Rewilding your yard can be full of pitfalls.
Maybe your partner doesn't like the way it looks in the early stages, or maybe you have a problem with your homeowners association coming around. But what about when you're not rewilding, at least not yet, and your grass is just an inch too long — and you've got a neighbor who likes nothing more than sticking a thorn in your side?
"Neighbor keeps reporting everyone to the city for unkempt yard," a Redditor wrote in the subreddit r/neighborsfromhell in what's called a "What Would You Do?" Vent/Rant.
The 15-year residents of a quiet street had a neighbor start a "beautification club" five years prior.
"It seemed like a fine idea at first," they wrote. "We helped elderly neighbors mulch their yards, we had garden landscape competitions, things like that. It quickly turned sour as it became clear that the whole idea was for her to be able to run a one-woman HOA."
The neighbor made expensive proposals, wanted houses' paint colors to match, and asked people to take down campaign signs. "Everyone stopped participating," the poster wrote.
Suddenly, the city started issuing code violations. The poster received tickets for tall weeds, two dead bushes, and an expired vehicle tag. They said an officer warned them to "stay on top of everything" because "she makes weekly calls."
"Both my husband and I work full time jobs," they wrote. "We do the best we can but apparently it is not good enough and now we have to worry about her filing a complaint if our yard is not immaculate. It really stresses me out. I wanted to confront her about it in person but I'm not sure that is the right move. I'm afraid she might retaliate and do something even crazier."
Some Redditors advised taking petty revenge, including by rewilding within city ordinance, but another tactic was to approach the problem neighbor respectfully and calmly.
"I think the only adult thing to do is to find out who all on your street/[cul-de-sac] was reported and cited, and call some sort of meeting, and include her, for some sort of intervention," one user wrote. "Confront her about her interference, nosiness, and pettiness, so she knows that YOU know that it's her."
Another commenter said they could suggest the person find a volunteer position with an organization such as Trees for Life or work on neighborhood common areas. Someone else recommended a nonaggressive confrontation: "Just let her know what it used to be like, and reports neighbors for code violations actually had the opposite [effect] of what she wants."
That kind of intervention allows room for parties to remain friendly or at least cordial and also models respect. After all, we can lead the way to a better future with environmentally friendly choices such as native plants and solar panels if we work together.
If you're in a similar situation with a problem HOA or landlord, this guide can help you get started with adjusting bylaws or working from within to bring about change.
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