Landscaping: My lawn is now 3 feet high! HELP!!!!

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seedfiend West Babylon, NY June 10, 2007 08:48 PM	HI, I was sick for the past few months and as a result my lawn is now up to my waist. I just got a letter from the town telling me I have to cut the lawn or be fined in a court! I don't know how to cut this. I only have a 16 inch push roller mower and I am disabled and can't afford to hire somebody. I can't believe its a LAW that I HAVE to cut the lawn. What if I wanted to grow a wildflower meadow? But, what do I do now???Do I have to cut it with a hedge clipper? HELP! PLEASE! Debra
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) June 10, 2007 09:08 PM	Unfortunately many places do have laws like that, the thinking behind it is that if your house is an eyesore due to unmowed lawn, broken down cars in the yard, etc it doesn't make your neighbors happy so there needs to be some way of forcing people to clean up their property. You might try calling the city and explaining your situation and see if you can work something out with them, maybe since you're disabled they might have some program that could help you. If that doesn't work, you might see if there's a teenager in the neighborhood who wants to earn a little extra cash, that would be way cheaper than hiring a landscaper. Even if you have to go and hire a pro to do it though, that's probably still going to be cheaper than the fines you'll get otherwise, so you may need to consider it if you're not able to work something out with the city.
WeeNel Ayrshire Scotland United Kingdom June 11, 2007 10:17 PM	Hi seedfiend, really sorry that you have been unwell, this letter about your lawn will only add to your worries, too bad, but as stated before, neighbours dont really find it helpfull if they work hard in their gardens, then someone elses weeds and seedheads blow all over theirs, it aint prety to look at either, if the city wont try to help you out till you get on your feet again, do you have a local scout troup who could perhaps send some of the kids over to try tidy it up for you, or the church, OAP club, it is worth a try, but I would try the city first, dont ignore the problem, Ecrane is right, it wont be cheep if you end up in a court setting, AND more worries for you, which wont help your recovery. Good luck, get well soon. WeeNel.
NatureLover1950 Vicksburg, MS (Zone 8a) June 12, 2007 07:00 AM	Oh how awful for you seedfiend. Too many of our laws fail to consider special circumstances. I agree with ecrane and WeeNel--both have some good suggestions. Boy Scouts could be a real good option for you. Their Eagle Scouts have to perform a special project at some point in their "career" (been a while since my son was in the scouts so can't remember). Let us know if you get this worked out and I will be praying for you in the meantime.
Chiajam Dickson, TN June 12, 2007 11:53 AM	Been there, done that. If you don't cut it, they may cut it themselves and charge you for it. (very high charge in addition to fine). Requiring lawns to be be cut is not just about your neighbors, it is for fire safety and discourging animal pests such as snakes, scorpions, etc. If your lawn is not very big, you can knock it down a bit by trampling it first, then raising your mower to the highest level. I have used a board to push weeks over and then stood on it to crush them down. I try to mulch every bit of lawn I can as I have a very large area. Killing the grass and planting low growing ground cover is an extreme option. Getting help from a service agency or a local garden organization is good advice. Good luck.
tcs1366 Itasca,IL&Lk Delton, WI (Zone 5a) June 13, 2007 08:38 PM	We also have those sort of ordinances -- ours is 8" you can contact your village/town/county and explain your situation... I'm sure there is some sort of "Friends in Need' program, just like Boy Scouts... we have this thing called "character counts" were basically the kids (its for jr high aged kids) are pretty much forced to do "good deads" -- they dont graduate if they dont. anyways -- there should be a local program that can help you good luck with the lawn,,,, and get well.
Len123 Adrian, MO (Zone 6a) June 13, 2007 08:46 PM	burn it
seedfiend West Babylon, NY July 09, 2007 02:31 AM	Thanks for all of the helpful advice. I did try to use a fire hose and spray it down which helped somewhat. But the ex-husband came over and finally offered to pay for it to be cut. I have taken care of all the landscaping for the past 9 years and now he's being cranky because it cost him $300 bucks to have someone come and cut it. How much did he think I've paid for the grass to be cut every other week for 6 months of the year, for all of these years. Plus while I was healthier, I put in over $4000 of perennials,trees,shrubs, etc. I'm not even counting the sweat equity I put in. He is so p/o'd at me and i think its so unfair. Someone suggestedd to burn it, which I wish I could do away with the grass but my luck the house will go on fire,( God Forbid). But whats making me the most angry, is he made me take away my rototilled,composted, and fenced off area where I have grown my tomatoes & basil for years. All becasue I couldn't plant anything this year and some weeds grew in the spot. Gee...I really hope that its because he didn't like the look of it and not because I am not allowed by the town to grow veggies. Can they prevent people from growing their own food just because I live in a suburban area?
tcs1366 Itasca,IL&Lk Delton, WI (Zone 5a) July 09, 2007 09:08 AM	>>not because I am not allowed by the town to grow veggies. I would say NO here. The VIllage may restrict things like "having barnyard animals" etc, but not veggie gardens. That would be the Ex-DH. Sometimes you can get lil neighborhood kids to pull weeds... that may have been a solution to the garden. and as for a fire... that you can not do.. aside from possibly burning your house down -- it's illegal.
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) July 09, 2007 09:39 AM	Was the veggie garden area in the front or back yard? If it was in the back, I don't know of any places that would not allow that, but there are some towns that might not allow them in the front yard so you should call and doublecheck if that's where yours was. My guess is it was just the ex-DH being mean though.
renatelynne Boerne, TX (Zone 8b) July 09, 2007 10:23 AM	I have to agree... we aren't allowed to have veggies in the front but as long as it is side or back we are fine.
WeeNel Ayrshire Scotland United Kingdom July 11, 2007 01:26 AM	So whats the attachment to the EX, appart from his cash in a time of need, tell him he left and made you happy, so unless he wants to start world war 3, tell him to bug off and go play with a packet of razor blade or the street cars, whatever, so unless he has some stake in the property, or you are soley dependant on him for other things, dont see what you grow should have anything to do with him, so long as your not breaking any bylaws etc, growing your own veg, in a back yard is not against the law, so long as it is well looked after, is not bothering the neighbours or being like jack and the beanstalk kind of gardening, go ahead if it gives you pleasure, so he cut the grass or paid someone else to do it, big deal, best thing to do now is put a wooden cross in the grass and tell him your saving that plot for him, dont let it all make you unwell again, it will only cause you more stess and have to get him back to get the work done, if he'd cut the grass for you himself, I could see the point of all his moaning about fences and tomatoes, but as he did'nt then ignore it all, get back out into your garden and try do a little bit work at a time, it obviously made you happy at one time, so go easy, it is amazeing what you can do, try raised beds for veg, if you can, it aint so sore on you body. Good Luck, hope your well soon, WeeNel.
chris_lcf530 Peachtree City, GA (Zone 7b) July 14, 2007 07:17 PM	Debra, Babylon can be a pain to deal with. I am ex-Islip now living in Georgia. Call your local church, they usually have kids who need community credit to make their Confirmation. They might have some ideas. Good Luck, hope you feel better chris
NatureLover1950 Vicksburg, MS (Zone 8a) July 15, 2007 05:23 PM	WOW WeeNel--you get 'em girl!! Maybe you need to talk to this guy--sounds like you could stand him on his ear, lol. Have to agree with you--what's he doing sticking his nose in her business like that?
msrobin Caneyville, KY (Zone 6b) July 20, 2007 08:20 AM	Seedfiend, another option which will cost a little money, but would take some of the strain off of you, is that now it's cut, spray a weed killer on all of it, then after it's all dead, reseed with a low growing grass that doesn't need to be cut but 1 or 2 times per year and plant your vegetables in containers. WeeNel, don't sugar coat it on our account. :)
flowers_delight Leicester, NC (Zone 8a) August 23, 2009 02:48 PM	Its a shame your neighbors don't offer to help you. Get a couple of goats to board for someone they will take care of the grass problem I'm sure.
Sallysblooms South, TX August 28, 2009 02:48 PM	There are rules for safety and for property values for neighboring homes. I hope you can find someone to mow the lawn, it is just part of owning a home. I hope you feel better.
clpgirl Chippewa Lake, OH (Zone 6a) August 28, 2009 09:21 PM	I'm the zoning administrator for a tiny village, and yes, some places DO have ordinances against veggie gardens in the front, plus my village has an 8" lawn ordinance, and yard has to be seeded and some sort of lawn or ground cover present. Reasoning is(and I wasn't in place when these were created) 1) some people DON'T take care of veggie gardens, get bored, etc. and as you may know one person can destroy for others, 2) we have some absentee owners who would let their tenants yards, or empty lots grow forever, creating a fire hazard AND a place for invasive species to seed (by bird). In addition, unfortunately, unmowed areas do lower your and your neighbor's property values-especially in this economy. Most municipalities depend on property taxes, based on home appraisals, to fund police, fire, schools , road maintenance, snow plowing, etc. and really, truly don't want to lose, or lower the quality of these services for their residents due to lower tax bases. Third the seeded and graded 'lawn' ordinance in our village has to do with run-off, not only on neighbors lawns, but into the storm sewers. It's amazing what kind of havoc one bare lot with run-off can create in a sewer or storm drain over about six months. And once again, you and I pay for that eventually. Hope this helps you understand a bit about the whys. In our community, the Lions, Kiwanis, and Rotary clubs all have serious committments to helping others with yard work, painting etc. In addition to Scouts I would encourage you to contact these organizations, or call the local high school-as others mentioned most high schools now have community service requirements prior to graduation. When we have a situation such as yours in our community we refer the homeowner, if eldery or disabled, to one of these service organizations. In addition, if you were notified to mow, there has to be a time frame in which you can correct, or a hearing you can attend, to discuss special circumstances. We have frequently altered time frames when homeowners do this. I would encourage everyone to be familar with zoning ordinances pertaining to landscaping and gardening in your areas. Knowing what you consented to when you purchased your home, often prevents unexpected letter shock. All this info is available to the public-and anyone in the community may attend meetings of your local zoning board to voice your opinions-and sometimes create change! We are really NOT your enemies, and sometimes ordinances do outlive their usefulness. Hope this helps make sense of things. As our mayor always says, "It's the issue, not the person", so I truly hope you don't feel singled out. (I just painted my house this summer so I wouldn't have to cite myself.) People don't often talk about the citations or letters but you can bet there are more going out than your realize. My best to you in living with your challenges. I too am disabled and understand that others do not always demonstrate the compassion we would like. It's kinda sad.

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