One of the great, inexplicable mysteries of our time is the fixation that many Americans have with making sure their neighbors' lawns are mowed extremely short and uniformly.
So, while you certainly can't blame one homeowner for trying to play nice with the neighbors, history says that it may not go very well for them.
"After living in our new home for a whole six freaking weeks, we've probably gotten around 15 different occasions of neighbors asking about our plans for our lawn or offering recommendations for weed killer sprays or lawn service companies," the homeowner wrote in a post on the f***lawns subreddit. "My husband is too gentle of a soul and I've not had a chance to tell them to mind their own business so instead we made this super cute yard sign. Will they leave us alone? Doubt it. But I can hope."
The lawn sign is indeed very cute and gentle, with a happy little sun, dandelions, bees, and a butterfly coming together to deliver the message: "Pardon the weeds, we're feeding the bees."
Not only are regular grass lawns boring and a headache to maintain, they discourage ecological diversity, causing harm to the surrounding native plants, wildlife, and insects that make up a thriving ecosystem.
In addition, the type of lawn care that removes dandelions and other "weeds" most often relies on the use of herbicides, which are actively harmful to the environment.
Other Redditors were inspired to share their similar stories.
"I took over a long abandoned house in a neighborhood with an HOA and right away they gave me a hard time about the yard," wrote one. "I replied that by definition a weed is an unwanted plant that serves no purpose but the 'weeds' were maintaining soil quality, feeding wildlife, and preventing erosion, so they weren't weeds. That didn't go over well but they replied that they wanted a park-type look so I went down to the local metroparks, took pictures of the same plants growing there and in my yard and sent it to them. I got a fine but it was worth it."
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