My rural neighborhood is more or less city-fied. They all got pasture type fencing including the street-facing side. All is well manicured native grasses as viewed from the street on these 5/10/20 acre plats. No native spring flowers, they're all mowed down. No, these native flowers and their originating plants are not in competition with native grasses. I delight when I arrive at home to see spring alive, these white and ultra-yellow flowers will wilt soon enough. Soon to see summer, and most, if not all of it, will wilt and dry again in the Texas sun. I kept my fenceline around my house, not my property line. I don't understand my neighbors, help me out.
Try living in a tract with a mandatory owners' association. Under the CC&Rs (conditions, covenants, and restrictions) recorded on the individual lots in the tract when the land was subdivided, the association's architectural review committee might have more authority than any government planning or zoning commission.
Fortunately, I don't live such a tract; but there are several very near. In one, you can't plant a deciduous tree -- even in your back yard -- because the leaves might blow into a neighbor's swimming pool. You can't leave your garage door open while working in your garden. And you can't have any play equipment (e.g., swings) in your back yard if it extends higher than the wall (not fence) around your property.
The restriction on trees is paradoxical. In the common areas of the tract (owned by the association), there are valley white oaks (Quercus lobata), which are deciduous and drop bushels of leaves. The association cannot remove these trees because they were growing in the tract before it was developed and are thus protected by county ordinance. That's right: The association effectively owns -- and must maintain -- trees that the association prohibits any individual homeowner from planting.
Some of my neighbors would like to impose such an association on my tract. They don't like the colors of some houses. They don't like the drought-tolerant landscaping in some front yards. They don't like the fact that I mulch my front lawn -- pink clover (Persicaria capitata) instead of grass -- in the late fall with leaves from my valley white oak and "evergreen" ash (not really evergreen). Fortunately, they can't impose an association on me without my approval because it requires recording CCRs on my lot, which they can't do.
Tell the smart ones: Too frequent cutting favours some species over others and leads towards loss of diversity. They may need all of those species at some time under different conditions.
Tell the rest: It's not 'authentic' to have it so neat, back in the olden days there was no neat. They came to escape the new and embrace the old so leave it grow sometimes. Also riding a mower/tractor for hours gives you a tan which is uncool and leads to skin cancer. They should stay indoors in the aircon and admire the wonders of nature from there and preserve their complexion so they can properly show off their new clothes from the spring collection.
There was, now defunct, housing associaton here when I first built the house in 2005. The only concern was raising pigs. Chickens, they backed off from banning but was considered.
Native Live Oaks just finished doing their early spring annual leaf drop here. I did plant 2 Pecan trees, they're too small to make any substantial leaf drop in autumn at the moment.
I also just realized something else. The county does shoulder maintenance on public roads here. They also mow the shoulder if its not paved. There is much less native flower population there as well.
Except a few dandelions, my yard is free of contemptuous weeds. I mowed the backyard last week. The front yard is primarily Bermuda, as is still a bit short. Now I have to make the fence trim run on both sides of the fenceline. Required as have an electric fence inside the fence to keep the dogs from digging under the fence. The larger area for mowing outside the fenceline, I mow after spring has finished its flower run.
After reading your take on your neighbor's property restrictions, I'm so glad the local HOA went defunct. It seems the neighbors are doing something similar informally here though.
Most neighbor's hire lawn care service and I may see these neighbors in their yard once a year. I think I am the only one who does not have a riding mower. What they call "yard work," I call gardening. My sister and her husband have 8 acres and both hate any kind of gardening--makes me wonder why she bought so much unused land, but that's her business.
Most likely for privacy... with 8 acres her neighbors can't readily hear her having sex and she doesn't need to hear their toilets flush.... and land doesn't need to be "gardened" to be a garden... some of the best "gardened" parts of my land are those I leave entirely to Mother Nature, I don't try to improve on perfection.
I use strictly a push mower inside the 450+ foot fence perimeter around the house. Outside, I use a riding mower for mowing the above ground leech field, around the detached garage and driveway, and the fire barrier around the outside of fenceline. I also keep a path mowed to a set of good sized live oaks with a big canopy towards the back of my property. Its total a bit more than one acre for mowing.
Native trees and accompanying native grasses/brambles/brush border the street shoulder. Garage is viewable from driveway street entrance, view of house at severe angle from driveway entrance at best. Another street view of the house is from the rural mailbox and adjacent path made by construction workers when my house was built. Front yard has best privacy as the house does not face the street. No rear door entry either.
Unless a person farms, raises some form of livestock, or needs a heck of a lot of business space, most homeowners can't fully use 5/10/20 acres. That seems to be a mindset (total use) that I don't understand. Can you enlighten me?
One asset, that guys don't talk about, but like about a big spread with lots of trees is relieving oneself. You don't have to walk all the way back to the house. A Golden asset.
The world is becoming over populated. What was once country will become city. My Mother was born and raised in the country with barns and farm animals. Seventy years later it is now a concrete jungle with thousands of homes and paved streets. Farm animals no longer allowed.
I was also born there in the same city. When I turned forty I moved to the country. I still had city habits when I first moved to the boondocks, nice lawn and flowers around the house, just like those in the city. I am changing; the lawn not so good - I no longer put down herbicides, I now raise chickens, into beekeeping and have a large vegetable garden. I was a city mouse now turning into a country mouse.
Like my mothers world changed, so is mine. The creeping civilization of human over population is slowly arriving. This year a new big box hardware store and a mega mart store like wallmart is just seven miles down the road. I am also guilty of this transformation also, as I moved to the country so did others.
I however, have no kids and will not contribute further to this messed up over populated world. As for complaining about your landscape changing will be on no use ... get use to it. It is they way the world is! It is called "Progress".
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.