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Creating a nice and functional garden shouldn’t be a source of neighbor conflict.

In this story, a man started gardening with native perennials.

He planted catmint along her fence to attract pollinators and help keep pests away from her patio.

But his neighbors began complaining about bumblebees that came to their property.

As his neighbors were also maintaining a garden, he’s unsure whether he should make changes or ignore the complaints.

Read the full story below to find out more.

Happy neighbors, happy life…. Maybe?

We bought the house a while back and became well acquainted with the couple next door.

They mainly keep to themselves, but we regularly talk over the fence.

We also food when we cook for the holidays and help each other out as neighbors when needed.

This man planted native perennials in his yard and lined his fence with catmint.

In the last year, I decided to get into gardening and intentionally planted native perennials in my yard for aesthetics.

And to do my part in helping out pollinators.

I lined my fence with catmint, and it has been great with attracting bees and keeping out pests on my patio.

But it’s starting to cause some strain on my relationship with my neighbors.

I try to still be polite to them, but there have been subtle snarky undertones about the bumblebees being on their property and finding them dead in their pool.

He’s wondering what he could do to deal with his neighbor’s complaints.

The same neighbors that went off on True Green for not coming by to spray because their yard is “full” of weeds.

But there’s nothing wrong with their yard. It’s perfectly maintained.

What would you do? I have not been stung on my property.

And I would be willing to make some adjustments if there were actual concerns of bee attacks or allergies.

He doesn’t think his plants are the ones causing the problem.

Mind you, though, their pool is behind their garage, which is at least 20 feet from my garden.

They also have a garden that runs the fence line of their backyard.

So I’m confused as to how the plants on my property are now their issue or if it is something else for them to complain about.

I would think they would be attracting just as much wildlife with the garden they’re maintaining on their own property.

Not sure how to address this or if it’s just a them issue that’s not worth figuring out.

Hmmm. It does sound possible that OP’s neighbors are blaming his garden for a problem that could simply come with having plants and wildlife nearby.

Since they also maintain a garden along the fence, it might be worth looking into.

I think having a calm conversation can be a good move before the situation creates more tension between them.

What do you think? Let’s read the responses of other people to this story.

Here’s a suggestion from this person.

This one shares a similar thought.

People are saying the same thing.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an artist who made sure to leave the walls of her home blank and boring before moving out, even though they were covered with gorgeous murals before then.

Here’s another idea…

Finally, just ignore them, says this one.

Apparently, even a garden can become a source of neighborhood drama.