Getting Started

A homeowner once spent about fifteen minutes chatting with the elderly woman who lived directly across from her. The neighbor was caring for her husband, who had dementia and was receiving hospice care, so the homeowner tried to be kind and offered the familiar phrase, “If you ever need anything, you know where to find…

A homeowner in a small gated community had created a peaceful front garden where her cats could wander safely behind a short wooden gate. The little gate was homemade and slightly flimsy, but it did exactly what she needed without violating the community’s rules about full-sized fences. Her roses and other plants were thriving until…

A homeowner thought her backyard bird feeders were an ordinary part of enjoying her garden. Then her neighbor began complaining that the peanuts in the feeders were attracting squirrels, which were supposedly carrying the nuts into his yard. She found the complaint irritating but harmless, so she tried to accommodate him rather than start a…

A homeowner thought the simple plastic fence around her backyard was more than enough to keep her dog safe and the neighborhood peaceful. It was not beautiful, but it worked, and that was all she needed from it. Then two young siblings from the neighboring house discovered that the dog was much more entertaining than…

A person shared his story about a backyard fire that was supposed to be the beginning of a relaxed movie night. He and his boyfriend had settled into their yard with food, a fire pit, and a newly installed inflatable projector. Instead of enjoying the evening, they soon found themselves in a confrontation over several…

A person shared his story about living alone in a small rented property with a garden that had already been established by the previous owner. For nearly four years, the tenant had done his best to keep everything tidy, mowing the grass, trimming the borders, removing weeds and making the patio comfortable with a small…

A person shared his story about renting a two-bedroom flat in London for £3,000 a month, with the garden being one of the biggest reasons they chose the property. Before moving in, the outdoor space had a large rose bush, ivy climbing the walls and several other established plants. It was not a huge landscaped…

For years, the garden had quietly belonged to an unusual arrangement, even though the tenants were the ones paying to live in the house. A person shared his story about moving into the property and finding that the landlord’s father had become the unofficial keeper of everything growing outside. At first, nobody minded because the…

A person shared his story about discovering gardening only after a major change in his life finally made it possible. For most of his life, a serious illness had prevented him from interacting with soil, manure, mold, and other ordinary parts of gardening. After his health improved and he and his partner bought their first…

A person shared his story after returning to his allotment following four days away, expecting to see a garden continuing happily without him. Instead, half of the plot had been dug up and stripped of months of careful work. Beans, courgettes, spinach, chard, tomatoes, salads, and thriving marigolds had all disappeared. What should have been…