground underneath."
Dandelions have gotten a bad reputation in the United States because they're often among the first plants to turn up on a grass lawn. Traditionally, this is understandable as looking like an imperfection within a stretch of nothing but green, but many homeowners have begun opting for more natural yards on purpose in recent years, especially in efforts to save water, money, and time while keeping their yard free of chemicals.
And as WTTW explained, dandelions were actually beloved edible and medicinal plants historically and only fell out of favor when high-upkeep grass-only lawns became fashionable. They're also vital food for pollinators in the spring.
Unfortunately, some spread to the Redditor's yard, where they were not wanted. Again, understandable for a homeowner accustomed to maintaining their own yard one way to prefer to continue that way, and it's really no one's expectation that everyone must rewild their yard, despite the benefits. The original poster was overstating the case when they described it as "biological warfare," though.
The Redditor tried everything on the dandelions.
"I tried to use dandelion sprays on my lawns and just pulling them out when I see them — it barely worked," they said. "I tried talking to my neighbor and asking them to maybe take care of their garden a little bit — I even offered to do it for them, free of charge. They declined. I tried reporting the issue, but nothing came of it — I guess weed control laws aren't heavily enforced."
Rather than considering leaving it be or putting up some kind of barrier on that side of their yard, the Redditor planned to go nuclear.
"At this point, I feel like pulling out all the dandelions myself, or at least spraying some sort of killer on their lawn," they said. "Would I be the a******?"
Reddit was not on the original poster's side, almost unanimously voting that they would be in the wrong.
"For a gardener you sure don't know much about biodiversity," said one commenter.
"Those are important plants for pollinators and you should know that as a gardener," said a second Redditor.
"Another 'avid gardener' whose approach is to spay poison everywhere so that only the plants you approve of survive," said another disgusted user, while another doubled down on that with concerns about pets and children being exposed to the dandelion spray:
"Do they have pets? Do those pets ever eat grass? Lick their paws? Are there kids in the house? Do kids ever visit? Does the family eat the dandelion greens like many, many people do? Don't f*** with someone else's property— ESPECIALLY not with literal poison."
Another summed it up well more diplomatically: "Some people happen to like dandelions, and every gardener has a different opinion on how they want their green space to look. You might prefer yours pristine while they might favour a more natural aesthetic, and frustrating as I'm sure it is, that doesn't give you the right to control how their space grows."
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