Subject: Re: What happens when laws prohibit ecologically sound gardens
From: "Bill Robinson" <roseguy@flash.net>
Organization:
Date: Sat, 03 Oct 98 11:18:32
Message-ID: <MOD$981003.26720@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
Carol asks:
>Have any of you had difficulty when the weed ordinances that
>prohibit you from growing native plants or practicing environmentally
>sound gardening techniques because the city wants front yards to
>be made up of a lawn, mowed and green?
A righteously interesting issue! Read Michael Pollan's "Second
Nature" that also talks about a community having problems trying
to deal with a "naturalized" forest and their inability to spell out
what a "native plant" really is. I think there is also room for discussion
as to what constitutes "environmentally sound gardening techniques".
A friend of mine teaches advanced home gardening at the Arboretum
for Los Angeles County. She is really knows plant materials and she
is an excellent garden designer. She has been teaching gardening for
years and is one of the most highly respected gardening gurus in
Southern California. She bought a house in a development community
and wanted to do some interesting things in her front garden using
ornamental grasses and Mediterranean plants because Southern
California has a Mediterranean climate. The neighborhood has a
community standards committee that had a fit and considered the
ornamental grasses as weeds and demanded their removal.
We looked into her legal rights, posted the issue on the Net, and got
a reply from someone who teaches Law in Washington State. His
word was that it would be a total nightmare to prove the case one
way or the other and that the best approach would be to use charm
and patience.
I have the feeling that this would also apply here. The community does
have a right to set fire safety codes and the issue ought to focus on
fire safety. . . certainly one can grow an environmentally sound and
esthetically pleasing garden without creating a fire hazard. I think the
problem will boil down to whether the garden is or is not a fire threat
to the community.
Lawns and the care that many home gardeners give to them with
toxic pesticides and excessive mineral salt fertilizers is a threat to the
environmental health of the community as well.
Bill
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