Now some of you, seeing the garden-design obstacles posed by my co-op’s rules, will vow to never, ever live where you have to deal with them. You say you’ll never buy a coop or a condo or a single family home with HOA rules.
Well, good luck with that, especially if you ever need or want to downsize. Someday I’ll actually post a rant in favor of rules, fully prepared for the ardent comments in disagreement. Because “Freeeeeedom!” For now, I’ll just say I’m in favor of good rules.
My cats make a cameo appearance in the video.
Here’s the information posted on YouTube below the video:
Plants Featured in Video
NOOK
Removed: A type of Hydrangea (now forgotten), Acuba ‘Picturata,’ Autumn Fern.
Kept: ‘Summer Wine’ Ninebark, Creeping jenny, Mondo Grass, Sedum takesimense, Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) Bird bath by Studio M
MAIN BACK GARDEN
Removed: Cryptomeria, Bamboo sticks (not live bamboo)
Kept: Spirea ‘Ogon,’ Oakleaf Hydrangea, Black-eyed Susans, Amsonia hubrichtii, Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Arborvitae ‘Emerald Green.’
SEEN FROM SIDEWALK
Purple Smokebush (Cotinus coggygaria ‘Royal Purple’) and ‘Rising Sun’ Redbud
MORE VIDEO
To see this rear garden AND the front garden in spring of the same year (2021), watch: https://youtu.be/2NtUL3xJGXU
THE CO-OP
It’s called Greenbelt Homes, Inc., the 1,600-unit original city of Greenbelt, Md. founded in 1937. It was part of the garden city movement that started in the U.K. and in Europe in the early 1900s. Originally federally owned, it became a member co-op in the 1950s.
It looks amazing. It must be such a pleasure hanging out on your screened in porch, enjoying the view & hanging out with a couple cats…what more could you ever want?
Thx so much!
Looks great! And so much less work than mine for a better outcome! (sigh) I must note that the biggest breakthrough was getting your coop to bend their rules; otherwise you’d never have fixed that view. So that just confirms me in vowing never to under the sway of such laws. We have preservation laws and that’s enough.
That is a delightful video. I love your sunroom/screen room. The garden is looking lovely. The cats are gorgeous, from what I could see. Congrats on a job well done!
That is a delightful video. I love your sunroom/screen room. The garden is looking lovely. The cats are gorgeous, from what I could see. Congrats on a job well done!
I fell in love with your Crossvine from a previous video, I think. I asked about it at a nursery this past summer, and alas, the woman did not know the plant and I didn’t have the Latin name. May I ask how big your property is? My little bit of real estate here in CT is just 50 by 150 ft, and I haven’t even managed to whip it entirely into shape despite living here since 1991. Your garden is looking wonderful!
Now you have me curious about its dimensions myself. I’ll check my plat and get back here with an answer.
There are some views that only a fence will hide. Well done.
Congratulations Susan! What patience it takes/took to get the garden of our/your dreams. Well done. It is beautiful.
You must explain more about these ‘rules’ sometime. They seem to be a common American thing and I’d love to understand the history of how they came to be.
Interesting too to learn of the ins and outs of your garden. It is the often ignored nature of gardens, isn’t it? Whoever (except, of course, those professional designers..) gets it right first time?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_city_movement Centrally planned suburban towns like mine actually started in England and parts of the Continent. Letchworth and other such places have lots of restrictions, just like my town. Though i hope they make more sense than the ass-backwards yard-related rules my coop imposes.
Ha ha–I could see the flapping flags made the board reconsider a more sedate fence.
I feel like this video perfectly sums up what gardening is and is not–no instant gratification, but a reward after a certain amount of trial and error. Definitely more about the journey…
After removing the lawn from my front yard (I did leave a swirling strip) I keep waiting for the cry from the neighborhood that I am a destroyer of the ‘green golf course’ type lawns that surround me. It all started with an xeriscaping idea that morphed into Kansas Native plantings and I wondered why it took me so many years to create this tiny oasis? Maybe they’re all afraid of me with my hand Japanese trowel.
In any case, I love your garden and understand it’s many trials, having lived in my spot for 47 years.
Thanks Susan, You have done a wonderful job with limited space and tough rules. My only questions is why the association didn’t do anything about the trashy back yard with the ladder sticking up. What a really offensive view.
Indeed! I didn’t pursue it because even if the area were cleaned up, I’d still want to screen it off to create a backdrop for the garden and privacy from passersby.
I will say that yes, the co-op could do a better job enforcing its rules- the rules that make sense, that is.
Great video. It gives a real sense of how a garden develops within the constraints that every has, whether those are applied by condo rules or nature. I liked the informality and the consistent use of visuals that illustrated the points you were making. Bravo!
Thanks, Susan, for sharing your gardening journey. My husband and I moved into our condo community (18 units, 9 buildings, essentially 1/2 doubles) seven years ago. Most owners are not gardeners so I was able to plant to my heart’s content! Even snuck some plants in common areas! My plot has gone through several iterations as I have fun with what grows, what I like, and the light changes in regard to tree growth! I look upon my garden as an adventure to experiment with. I am 71 and simply want my garden to supply me with beauty, serenity, and some flowers and herbs to bring inside. It is a grand adventure! I am happy that you were able to create your beautiful garden in spite of obstacles. Garden on!