Re: secluded vs open gardens
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: secluded vs open gardens
- From: B* B*
- Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2000 12:22:23
>I remember in my boyhood - in NZ - all suburban streets had a concrete
>footpath seperated from the road by a grass verge & council provided street
>tree.
It is certainly the norm in the US, and most cities have laws governing the
height of fences around front lawns, and the distance they can be from
houses etc. Of course Americans tend to have an individualistic streak and
sometimes the rules are broken and if the result is not too obnoxious there
are usually no complaints and even when it is obnoxious people are usually
somewhat tolerant. One guy in my neighborhood built a two-meter-plus fence
all around the front lawn right up to the sidewalk, and the neighbors
jokingly refer to it as "the compound" (a reference to the Branch Davidians
in Waco...). They could be having orgies back there and nobody would be the
wiser. But though it is completely illegal nobody has made any formal
complaints.
However the new planned communities now can be incredibly dictatorial on
what homeowners may do - down to a list of which trees and shrubs may be
used and which may not be, what color one can paint the front door, etc.
Some of the worst laws in these communities concern neighbors' "right" to a
view. In one of Seattle's communities this led to people being forced to
top tall evergreen trees that "blocked" people's views (or framed them?),
which in turn led to the creation of a group called "Plant Amnesty",
dedicated to promoting good and safe pruning practices and avoiding such
butchery.
Well I have been contributing very little to the group lately because I have
been in Istanbul since April - I am missing my garden terribly here amid the
concrete environment. Not knowing if I will be going back or not and
when/if I go back, whether my house will be torn down for development or be
saved for a few more years I'm in a bit of "suspended animation" so I am
enjoying plants mostly on my brief forays out of the city. I had a
wonderful trip to the Black Sea in September with two others, which I have
been meaning to write about but well...haven't gotten around to it yet. :)
I will!
Hope you are all enjoying your autumns or springs, as the case may be!
Bob
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