We’ve seen battles like this across the States – gardeners having to fight local ordinances to keep flowers and other nonlawn plants they so love in their front yard, despite laws requiring lawn. Well, here’s another one, but with a very odd twist.
The town of St. Peters, Missouri has a law that requires 50 percent of front yards be turfgrass, and that’s the law used to cite Chris Bank for his sunflower-filled front yard.
But as he says in this video, “If you look at the lower surface, there’s a lot more grass-than-flower ratio.” Whatever is he talking about?
Sunflowers popping up through the turfgrass! Has anyone ever seen this? 
Me, neither! Here’s how he creates this unusual plant combo: He plants seeds about a foot apart and then trims the turfgrass around the sunflowers BY HAND!
Whether or not this highly unusual style of gardening suits my personal taste, I give this gardener a lot of credit for figuring out how to have lawn AND a yard full of flowers. And I love his passion for sunflowers and the critters they support.
Sadly, Bank’s ingenious garden design has caused him a heap of trouble. Here’s the story, so far.
- Year one, he was cited and removed the sunflowers, so the charges were dropped.
- Year two, he says that since the city dropped the charges, he “figured everything was fine” but “I was wrong.” “And the city changed the way that possible violations were to be judged – the turfgrass didn’t have to actually measure 50 percent of the area; it was now “Up to their own interpretation” – of the inspector, that is.
- This time Bank appealed to the county and got a second trial, this time with a jury. But just before the trial started, the City of St. Peters withdrew the charges, which disappointed Bank because he hoped that with a jury verdict in his favor, the situation would be settled for good. But with the dismissal of charges, they could always recharge him.
- So the next year he was charged again, but under a different law – one outlawing front yards covered more than 10 percent with a crop, after determining in their wisdom that that Bank’s sunflowers were a crop.
- Now, in the fourth year of this (ridiculous, extremely wasteful – use your own favorite adjective for it) legal battle, Bank has a new trial date coming up soon – Oct 14.
I found this case on one of Reddit’s anti-lawn subreddits (probably this one), where Bank’s post has over 1K comments, in addition to 7,539 comments on the video linked to above. A sampling of my favorite comments:
- The fact that there’s even a sunflower law to begin with is the real problem.
- EVERYONE in town should start growing sunflowers to support this guy!
- Do you see his handcut lawn under the sunflowers?! Dude is dedicated!!! Leave him ALONE!
- “What are you in for?” “Oh my sunflower to grass ratio was considered a violation.” WTAF
- At first I thought he just threw handfuls of seeds out there and let them grow randomly… but at the end, to see that he plants each seed by hand, ONE BY ONE, in perfect little rows was IMPRESSIVE!! He obviously loves this hobby, it’s great for pollinators and hummingbirds, and isn’t hurting a damn thing. Let the man enjoy his flowers ffs!!
- I need someone to explain to me the circumstances by which a town decided, “Holy, crap. We need a sunflower law!”
There’s been lots of coverage of this legal battle locally, including this image of the prosecuting attorney who charged him, repeatedly. I wonder if the ridiculousness of the charges she’s brought, more than once, will hurt her career. And how about the reelection chances of city council members who voted for the now-infamous sunflower law? One can hope.
I’ve been having the same fight with our local town for the same amount of years. Came to a head this year when they sent armed police to my house. Needless to say, they fired their code enforcement officer and I still have my wild yard.
Geez. This guy is just being an ass. I wouldn’t even consider this part of the ongoing naturalistic front yard battle. His lack of taste is more offensive than the infraction. It looks like giant hair plugs. Remove a section of your lawn and do something that looks attractive.
My question…who were his sunflowers bothering?
Regardless of whether this conforms to your aesthetics (it doesn’t to mine) the guy is pursuing a personal gardening vision that should be celebrated and supported! Sad that politicians have nothing better to do than squash horticultural non-conformity!
Agreed.
could this town have a lot of people who couldn’t make it farming (sunflowers being a crop) and are bitter that this guy is a success at it? are they proud to be town dwellers and scorn reminders of their agrarian past? if he changed to hybrid tea roses (heavily weeded, watered & sprayed) would be praised for beautifying the neighborhood?
People flock to fields of sunflowers (e.g. McKee-Beshers near us). Some travel to France or (once) Ukraine to see sunflowers!
Still, if i were him I would give up and plant only 1/2 the lawn, and move on to another project.
I wonder what the current charge us. Sod (lawn) is a crop, just ask the farmers who make their living that way.
Weird!
I’m guessing the city was reluctant to face a jury because they figured Sunflower Guy would get acquitted. Now they’ve been forced into it and let’s hope they lose and the harassment stops.
I am just glad he does not live in my neighborhood. That is not a good example at all. It is horrible and I hope he looses.
I am just glad he does not live in my neighborhood. That is not a good example at all. It is horrible and I hope he looses.
I can’t see where it specifically says no sunflowers. The city ordinance says 50% of front yard has to be grass. So clump the sunflowers on 1/2 the front yard.
Take pictures of other front yards that flunk the 50% rule because of driveways, sidewalks, foundation plantings.
I dunno which is more depressing: the plant police or the people here supporting them in the comments.
I wish that he was my neighbor. Free the Sunflowers!
I love how he works so hard on his sunflower lawn and tries to keep it tidy. I might not choose the same design but I think it’s sad people have so little freedom to be tiny bit creative and express their personal preferences with their front yards. I guess if he has the energy and money to fight for his vision then he’s doing the whole town a favor.
Well said!
Definitely not to my taste! But he obeyed the letter of the law; he’s doing no harm (it doesn’t attract rats or threaten to fall on passing cars); if I don’t like somebody’s garden I can usually find an alternate route to walk; he’s feeding birds . . . Code Enforcement has too much time on their hands.
As much as it may not be a look I care for, this is the opposite of an “untidy” lawn. It is good for birds, it’s expressive without harming anyone, and it is maintained. It’s also seasonal and temporary. I don’t live in an HOA, and I would gladly support this over some of the lawns in my neighborhood that are useless and ugly weeds.
Aa my mother used to say, “His taste is all in his mouth!”
Please update us on this!
Update: he lost again in court! https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/judge-rules-against-homeowner-in-st-peters-sunflower-war/
Good grief! Is the prosecuting attorney an old girlfriend that he broke up with??