Tag Archives: yards

Spite Hedges

Have you ever heard of spite hedges? I hadn’t, until I read an article in the Sydney Morning Herald recently about shrubbery which is intended to block a neighbor’s view or their sunlight. Usually these spite hedges are planted after a disagreement between neighbors. But perhaps it could just be that people like a bit of privacy in the back yard. Certainly that was the case when we moved in. The back yard looked bare and we planted a few taller shrubs, buddleias that we brought with us from Orange, along the back fence. When Mick regains his enthusiasm for … Continue reading →

Insect Inspector: Murphy’s “Bumble” Rumble

Ever since he was a pup, Murph’s loved chasing things. When we lived in Florida, he loved nothing better than being let loose through the sliding glass doors to chase the squirrels in the backyard. On walks, he took joy in leaping through the bushes after lizards. When we moved to Nashville we chose a house without either a fenced-in backyard or any trees for squirrels to call home. (After our experiences with the hurricanes in 2004, we’ve been leery of big trees living within striking range of our dwelling. As for the fenced yard, we walk Murph anyway –even … Continue reading →

Man’s Best Friend = A Garden’s Worst Enemy

My mom loves dogs… she just doesn’t like what one pooch has done to her garden. He’s not a wild dog. He belongs to a neighbor and is simply not trained very well. My mom doesn’t want to “make waves” by informing the man that his four-legged friend is mauling her plants, digging up her flowers, and leaving brown “presents” in various places in her yard. I, on the other hand, feel like calling him (from 5000 miles away) and telling him that his (I’m sure lovely) canine is destroying the garden my mom has spent countless hours tenderly and … Continue reading →