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Not a good morning - Venting

Sporadic Sparkly

Earlier, I happened to spot a letter from my local council, which had got stuck in my letterbox.

The letter was from the housing officer, stating that she had received concerns that my garden is becoming very overgrown, and affecting the fence line separating my garden from my next-door neighbour's.

In addition to stating the fence is my responsibility, the letter helpfully explains that all gardening assistance schemes have been withdrawn and that there is no help available to clear and maintain gardens for any tenants. In other words, if I am unable to tackle my own garden, then it's a matter of paying for someone else to do it. Either way, the housing officer will visit NEXT FRIDAY (25th) to inspect the progress of my garden clearance, and agree on a timescale for completion.

The most frustrating thing of all is that I know how much of an eyesore my garden is. If it wasn't for the fact that my physical and mental health issues have had a tendency to throw a spanner in the works, I would have been putting my array of gardening tools to use long ago, and not allowed my garden to get into such an overgrown state.

My next-door neighbour and I have always had a good relationship, so I don't believe that she was behind the complaint. If she did have any concerns, I feel sure she would discuss them with me amicably first. However, I do feel it quite possible that the neighbours living next-door to my immediate neighbour are probably responsible. Rather than attempting to calmly discuss concerns with neighbours, it seems their preferred approach is to go straight to the council and make a complaint.

Anyway, having previously been in rather a good mood, the same cannot be said now.

Edited to add:

Some months ago it came to light that my local council had referred itself to the Regulator of Social Housing, after data on safety checks in homes was found to be missing. As a result of this, my council has been using the services of a building surveyor firm to undertake stock condition surveys of council homes.

My next-door neighbour informed me a short while ago that during a recent inspection of her home, she now fears she had put her foot in it. She had been asked if the fence between our gardens was hers. She had said it wasn't. For the record, I think the fence dates back to when my home had been built, possibly back in the 1960s. When I moved into my home more than 20 years ago, the fence was in a dire state and falling apart then.

Anyway, when the surveyor had been inspecting my next-door neighbour's home, he had obviously seen the state of my garden and mentioned it to the council. Knowing that none of my neighbours had made a complaint has helped to calm me down a little. I feel guilty enough about the state of it, as it is.

Parents

  • This makes me feel so angry! An overgrown garden is a haven for wildlife and much less offensive than a well manicured garden, sprayed all over with weed killers and pesticides and slug pellets and mown/strimmed to within an inch of it's life on a daily basis by annoying petrol machinery, accompanied by a disapproving occupant who tuts and gets all self righteous every times they see a dandelion that has been allowed to flower in someone else's garden!!!! I think people need to get their priorities right! It's your garden and you shouldn't have to be forced to do anything to it for the sake of anything other than if you want to! I'd love to live next door to someone who let their garden get overgrown! They are less likely to be outside doing something annoying, less likely to be judgemental and disapproving, and more likely to leave me in peace! Don't feel guilty about your garden and I'm sorry you got that letter. 

  • in reply to NAS79256

    Whilst I cannot argue with you that overgrown gardens are a haven for wildlife, there is no doubt about the fact that I have allowed my garden to become an eyesore. 

    If I owned a rural property in the countryside, then unless an overgrown garden was causing an obstruction/hazard to other people, I consider it unlikely that there would be an issue.

    However, as I live in a council property, then it's a matter of needing to abide by the rules set out in my tenancy agreement.

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  • in reply to NAS79256

    Whilst I cannot argue with you that overgrown gardens are a haven for wildlife, there is no doubt about the fact that I have allowed my garden to become an eyesore. 

    If I owned a rural property in the countryside, then unless an overgrown garden was causing an obstruction/hazard to other people, I consider it unlikely that there would be an issue.

    However, as I live in a council property, then it's a matter of needing to abide by the rules set out in my tenancy agreement.

Children
  • in reply to Sporadic Sparkly

    I have to disagree about it being an eyesore, it sounds lovely and I would much rather look at lots of oak saplings than a pristine gravel driveway with an obnoxiously large and shiny car parked on it and an owner who insists on pressure washing several times a week disturbing the peace and sending gallons of soapy waxy water down the drain to pollute our rivers. When did society come to look upon vegetation as an eyesore but find, cars, artificial plastic plants in plastic pots,  patio heaters and patio 'furniture' and all other rubbish and noise that humans generate to be perfectly acceptable?! I'm sure there are lots of antisocial things that people do that are permitted in the tenancy agreement, like running tumble dryers all day with such strongly scented washing that the whole street is overwhelmed with perfume and no one with a still functioning nose or lungs can breathe properly! I will never understand how humans tolerate all the things I find completely intolerable but then they can't cope with some vegetation that arises when nature is left to it's own peaceful and life supporting devices!