Neighbours: Either you love ’em or you hate ’em …or perhaps you just tolerate them.
There’s a saying that goes; “You can pick your friends but you can’t choose your family.” And while that’s certainly true, you have far more control over your interactions with your family than the people living next door?
So, while we’ve borrowed their landscape, erected fences between them and us and even created a refuge from their prying eyes, I’m wondering whether there are many gardeners who actually get along with those creatures that inhabit the flanks of our homes.
In our street we’re fairly busy people. Young families with small kids. So while there’s some obvious inroads to conversing with our neighbours our interaction is similar to ships passing in the night – a quick “hello”, wave or head nod as we pass each other heading off to the next thing.
Yet, while we may have very little to do with each other, our homes impact each others on a daily basis. It’s not uncommon to see two houses next to each other, one with a manicured piece of turf mowed to the boundary while the other apathetically ignores the waist-high weeds.
So, the question I wish to pose is; “Do you garden (verb) with your neighbours in mind? Or, are your gardening activities purely your own?”
For me, it’s a bit of both. I won’t plant a tree on my boundary that I know will cause problems for my neighbours in years to come but I’m also going to create boundaries so that his lawn doesn’t impinge on my garden beds.