In this great democratic country, we are allowed many liberties.
freedom of speech
freedom to bare arms
freedom to buy and then own, rack up credit to the point of no return, drive over priced and over sized gas guzzling vehicles.
yet some liberties we take for granted...
case in point - freedom to garden.
a few years back, i decided to move into a condo. i was tired of giving my money to landlords and decided that it would be much more satisfying to give it to the bank in exchange for a place that i could truly call "home"... oh yes and build gardens!
i selected a unit with optimal sun. i selected a neighborhood where i was told gardening was OK as long as it didn't impact the landscapers activities such as mowing and leaf raking.
for those of you who don't know, condos are a joint investment into a piece of property. all unit owners own a piece of the pie, yet they also own the interior of their structure.
the percs are many. no need to worry about a declining roof, no need to mow the lawn, no worries regarding plowing, trash, water, etc! it's a great option for someone who doesn't have the time to invest in a fixer upper type of house.
however recently i realized why i will never - ever - EVER live in a condo again.
condo associations, governed by irrational people who don't really know what they want - but somehow think that extreme uniformity is best, suck.
plain and simple.
back to the case at hand, i selected this unit for it's gardening potential. and i got approval - or the "go ahead" from the board at the time to plant. i placed multiple beds around my unit - dug up totally by HAND, in incredibly rocky soil, using a pick and shovel. alone.
i spent hours, and days, shaping, amending the soil, mulching, rearing annuals and perennials. over the years i have developed a nice strawberry and raspberry patch, countless lilies and other flowering gems, a full butterfly / hummingbird garden and a great vegetable patch.
i used to be on the board - but after a few years of listening to people complain about bees around their units (damn pest control apparently doesn't kill ALL of the insects around our neighborhood - go figure), and channel 10 having static on their tv's, i grew weary and stepped down. No sooner had i stepped down did the discussion begin.
we should VOTE on what we can and can't do with our property!
And no sooner did the survey go out, had the decision been made to ELIMINATE my gardens and return them back to lovely, green turf.
yes grass!
why you may ask? someone decided that having a garden next to your unit may decrease property value!
ugh.
now i am left with a decision to make...
1. do i fight the decision to dig up my gardens given i
a. invested a lot of time and money in these and they are my heart and soul in part
b. had prior board PERMISSION and approval to do it - can such a decision be overturned??!
2. recognize that people are assholes and leave all as is - let it go. be sad when i have no fresh tomatoes to eat this summer.
decisions decisions... what do you think?
Opal Inside
12 hours ago
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6 comments:
Well this helps to confirm my belief that 85% of humans are stupid! That sucks. My first reaction would be to fight it. Any paperwork showing that you had approval could possibly help. I feel that in the long run though, some people would start to resent you and your gardens, which could bring new problems. A very sticky situation indeed!
Perception, perception, perception--your "flowering gems" and "great vegetable patch" (along with others that you so self-centeredly admire) may very well be eyesores and nuisances to others; in fact, it seems quite definitively that they are. Your hard work notwithstanding, as a home/condo-owner, you must understand that what you do directly impacts others, much as dog-owners who don't make their dogs stop barking into the wee hours of the morning or stop pooping in your front yard. Your freedom of [fill in the blank here] goes only so far as it begins to affect those around you in a negative manner. Grow up, and realize that utilitarianism trumps your desperate need for individualism.
interesting...
i find grass to be socially and environmentally offensive.
1. loads of fertilizer - causing downstream and watershed wide environmental impacts beyond what most people understand or are willing to acknowledge.
2. cutting, maintenance - fuel, fuel and more fuel. did i mention fuel? oh yea and run off. MORE environmental impact
3. costs - speaks for itself.
4. monoculture - environmental impact #4 of infinity. let's talk about the types of birds, bees and butterflies that turf fosters... hmmmm.
5. lack of character. history of the "american dream", seeking that perfect yard with the perfect white fence, with the perfect job, salary, car and associated lifestyle aside...
it's ugly and lacks any character.
there's no shred of utilitarianism in a sea grass.
i also find your SUV offensive. it gets 10 miles to the gallon and is inadvertently fueling the war overseas. your hairstyle makes me cringe everytime i have to look at it. we should all be bald. your baby cries too much - they too shouldn't be allowed in public. too much noise, i can't think.
change it all. limit it all. everything and everyone should look, sound, smell and taste the same.
what a world that would be.
people aren't utilitarian, they are ignorant. they worry that my bike parked outside my house for a few hours, might bring their property value down even though their vehicle has much greater impact and probably costs them more to run than any impact on property value.
i'm hoping you thrive on instigating controversy on others blogs... otherwise your utilitarianism words support a truly mundane, ignorant world. how unfortunate.
Ahh, yes. People are ignorant; I agree completely, including you, my tree-huggin' friend. Grass is evil--are you even expecting me to treat that as a serious argument? Let's assume no, since it is completely fallacious. And the "character"/American Dream argument is pure opinion--one that practically all of those around you did not share (hence, utilitarian, yes?). You must come to understand the pragmatism of home ownership, for this is certainly the first one you have ever owned. Your haircut doesn't impact me; your overgrown jungle of a yard does. Get used to that fact, and you'll be better off in the long run.
that is the point! it's all a matter of opinion.
some flowers along side my house - impact you in the same way that lawn, and your beat up car, and your hair cut impacts me. there's no true impact because i know that the small gardens that i have are not bringing property value down. i have too much evidence to the contrary - ie people offering to purchase my unit. neighbors walking by because they enjoy the butterflies and flowers. we're seriously not talking a jungle here. it's all a matter of opinion and priority. and who is to say your opinion trumps mine?
i can accept people's opinions - yes - as i know i have to. and i can work around them - IE don't move somewhere where i know i can't pursue the things i wish to pursue.
however, i can't understand being told i can do something - and pursuing that for multiple years. investing time and money. and THEN YEARS later being told it's wrong and that it will be pulled out.
imagine if you put in an addition on your house. you received permission and followed through. then years later were told that the new neighbors changed their minds and decided they didn't want to allow additions in the neighborhood.
makes no sense.
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