I came home today from work to find that my neighbor (I live in a duplex) cut down all of my flowers because she thought they were weeds… I literally just posted today about how proud I was if their growth. I know that they'll grow back because they're perennials, but I'll miss their blooms this year 😭 this is the before and after. The before was taken a few days ago.
by aeh1113
30 Comments
Did your neighbor really think those were weeds?
I’m sorry. I wish we could pick our neighbors :-/
I’d send them a bill for $20/plant
I’m so sorry!
Why was your neighbor on your property? Are we talking about a sweet old lady who often does favors for you, or the neighborhood control freak who thinks they can police others’ lawns? I would be livid and would definitely consider asking for monetary compensation at the very least (trespassing them is also not out of the question, but could definitely escalate things.)
If it makes you feel better, mowing generally stimulates root growth, so if she just cut them, they’ll likely just spend this summer growing a more robust root system.
They need to pay you money for new plants. Touching someone else’s yard is unacceptable and I would be toying with the idea of reporting her for vandalism.
I’m so sorry for your loss. That’s devastating.
When time passes and it hurts less, I encourage you to use these little martyrs to explain to your neighbor (from a place of empathy and caring) how much they meant to you because they are so cool and fun and important.
I see an obvious garden barrier of some sort, on the other side of which is turf grass. I’m calling bullshit on your neighbor. That’s fucked up.
Sort of related: one edge of my property has trees all the way down to the road. A few years ago, the very nice dude who does seasonal work around the neighborhood weedwhacked all of the goldenrod, asters, and chockecherry growing there while doing yard work for my next door neighbor. The area looks unkempt. It’s in the front yard area. He thought he was doing me a favor. He was gracious when I said thanks, but next year please leave it. Your situation feels different.
Oh. My. God.
Maybe if you added a sign that said “native plants” or something, it would help? So sorry this happened though. I’d be devastated. 🥺
Cut the broken plants into 3 inch sections. Soak them in water. Dip the bottoms in root growth hormone. Stick them in a pot with potting soil. Keep it moist.
Then plant all your new plants!
You said neighbor and you live in a duplex. Is the person who cut them down on the other side of your duplex or someone who lives in another house nearby?
Gallon coneflowers of that size, ready to bloom, are about $17 at my garden center. Is she ready to make it right?
This happened to me recently. I had a huge strawberry harvest – my biggest yet – then the city came and weedwacked them and my aster bed. I put a 50/50 compost / manure mix down and have been watering. The strawberries are coming back thankfully. I also put up 3 “Please to not trim” signs so they can be seen from every direction
Well, it looks like she did a poor job of what she claims she was doing….
It looks like shit.
Jeezus if it’s in a bed leave it the eff alone
No way in hell she thought those were weeds. Malignant
Echinacea and rudbeckia plants are universally beloved. This is crazy. What the hell.
I think your neighbor needs something of her’s trimmed . I recommend using a flame thrower though
That is so upsetting! If you sow them now, you can probably still get some zinnias for a few months. I’m so sorry. Those were obviously flowers. It’s not the same but they’re cheerful and bright! Were they coneflowers!? They were so tall and proud!
I think a lot of people think a plant without flowers in their face RIGHT NOW is therefore a weed. They don’t see any difference between an actual common weed and a plant that is GOING TO FLOWER in the future. It’s not just native plants, though they are more likely to fall victim to this ignorance. I have endless battles stopping the lawn guys strimming IN the flower beds, I have signs, brick border, obvious garden plants- still they do it about once a year.
To be frank… We have so many people who are completely uneducated about what different plants look like before they bloom that anything that is tall and narrow can be mistaken for a weed. I say this myself where I have mistakenly thought something was a weed and learn oh wait it’s actually like a native flower I see all the time but only at its floral State app home Depot or Lowes. For a lot of people they have been talked so little about what nature looks like. They’re not thinking dandelions are a weed because they can spread and take over an area but because they just are. It doesn’t look a particular limited number of ways… Specifically it isn’t completely 100% uniform therefore it must be a weed
I would want financial or labor compensation personally . Which may include teaching her about native plants.
This is happened to me, and I did cry. I know how hard it is to see such a thing and have that happen to you.
It’s time to have a conversation with your neighbor. Do it without anger and when you feel less sad, and approach her as if she made a mistake even if you think she didn’t. This lets her save face but puts her on notice so it doesn’t happen again. It’s a tricky situation living so close with other people. But you want clear boundaries as well
Wtf!!! I’d be pissed. There are obviously blooms on the plants. F that person!!! What’s with all these posts about neighbors cutting stuff down on someone else’s property? Stay the f out of stuff that not yours.
I know this probably isn’t the answer but maybe you could hit up a local nursery and get some to replace. If the neighbor doesn’t like it, I’d replace it ASAP.
Salvage the season, you shouldn’t have to wait until next year. ✌️
If you live in southeastern ma, id buy a couple for you to replace
An opportunity to establish very firm boundaries with her and the landlord about who gets to do what on their side of the property. I went through a similar situation a couple years ago when my super fastidious duplex neighbor insisted that my side of the duplex had too many weeds, untrimmed hedges and (gasp) leaves visible from the street. This was nowhere near the case – my side of the duplex looked perfectly normal. I contacted the absentee landlord and had him define, in print, whose responsibility was whose. Luckily he was cool about it and clarified the situation so she knew where to and where not to go. He was also probably tired of her incessant demands to fix the tiniest things. The neighbor was harmless and fine for the most part, but she also created a lot of unnecessary stress by fussing over trivial issues that were none of her concern.
Weeds with flower heads. 🤦♀️ make her purchase new plants for you!! Absolutely insane!
On a slightly bright side, you can use the cuttings to propagate more. Success rate is much less due to them starting to flower. But it is still feasible. Cut them up with three intact leaf node, peel the leaves of the bottom two leaf nodes, place them in water. Remove flower buds of course. And don’t submerge the whole stem. Roots will grow from the bottom and from the exposed leaf nodes. In addition, I find that placing them in containers that doesn’t allow as much light into the water (I.e pill bottles) and placing them inside (lower temps) encourages root growth. Don’t use rooting hormones if you’re going to submerge it in water. Those are best used when you stick the cuttings directly into soil.
This is straight up vandalism.
I feel like I should give people some context! I’m moving and today was the last day of my lease. I think she thought I had already finished moving out… In my case duplex is top and bottom. She lived above me, so we shared a yard. I tended the garden and she mowed the lawn. She did apologize and offer to pay for them but I’m too conflict averse and told her it was alright and she doesn’t have to pay. I’m just really sad, but I know she wasn’t being spiteful!