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| Author |
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| 25 new of 190 responses total. |
slynne
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response 50 of 190:
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Jun 29 20:47 UTC 2003 |
No. But I think I have a right to grow anything on my property that I
want to. I mean why should their desire to not have this plant trump my
desire to have it? Especially since they can get rid of it in their
yard if they dont like it. Anyway, none of my neighbors have
complained. If they did complain, I guess I would consider putting
borax around the perimeter if they were nice about it. That would
probably contain the creeping charlie. Cant help them about the flowers
with airborne seeds though. I think that is how some of my wild flowers
seed. I enjoy those flowers too much to get rid of them.
One time when some friends and I rented a house, one of the neighbors
complained about the dandelions in the yard. They wanted us to put
chemicals on the yard but I didnt want to because I would rather have
dandelions. I pulled the dandelions but that wasnt enough for them but
that is all I was willing to do. Those neighbors were always mean to us
anyway. We never should have bothered with the dandelions especially
since dandelions are beautiful.
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sno
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response 51 of 190:
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Jun 29 21:04 UTC 2003 |
Not allowed to grow anything on your property. The ramifications of
doing so with certain plants is obvious.
I guess using good judgement about what you allow to grow should also
be tempered by a "good neighbor" policy. Otherwise, irate neighbors
will absolutely have property values affected, and some may be
inspired to vigilante-ism. Seems like being a contrarian is a great
way to build a consensus against you.
JM2C.
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slynne
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response 52 of 190:
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Jun 29 21:30 UTC 2003 |
Aside from marijuana, I cant think of any plants that are actually
illegal. I dont see any harm in growing wildflowers and such on my
property. It's only the back yard that I let grow wild. But, I checked
with the city and I am not violating any ordinances. They do have an
ordinance that says that a person cannot have "weeds" in their yard. I
asked them what they consider a weed and what they consider a flower.
They said, "a weed is something you dont want there, therefore if you
want it there, it isnt a weed" The ordinance only applies to "weeds"
that are above a certain height though. Once that creeping charlie does
it work and chokes out all the grass back there, I wont have to worry
about it because this stuff just grows low to the ground.
There are only 7 houses on my block. One is for sale so no one lives
there and the other is owned by a guy who collects cars and has a band
that has loud practices. I have kind of a deal with the car collector.
He doesnt complain about my dogs barking or my yard and I dont complain
about his cars or his band. I am worried that someone will move into
the house between us who cares about such things. I will deal with that
if it happens. One of the other houses has a yard that is all weeds but
they mow it sometimes. The other 4 are rentals as far as I know. They
dont really have yards, they have parking lots so I dont imagine they
are worried about the weeds from my yard.
I generally believe in "good neighbor" policy. But only to a point. I
dont believe in chemical weed killers for instance. I also have to say,
though, that it is not really being a "good neighbor" to go bitch about
plants a person has in their yard. Or their paint color. Or their
window treatments. Or the political signs they have in the yard. etc.
My parents have neighbors that do that. They get bitchy about
everything that all the neighbors do. They dont like the dogs off
leash. They dont like that people let their yards go wild. They dont
like the 30 broken tractors a neighbor keeps (even though they were
there when they moved in). They dont like the new siding on one
neighbor's house. *shrug* I guess there are just a lot of folks who are
overly concerned with what their neighbors are doing.
So, yes, if one of my neighbors didnt like my plants, I would be
accomodating to a point. I would pull things like dandelions and those
pretty blue flowers that I dont know the name for but I wouldnt get rid
of the creeping charlie. I would put borax around the perimeter though
which probably would keep it from going off my property. But, I would
think very low of the person. I have to admit, I would think of them as
being very rude.
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gelinas
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response 53 of 190:
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Jun 29 21:40 UTC 2003 |
(MY only concern was the plants growing beyond the perimeter. BTW, a web site
I found on creeping charlie noted that borax is not approved as a herbicide.
That may have been only in their state, though.)
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slynne
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response 54 of 190:
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Jun 29 22:24 UTC 2003 |
Just out of curiosity, I took a look at my neighbors yards. It seems
like the plant that has been most invasive is the grapes. I guess
animals eat the grapes and then poop the seeds. There are grape vines
growing all over the place in the yards on both sides of me. Oh well.
The grape vines have been here longer than this house (which was built
in 1925). I am not going to get rid of them.
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mary
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response 55 of 190:
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Jun 29 22:33 UTC 2003 |
Whoa. What you said is "...if one of my neighbors didn't like my
plants, I would be accommodating to a point. But, I would think
very low of the person."
Why? Do your neighbors not have the same right to enjoy their
property as you do yours? Why would they be rude if they didn't
like the same plants you do? On their property?
The problem I'd have with letting this particular weed force out grass
in my backyard would be that come late fall, winter, and
early spring, a 100% creeping charlie yard will be zero
foliage and all dirt or mud. Not an easy space to enjoy for
either people or pets.
But that's just me, so I'd be one of those neighbors who'd hope
someone next door would at least try to keep it in their yard.
To minimize my use of chemicals. But a neighbor's creeping
charlie has never led me to dislike or disrespect them.
And we had a neighbor who let it take over.
Borax doesn't work. But there are targeted herbicides that
will kill it at specific times in the growth cycle. For those
who care to do so.
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keesan
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response 56 of 190:
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Jun 29 22:40 UTC 2003 |
I planted grass seed in my yard. After a few years the creeping charlie took
over most of it. Grass does not do well when shaded by two houses and a large
tree. The next door neighbor also has primarily creeping charlie. She is
ignoring the fact that my yard has not been mowed for a month or two and I
am taking in her mail. I wage a constant battle in my front yard to remove
invasive grass, which grows in the middle of my ground cover. The seeds are
probably blown over from the neighbor's yard. I don't complain. I remove
thistles and nettles and tall plants that do not flower.
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slynne
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response 57 of 190:
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Jun 29 23:04 UTC 2003 |
Mary, honestly, how would you feel if a neighbor came over and
complained that your grass seed was getting over into her creeping
charlie and then asked you to remove your lawn? Wouldnt you think that
was kind of rude? I am not telling my neighbors that they MUST grow
creeping charlie. I am just growing it. I think it looks nice. IF they
dont like it in their yard, they dont have to grow it. IF they want to
put chemicals on it, that is ok. I just dont want chemicals on my lawn.
Luckily for me, the diluted chemicals that might end up on my lawn when
it rains dont bug me.
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i
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response 58 of 190:
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Jun 30 00:32 UTC 2003 |
Marijuana is certainly *not* the only drug that's illegal to grow in
your yard. I think opium poppy patches are the latest local fad...
It'd be interesting to hear about neighbor's reactions to growing
female gingko trees...but not in my neighborhood.
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jmsaul
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response 59 of 190:
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Jun 30 00:50 UTC 2003 |
What's the deal with female gingko trees?
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slynne
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response 60 of 190:
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Jun 30 01:02 UTC 2003 |
lets sneak over to walter's house and plant female ginko trees!
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keesan
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response 61 of 190:
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Jun 30 02:26 UTC 2003 |
There are a few streets in Ann Arbor full of them. The fruits stink, but the
nuts are supposed to be edible. Trying to remove the mushy part to get at
the nuts cost me a fortune - I ended up with a mysterious rash on my hands
and mouth and a rheumatologist friend in another city said to check it out
since it might be herpes, which got me a large doctor bill and a misdiagnosis.
The two interns looked at the brown stain on my hands and told me I was
allergic to black walnut. I looked in a textbook and told them they were
wrong. Gingko nuts contain the same or nearly the same chemical as poison
ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. Black walnut fruits contain tannin. I
dyed some sheets and underwear with brown spots one year when the clothesline
was under a walnut tree. Light tan, good at hiding other stains on sheets.
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jmsaul
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response 62 of 190:
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Jun 30 02:58 UTC 2003 |
So the nuts are toxic?
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mary
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response 63 of 190:
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Jun 30 03:16 UTC 2003 |
If I had an invasive plant that was moving into my neighbor's
plantings, and they asked me if I could maybe do what I
could to keep it on my property, I'd do what I could.
That's part of being a good neighbor.
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keesan
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response 64 of 190:
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Jun 30 08:37 UTC 2003 |
The nuts are edible. The fruits cause rashes. Mango skins also cause rashes.
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oval
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response 65 of 190:
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Jun 30 10:44 UTC 2003 |
when i'm back from spain i plan on growing a marijuana plant or 2. i think
we can legally grow 12 or something. i have a sun room that they'd thrive in.
poppies are beautiful flowers, i can't believe they've been outlawed. it takes
like 10 pods to get one person high. i mean, c'mon, this ain't the wizard of
oz.
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jep
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response 66 of 190:
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Jun 30 12:32 UTC 2003 |
My former in-laws used to get annual letters from the county, telling
them to remove "noxious plants". They'd have to do it or the county
would. I don't know what plants these were.
Maybe they were just talking about mowing the area near the road. In
the country, you have to keep the area near the road mowed, or the
county will charge you for doing it. (This is so people can see
around corners at intersections, thus preventing accidents.)
Anyway, it seems from this that there are other plants, beside
marijuana, which are at least controlled, if not actually illegal, in
Michigan. I'm not very familiar with the details, though.
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slynne
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response 67 of 190:
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Jun 30 13:47 UTC 2003 |
Really Mary? So what would you do to keep your 'non-native to Michigan'
lawn grasses from getting onto your neighbor's property? Would you get
rid of your lawn or would you continue to "allow it to thrive"?
If a neighbor of mine complained about the creeping charlie. I would do
the borax thing around the perimeter. But, that wont stop any of the
flowers that have airborn seeds. Also, if the borax thing didnt work,
they would be out of luck unless some other solution could be worked
out. If I had a neighbor that had a plant I hated, I might consider
talking to them about it. I might even offer to do all the work to get
rid of it and I would offer to pay for a replacement. For instance, I
wouldnt think it rude if a neighbor came over and told me that they
really hate my creeping charlie but are willing to replace it with some
other ground ivy that they find less offensive. I would think it was
rude if a neighbor came over, called my yard plants "weeds" and then
demanded that I keep them on my own side of the fence. *shrug*.
I think that there are probably some good reasons for banning non-
native plantings. Sometimes imported plants start to take over and
crowd out native plants. I think the world would be a better place if
people just got rid of their lawns and let their yards go wild. Think
of all the water that could be saved!
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gull
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response 68 of 190:
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Jun 30 15:41 UTC 2003 |
Re #66: When we lived out in the country, my dad kept an old beat-up
lawnmower around specifically for mowing along the edge of the road. He
didn't want to ding up the blade of the good one with all the rocks and
gravel.
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mdw
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response 69 of 190:
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Jun 30 16:03 UTC 2003 |
Michigan law defines a number of "noxious weeds". They include poison
ivy, wild carrot, canadian thistle, and various mustards. Poison ivy is
obvious. Canadian thistle is also obvious if you've ever stepped on one
with bare feet. The others are way less obvious; I can't help but
wonder if the people who drafted this law were thinking of ww1 mustard
gas. In any event, the local weed varieties are harmless. Wild carrot
is also perfectly harmless, although it is an invasive european import.
There are several other easily confused plants though some of which are
poisonous (but aren't classified as "noxious weeds".)
The state law is no longer funded, so it's extremely unlikely you'd be
prosecuted under that. Most suburban and urban areas have local
ordinances about lawn care & mowing. In Ypsi twp, it's basically by
height, and the people who enforce it aren't trained or capable of
recognizing "noxious weeds" in any event.
In michigan, "wild lawns" don't stay lawns for long. Shrubbery and
trees sprout up pretty fast, and vines even faster. Basically, if you
*want* a field or open area, you have to mow it at least twice a year,
and anywhere that can't be mowed will turn into a forest. Even a fence
is vulnerable -- look at the number of trees on property lines.
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slynne
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response 70 of 190:
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Jun 30 16:28 UTC 2003 |
I am hoping that my lawn will become more forest like. there are some
young trees back there and some cool bushes that have thorns and purple
flowers. They look like rose bushes.
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gregb
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response 71 of 190:
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Jun 30 16:44 UTC 2003 |
Perhaps a seperate thread on lawn care is in order.
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rcurl
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response 72 of 190:
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Jun 30 16:57 UTC 2003 |
I know an Ann Arbor resident that maintains a native prairie plant "lawn".
He has permission to burn it annually, as prairies require.
The real problem with non-native invasives has nothing to do with lawns,
but concerns the survival of ecological diversity of both plants and
animals. Some non-natives take over so completely that ecosystems lose
almost all their native plants and animals, which then upsets the balances
of even the native plants nearby. In the end whole ecosystems approach
monocultures.
An example is Purple Loostrife, which has been invading wetlands, changing
the ecosystems not only for native plants, but also birds and other
wildlife. The solution has been to bring in a beetle found in the native
locations of the plant, which eats it (and, apprently, doesn't eat stuff
you don't want eaten, which has been a problem with some other
introductions of other non-native insects).
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mdw
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response 73 of 190:
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Jun 30 17:23 UTC 2003 |
Well, wild carrot has probably been here 400 years, and can be found in
most any meadow in NE USA. It's probably already done all the damage it
can. The american squirrel in europe, now, that's a different story.
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slynne
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response 74 of 190:
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Jun 30 18:50 UTC 2003 |
Well, creeping charlie is a non-native plant but the only site I was
able to find that said anything about its impact on native plants says
that it isnt a threat.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/herbaceousplants/creepingcharlie.html
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