image of swallowtail on phlox

Butterflies: 1, Bullies: 0

When the HOA attacked the garden of my sister, Janet Crouch, they probably had no idea what their actions would wreak: a statewide ban on small-mindedness.
Image of Janet's garden
The gardens of Jeff and Janet Crouch light up the community and are enjoyed by many neighbors, both human and wild—including the Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly nectaring on phlox. (Above: Mike Pugh; featured image, top: Nancy Lawson)

If you live in a community governed by a homeowners association in Maryland, your HOA will soon no longer be allowed to require you to grow turfgrass. It can no longer prohibit you from planting native plants and creating wildlife habitat. The Maryland General Assembly has spoken, quietly and firmly, joining a growing number of states last week by passing House Bill 322, the low-impact landscaping legislation that specifically codifies your right to be wildlife-friendly, plant-friendly, and environmentally conscious.

You can thank my sister, Janet Crouch, for that. The office of Delegate Terri Hill, a cosponsor of the bill, already did, expressing gratitude for her brave advocacy in an email the day after the unanimous Senate vote and adding, “This wouldn’t have all happened without you bringing this forward.”

Image of hummingbird on zinnia
Planned communities, the HOA lawyers wrote, are no place for birds. The Maryland legislature disagrees, and now the Crouches’ mixed garden of annuals and native perennials can continue to help hummingbirds and other wildlife for years to come. (Photo by Will Heinz)

Three and a half years ago, Janet and her husband Jeff began receiving demands from the Beech Creek Homeowners Association in Howard County that they convert their beautiful 15-year-old pollinator gardens to turfgrass. In a series of bullying and nonsensical letters, the HOA’s contracted law firm, Nagle & Zaller, wrote that a garden “without the use of pesticides in which they have maintained ‘native plants’ to provide food for birds, bees, and other insects and animals” is “completely contrary to the overall design scheme for the Association, which is a planned development. Lots within the Association are intended to be uniform in design and character with manicured yards and green grass for lawns.” Attorney Sean Suhar used quotes around words and concepts he apparently viewed as suspicious, such as “garden,” and wrote disparagingly of the Crouches’ “environmentally sensitive agenda.” The law firm’s letters displayed a seemingly boundless ignorance by trying to demonize my sister and her husband for adding “plantings which grow back every year.”

Misplaced and Misspent Priorities

Throughout this process, there was virtually no opposition from politicians, and even the national association representing HOAs supported the legislation. When we testified for the bill the first time at last year’s hearing, the curmudgeonly delegate who’d voted against other environmental proposals that day surprised us all by asking, “Who wouldn’t support pollinator gardens?”

His question was more than rhetorical for my sister. Janet’s HOA board was so unsupportive of pollinator gardens that it paid the law firm of Nagle & Zaller about $100,000 of the community’s money—made up entirely of homeowners’ dues—to try to get rid of the one in my sister’s  yard. (Read more about a previous class-action lawsuit by Maryland residents against Nagle & Zaller.) Until this case, I thought I had heard it all during my years of habitat consulting and advocacy work—from frustrated gardeners who couldn’t even grow moss for nesting birds, baffled homeowners who’d been fined for leaving pinecones under their trees, and devastated bird and butterfly advocates who’d been forced to mow down their wildflowers. But it turned out I hadn’t heard the half of it yet, and it was about to get personal.

Even squirrels were not spared from the HOA’s diatribes, which blamed my sister’s garden for their presence. But these little animals are tree dwellers. They are endemic to the Beech Creek community, which is adjacent to forested parkland. Maple trees and oaks, such as those planted by developers along the streets, are perfect squirrel habitat. (Photo by Nancy Lawson)

The entire case against the Jeff and Janet Crouch was built on the complaints of one neighbor, whose scarce smattering of plants includes Japanese barberries—which, like many shrubs grown outside their range, are environmentally harmful—and whose lawn is filled with blue chemicals that I have filmed running down toward the wooded and stream-filled park during rainstorms. He also hires pesticide sprayers routinely and accused the Crouches of attracting mosquitoes, even though his eroded lawn pools with standing water and provides perfect mosquito habitat. One of the most ludicrous complaints of all from this man—whose property and entire neighborhood abuts forest where owls, foxes, squirrels, chipmunks and many other animals live—was repeated in illogical screeds from the lawyers proclaiming that “numerous squirrels are being attracted to the subject property. The neighbor fear [sic] this will affect their property.”

Image of backyard garden
A study in contrasts: Years ago, the Crouches replaced their backyard lawn with ferns, sedges, violets and other native plants that filter pollutants from stormwater runoff and help slow the flow into the adjacent woods and watershed. Yet the HOA at one point demanded that they return the patch to turfgrass. The HOA did so at the behest of one complaining neighbor, whose eroded lawn pools with rushing water after rainstorms. Click on the gallery below to see the effects of such insensitive and outdated landscaping. (Photos by Nancy Lawson)

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No Laughing Matter

Claims of squirrel takeovers may sound laughable, but since 2017, it has been no laughing matter for Janet, who poured her heart into saving the garden that has offered so much solace to her family and so much habitat to the community’s birds and other wildlife. My sister followed all the standard advice about working with HOAs. She posted small “bird-friendly garden” signs, which she was immediately told to remove, despite the HOA’s sanctioning of “Caution: Pesticide” signs in other yards. She distributed newsletters explaining her case, but even the many supportive neighbors were afraid to speak out for fear of reprisal. She talked to every advocacy organization she could find, only to be told that they don’t get involved with such matters. She ran successfully for the board of the HOA and learned the bylaws, the state laws, and the policies and procedures inside and out—but then discovered that the board members appeared to have no idea what had been written on their behalf in shockingly unprofessional and inaccurate letters to her and other homeowners.

Image of habitat and pesticide signs in community of Jeff and Janet Crouch
Putting out the un-welcome mat: In the Beech Creek HOA, habitat signs are cited as violations, but anyone can spray pesticides that endanger children and pets and then post a sign about it. (Photos: Janet and Jeff Crouch)

In preparation for a “hearing” process in 2018, we prepared many documents and photos, only to arrive and discover it was all a sham. Suhar, the HOA lawyer, immediately told my sister to “shut up” when she tried to speak and yelled at me to “be quiet.” At the same time, he invited the single complaining neighbor to run down an angry and baseless list of supposed transgressions that included calling her cherry in the backyard a “trash tree” and describing nonexistent “10-foot cranes” and “6-foot butterflies” in the garden. The biases became strikingly clear when the board allowed the complainant to yell “I’m outta here” and storm away from the building and back to his vacation—without even staying to have a discussion or hear my sister and her husband’s presentation.

Image of monarch on Joe Pye in garden of Jeff and Janet Crouch
There are no statues of “6-foot-butterflies” in the garden, as the neighbor testified in the hearing. But there are real butterflies on the plants the HOA described as “wild” and “unapproved.” This monarch seemed to very much approve of the Joe Pye weed, which is not wild at all. It’s a cultivated plant purchased at a local garden center. (Photo by Nancy Lawson)

The level of ignorance, unprofessionalism, and lack of common courtesy and decency was astonishing, and it continued to be on flagrant display for years. Many times over the past three and a half years, Janet has watched people pull up in front of her house and take pictures; the security camera she installed captures the harassment tactics. In court depositions in 2020, the HOA’s hired gun continued his attempts at unchecked bullying through inexplicably lengthy and meaningless lines of questioning, putting my sister and her husband through exhaustive interrogation simply because he could—and all because they’d dared to plant a garden for butterflies.

But unfortunately there was no law against such abusive behaviors, nothing to prohibit HOAs from acting in a kind of Wild West, arbitrary fashion toward gardens and nature and the people who love them. Until now.

Becoming a Force of Nature

Others had a significant and influential hand in the getting this momentous bill passed, of course. Hill’s former legislative director, Mary Catherine Cochran, originally responded to Janet’s plea for help by drafting the legislation and modeling it on a previous successful HOA-related bill. Cosponsors Terri Hill and Jessica Feldmark ensured they had support from the Community Associations Institute, which provided written testimony in support of the bill.

Image of Nancy and Janet with Terri
My sister Janet Crouch (center) and I met Delegate Terri Hill, the bill’s cosponsor, for the first time at a Howard County legislative breakfast in early 2020. Janet and her husband, Jeff, had previously attended Howard County environmental functions, such as the inaugural Bee City event, to meet their elected officials and tell their story. (Photo by Mary Klett)

On the legal side, many people expressed interest in testifying as expert witnesses in Janet’s court case, but few could ultimately commit, sometimes because their employers prohibited such involvement. We will be eternally grateful to wildlife biologist John Hadidian, native nursery expert Rob Jenkins, and realtor Kristi Neidhardt for their wisdom, insight and bravery in signing on to help with the case. Most of all, Jeff Kahntroff and Matt Skipper of Skipper Law took on what most lawyers consider to be an unwinnable issue. Kahntroff’s skill and thoughfulness was matched only by his quiet dedication to doing what’s right, helping David against the aggressive tactics of a loud-mouthed Goliath.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the forces against nature, but my sister has taught me that you can change those tides by becoming a force of nature. “I’m a shy person,” she told me last week, “and I don’t usually put myself out there like this.” But she’s never countenanced bullies and has defended me from them since I was a little girl. This time, she was defending the plants and animals and her family, who felt attacked in their own home of 20 years. She said “no more” to the outrageous tactics of the very few unreasonable people who control some of our local HOA governing bodies. Thanks in large part to the bravery and fortitude of Janet Crouch, many more people in my home state will now be allowed to nurture the bees, butterflies and other wildlife in their own backyards.

The bill is waiting for the governor’s signature and is set to become law in October. But we no longer have to wait to tell the story. In spite of the HOA’s attempts to impose silence and keep their incompetence, unprofessionalism and wastefulness out of public view, we have every legal right to speak out. Janet made sure of that.

UPDATE: The governor did not veto the bill, and it will now become state law in October.

***

More Information and Resources

Busting the Property Values Myth: Do native plantings affect property values? Sure they do—in a positive way. When the Crouches’ other next-door neighbor sold her house within days of listing it, she received multiple offers above list price. That wasn’t a surprise, and this article explains why. Read it here.

Attention, Beech Creek Neighbors: This newsletter to the community and elected officials in fall 2018 provides information about the garden; the manner in which the board contradicted its own bylaws; and the bogus “hearing” that was not a hearing at all but a display of power and control by the HOA’s hired law firm. Read it here.

Saving Our Pollinator Garden: This second newsletter was distributed to environmental organizations, native nurseries, and elected officials in early 2020. In addition to a recap of the court case, this newsletter outlines how outrageously contradictory the HOA’s demands are to local and state programs that encourage environmental landscaping. Read it here.

Beech Creek HOA Spends Approximately $100,000 in Effort to Turn 15-year-old Pollinator Garden into Grass: That headline speaks for itself. Ultimately the Crouches reached a pre-trial settlement that enables them o keep much of their garden but requires a setback along the neighbors’ property line and the sidewalk. The neighbor continues to hire contractors to spread lawn chemicals directly next to the property line, however—a double standard that keeps flowers from growing in this strip of wasteland while poisons proliferate. Read it here.

Video of Jeff and Janet’s Gardens by Mike Pugh: When Virginia resident Mike Pugh read social media posts of my sister’s plight, he reached out to help. He knew exactly what Janet and Jeff were going through, as he had waged his own battles with his Virginia HOA and ultimately saved his wildflower meadow. (You can read part of his story here in The Washington Post.) The video he created helped Jeff and Janet Crouch garner even more support:

State law text and testimony: House Bill 322 unanimously passed the Senate after passing the House by a vote of 126-4. Read the text here. To read and watch oral and written testimony from Janet Crouch, me and others, you can scroll this page.

The New American Dream: What if there were a homeowners association for bees, birds, bats and squirrels? At the height of the fight two and a half years ago, I wrote this essay in frustration, in reverie, and with tattered hopes for change. Later we continued to turn our hope into action, and it worked! Read it here.

Yes, in My Back (and Front) Yard! Some HOAs are more amenable to working with residents and more welcoming of environmental practices. If you are dealing with a less extreme case or simply trying to change hearts and minds from within, you can learn from others who have done so in this article. Read it here.

Beyond the Backyard: From parking strips to parklands, HOAs and other communities are full of mowed spaces that could be put to better use. Here’s how to help your community reclaim them for native plants and wildlife. Read it here.

Wild by Design: In more reasonable communities, it’s sometimes possible to influence those who are inherently compassionate and ethical but simply haven’t been exposed to wildlife gardening before. These tips will help you incorporate more habitat in ways that support wild neighbors while educating the human ones. Read it here.

75 thoughts on “Butterflies: 1, Bullies: 0”

    1. Thanks, Allison! <3 I know -- it's amazing that Janet stuck through this because it takes such a toll. But it's so important to try. We worry about all the many people in this position who don't have the resources, either financial or knowledge-based, to fight this. Everyone is vulnerable to predatory behavior, but for some people it's almost impossible to fight back. I hope we can all start to help them in some way.

  1. Thank you for your and your sister’s and her husband’s persistence and commitment leading to such an impressive result. Congratulations!

  2. A neighbor in our development (in which my husband was on the HOA board) applied to the board to convert their small front yard into a meadowlike planting with a water feature. They had done extensive research and listed all the plants they had chosen and why. It was enchanting. Paul and I both knew what Janet and you had been through, and I urged him to get the board to approve it, wuth hope that it would be an inspiration to others. It was approved unanimously! Thank you, Nancy.

    1. Arna, this story made me so happy! <3 Like you said, that person's garden can now be an inspiration and a model in the community. Paul was incredibly helpful to Janet; we are so grateful. He gave her insight into the norms of operating procedures in other communities. That type of information and validation is invaluable when speaking out and trying to convey how extreme and/or neglectful an HOA's actions are.

  3. Wow! Congrats on this glorious win for your sister and our community AND the planet! Great elected rep work too!

    1. Thanks, Deb! Yes, we are lucky to have elected officials working hard for change. Though some other important bills, like the one about bird-friendly windows, were stalled again, we did end wildlife-killing contests, closed the loophole on a pesticide bill, and ended balloon releases, among others!

      1. Yes, I too was grateful to hear of the legislative successes this year. Your family’s example of persistence is a great lesson for those issues still to be addressed. Thank y’all! <3

  4. This makes me want to stand up and cheer!!! Thanks so much for being willing to take on this fight and show us all that it’s possible to stand up to the bullies and win. So awesome.

    1. Cheers!!! <3 Yes, it'll always inspire me to never give up, every time I think of how nearly impossible it seemed and how Janet just persisted anyway. "Nevertheless, she persisted." 🙂

  5. I wonder what makes people act as that HOA did? It really is unfathomable. I do come across people who hate or even fear nature and wildlife, (and I live in a city of gardeners who often vote green) so maybe that is the underlying thing, a fear of nature uncontrolled. So many people want to kill or control animals and plants that arent agreeable to them. They get so angry and hateful towards deer and wasps and others. It is like people need an enemy especially the better-off who have the best lives, they are the angriest ones. I truly hope one day that we begin to see all life as equal that we are no better or more deserving than any other species. No anger just co-exist!

    1. Isn’t that so true? So many times it’s the people with means who are hiring landscaping companies that just destroy everything — and sometimes it’s out of lack of thoughtfulness about the issue or about worrying about keeping up with community norms. Other times it is active antipathy toward nature. I actually have both of those types of neighbors. In the case of the former, it is so much easier to talk with them about making little changes, and they are often so receptive! I have no idea what to do in the case of the latter – the people who just truly seem to hate other beings, including plants. And that describes what my sister was up against. I was reminded of a great quote on a friend’s feed the other day: “Respect existence or expect resistance.” So perfect!

    2. I live in Washington State (Mount Vernon) in an HOA that is very much like the one described in this article. It’s unfathomable to me that the HOA board has managed to alienate and isolate those who are more environmentally conscious and turn much of the community against us. We will continue our efforts, and are heartened to read this article. Thanks for the hope!

  6. Hooray for commonsense legislation.
    A simple case for watershed stewards and Maryland Naturalists.
    And global warming and climate change.

    1. Hi Curt! Yes, so true. And we included information from all the local and state programs as part of our arguments. To give you an idea of the base level of the tactics of the law firm, in spite of my professional work and my affiliations through partnerships and volunteering, they reduced the description of me in the depositions to “a so-called master gardener.” The whole strategy appeared to be based on intimidation, diminishment of others, and distortion of facts.

  7. This is a great reminder to all people who live in HOA-run, turfgrass covered, wilidlife-barren neighborhoods, who think their surroundings are “just how they’re supposed to be”, and who may not even realize that there is a better way.
    Thank you, Nancy, for waking so many of us up to that better way.

  8. This story is inspiring and cause for celebration! Your sister’s and your tenacity in the face of hostile and irrational treatment is a master class on effective advocacy. Kudos to all involved!!!

  9. So inspiring, Nancy! And way to go, Janet! I know that this battle has been a long and painful one and I am so grateful that it has turned out so well.

    1. Hi Nicky! Thank you! <3 I know that you have faced your own struggles with this and have helped educate your community. One day I hope this is all a relic of an era that is long past. I say that as I watch my neighbors this weekend all around me mow down what amounts to hundreds of acres. Will and I were just lamenting the travesty of it all, not only for wildlife habitat but for food! The giant field directly across the street from us could be filled with native fruit trees and asparagus and ramps and annual vegetable gardens. The amount of land there, especially if we got someone with your skill in here to teach the neighborhood how to grow densely, could actually keep this whole street stocked up with their fruits and veggies. We can dream!

  10. Brava! I am so very grateful this legislation is on its way! My heart hurts when uphill neighbors have cancer causing chemicals applied regularly to their acres of lawn. The drift to my organic gardens designed for habitat, beauty and food makes me so angry. No HOAs in play here, just want to live without clouds of harmful poisons!

  11. Nancy – THANK YOU and your sister too for your persistence and relentless pursuit of what is right. I am proud to know you. This year I’m hoping I don’t see the Sevin poison being used next door. I spoke to my neighbors last year and I think they get it.
    How can I get a Humane Backyard sign?

    1. Hi Mary Beth! I hope you don’t see that, too – ugh. That’s awesome that you may have persuaded your neighbors to stop, though! I thought that HSUS was still doing the signs, but now that I look at the website, it was a little hard for me to find the page. This page might be it, though: https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Donation2?22830.donation=form1&idb=2124065410&df_id=22830&mfc_pref=T&s_src=dn_redirectD13520&22830.donation=form

      I have a sign I still need to get printed up about leaving the leaves and am making some other ones too. I can let you know when they’re done if that is of interest. 🙂

  12. Nancy, what a wonderful post! Congratulations to everyone involved in winning this battle for environmental protection.

  13. Nanfy,
    Thanks so much to you and your sister for persisting. Next time my yard is mentioned in my HOA I’ll bring up this legislation!!!

    1. Hi Pam! Thank you so much for inspiring us! I thought about you during this entire situation and how much you’ve accomplished in your community. It is just amazing. <3

  14. Thank you so much for this post, and for your fearless advocacy (and your sister’s). I had heard about this bill but was glad to get the back story. Appalling but also inspiring.

    1. Hi Jason! Thank you so much for reading and for celebrating with us. Yes, the entire time I was going back through the history to write this and looking at all the paperwork and newsletters, I was alternately infuriated and inspired. It seemed so impossible for a while. But I think the tide is turning in many ways; we just have to keep pushing. Anyway, thanks, it is to hear from you. 🙂 I was just thinking about you the other day as I finally think I have enough ostrich ferns to move to the front pathway by the sidewalk, like at your house! I hate to take them from other places, but there seems to be a critical mass.

  15. As an HOA president, I support all efforts to plant native plants and to reduce/eliminate pesticide usage. I think the Crouches garden is lovely and I would even support a wildflower field in my community if someone wished to plant one. It’s important to allow people flexibility and to have an open mind as long as people are making an effort to make something attractive.

    I did want to mention that the blue “chemical” appears to actually be treated grass seed. It’s coated to retain water and increase germination. I used it once, but was concerned the birds might be eating it and went back to regular seed with more frequent waterings.

    1. Hi Marie, it’s so good to know that someone with your mindset is in that position. It’s unfortunate that sometimes it all depends on who’s in charge. I’m glad you are setting a precedent for your community. Thanks for the info about the blue stuff. I think we did wonder if it was treated seed at some point — I imagine the blue part is the fertilizer in the coating. I agree it’s not something that looks like it would be very good for the birds or the watershed.

  16. I started out laughing but quickly ended up in tears. What an absolute outrage. And such a stunning lack of COMMON SENSE (among other things) on the part of the HOA and its attorneys. Kudos to Janet and her husband, whose stressful battle will ultimately benefit so many pollinators and pollinator advocates.

  17. Thank you for this inspiring story. This is a wonderful precedent.
    I probably would have moved out, rather than continue to face such bullying and irrationality. Imposing anti-Nature changes has repercussions that we will regret. For example, killing off all insects, instead of encouraging and tolerating normally occurring species, has, although perhaps inadvertently, decimated bee populations, and without pollination, mostly by bees, there is no fruit production. Kill off a good insect (think ladybug), and you will end up with an epidemic of bugs and diseases to destroy your well-kept garden. (But I preach to the choir here.)

    If this neighbor persists in forcing lawn and shrubs that can’t survive naturally without fertilizers and insecticides, then perhaps he should install a plastic yard complete with artificial turf, plastic palm trees and flamingos. (Then he won’t need to spray or mow at all.)

    Another big “Thank you for you and your sister’s and her husband’s persistence and commitment .“ And thank you, elected officials, for your wisdom and hard work.

    1. Thank you, Adeline! And yes! As we always say in my community as well, when we see people who only come outside to mow everything down once (or often twice) a week, why doesn’t this person live in an apartment? Why did they buy land that they are just laying to waste?

  18. I am not familiar with your organization although I have spent decades managing my own suburban and rural properties in an “environmentally friendly” manner — especially in establishing “naturalized” prairies on parts of these lands.

    I have also lived in communities governed by HOAs and served on two of them — largely out of concern not only for promoting “environmentally friendly” practices on common grounds, but also respecting the rights of individual property owners to have a “reasonable” amount of choice in the management of their own landscapes. And I agree that HOA boards tend to rely too heavily on lawyers that they hire to protect themselves and the HOA as an entity against legal liability, as opposed to respecting the rights of individual property owners.

    However — apparently in contrast to what I see in this article — a couple of HOA rules that I consider “reasonable” are:
    1. Requiring a strip along a street or sidewalk to be planted in low growing grass or groundcover, to provide some neighborhood aesthetic continuity and to prevent vegetation from encroaching on public pavements. Requiring temporary signage alerting of weed control chemicals being applied in that area is also appropriate.
    2. Restricting yard signs as to size, content, and timing. In this case, putting up permanent signs declaring the yard to be “wildlife habitat” does nothing to attract wildlife and is conceptually and legally no different than erecting signs supporting any political issue or candidate. It is unnatural and counterproductive, and opens the door to signs supporting all sorts of extreme positions that many residents would find offensive. Erecting political signs for a specified period of time around elections is an appropriate way to balance free speech rights with the property rights of neighbors.

    1. I’m glad to know you have encouraged environmentally friendly practices where you live. Where is your community? Where have you planted prairies? I would love to hear more about them and see pictures. Also, how did your community respond? Your efforts in that regard would not have gone over well at Beech Creek, which actively tries to shut down environmentally friendly practices.

      Regarding pesticide and habitat signs, if Neighbor X can post a sign letting the community know his yard is hazardous to living beings, how does it follow that Neighbor Y shouldn’t post a sign letting the same know her yard is safe for living beings?

      In the Beech Creek community, the pesticide signs, as well as other types of signs throughout the community, have stayed up for months and even years. Specifically in the Crouches’ case, signs weren’t even a part of the garden when the initial vitriolic letters came. The signs went up afterwards — as a courtesy to explain the purpose of the garden. It was only at that point that the HOA lawyer decided to add it to the list of transgressions. He attempted to use the sign against my sister, even going after her for planting plants for birds.

      Can you tell me where the article contradicts the notion that garden plants shouldn’t grow into public pavements? I’m not sure I follow how that inference was made here.

  19. Hi Nancy, this was an extremely sobering and troubling saga. That your sister and her family should have had to contend with all of this in the first place is astounding, but it is heartening that common sense prevailed in the end and I salute her and all who supported her in her fight for right. Thank you for documenting this struggle so well. (I well remember your earlier post ‘The New American Dream’ which made a huge impression on me.)
    On this Earth Day I am linking to your post in my most recent post.

  20. This is great! Many thanks to all who fought for this. Do you know if Gov. Hogan will sign it? Did it pass with enough support that even if he vetoes it, it will become law?

  21. Congratulations on this excellent post and your hard-fought victory. Unfortunately, some HOA boards, like school boards and other groups everywhere there are humans, often get fixed on a position and it becomes more about control and power for them than about doing what’s best for the people they’re there to benefit. Your photos show that the neighbor is trying to grow grass (blue-coated seeds) in places where it won’t grow. He’d be so much better off with a more natural habitat. And maybe a happier person.

  22. I encountered this from an HOA in Columbia, Maryland years ago. It never occurred to me that there would be a problem with my creating a small wildflower patch in my front lawn. I received a nasty letter for allowing ‘weeds’ to grow in my yard and was required to remove them (my lawn was mowed and shrubs trimmed–the issue was my wildflowers). Though I explained they were real wildflowers and offered to provide the packaging from the company where I bought the seeds, my words fell on deaf ears. I was threatened with action by the HOA if I didn’t remove the ‘weeds.’ I didn’t have the courage to fight them, and dug up my wildflower garden. I’m glad to know, 25 years later, that someone is successfully fighting these ridiculous rules.

    1. So sorry you lost your wildflowers. But I understand not having the energy to fight them. I do that alot due to my age. My son & I have had to move several times due to covenants for other reasons, so understand the frustration. Sometimes it is better to just move, but when the cost is too high, at times we fight.

  23. Thank you to Janet and Jeff Crouch and all the other good people in this story for being the voice of sanity and decency and environmental responsibility in the face of brutal and senseless authority. Some HOAs are ruled by little tinpot gods, and it’s even worse when they’re completely ignorant. We needed this bill, and I hope we get the same thing in every state.

  24. Love this! Just posted a short diatribe about neighbor spraying poison and loss of birds and other wildlife as well as mature trees in y immediate area. HOA’s are the bottleneck to common sense watershed BMP’s. Ignorance, complacency and idiots are the enemy of the natural environment. We will not solve environmental problems until everyone does their responsible part. Hooray for this legislation. My ‘No Mo Zo’ may now be safe for pollinators, birds and mammals as it fixes carbon and cleans pollution. I am encouraged. Thank you

  25. I asked our Wisconsin Senator if they could make a law for protecting gardeners from harassment in the USA, from by -passer who are not happy with people working gardens for conservation for wildlife or pollinators, while out working any field or garden. We have sharp items and motorized machines that could cause harm and even death!
    I know worked in a hospital for many years and saw people come in with accidents cause by outdoor tools and while caring for you land or home property!
    The danger is no different than doing hunting with a gun!
    We do the opposite by helping preserve what they hunt by helping with conservation that helps promote and feed those animals hunted! It should work as a team atmosphere with respecting others’ rights and keeping safety first at hand for both conservational aspects with both wildlife interests!!
    Also, this would make a better safe place for all wildlife and those wildlife animals who are on the endangered list or like butterflies… almost on the endangered list!
    Advocates and others alike are wonderful people and thier wildlife programs are a working hand to protect what is not protected and should be honored by the law as an alternate for wildlife protection and laws made to protect those programs even though they are not top authorized protection sights…there should be a garden law for advocate or alike ran programs as long as you’re a paid member and following thier advice for your gardening wildlife programs!!
    Helping hands through alternat service by citizen or other entities making your owned land a safe place for wildlife while not in state or federal or county protected wildlife program. Listed under state and federal and our programs could be added as recognized or given a better recognition for what they do not just a program as some feel it is fake and being abusive towards your wildlife efforts!!
    So, your garden areas get an updated no trespassing and safety protection clause.
    This is a paid program for wildlife, and I am a listed member who is important helper for the life of all the wildlife. it is dangerous to harass animals or the owners who own that property while working with dangerous tools and machines and damaging garden areas and boughten feeders, signs and fences etcetera for wildlife could hurt them making this dangerous for both persons and wildlife!!
    New one step higher updated law- protects the owner from outside dangers from unauthorized or hateful person and protects property for those wildlife aspects when working with wildlife or other animal programs through protection advocate or animal and wildlife services or through ” protected wildlife land and forests over lakes for wildlife” and harm to either one will be costly!
    Authorized persons allowed with authorizations though thier company or for working procedures of projects dealing with State or Federal or road land / constructions after permission is given or you were notified of work being done!
    Guns are not the only boughten item that can hurt or kill and should be a cause to keeping safety at hand anywhere anytime!
    Just an idea!

  26. What a fantastic story!!!!!
    Literally standing your ground. Congratulations.
    “One small step for mankind”.

  27. I only just heard about this today, thanks to the NYT article, but I am absolutely delighted at the outcome! Congratulations to you all for the success, and thank you to you all for helping save our wildlife and environment.

    I no longer live in USA, but I consider Maryland my home state. (It’s still where I vote, and is always my home base when I visit the States. And I actually worked in Columbia for a while!) Things like this pioneering law make me proud to be a Marylander.

    Regards,
    Antonio

    1. Hi Antonio, thank you so much for taking the time to write! I’m so pleased you were able to enjoy this victory with us. We are excited that the Times has printed such a thoughtful story and that their platform reaches so many people, even Marylanders far away from home! 🙂

  28. thank you what a great story. I became HOA president in my neighborhood about a year ago. I got 230 trees planted in the park and converted my front yard to wood chips and flower beds. Years ago our HOA board was mailing letters with $100/day fines, so glad things have changed and hope to lobby N. Carolina lawmakers to enact similar legislation. The real problem is outdated HOA bylaws that require a quorum to vote or 51% of members or more to make changes. The obstacles to overcomme that are so big most give up.

    1. Hi Rolland, that’s fabulous that you have made so much progress in just a year! And I’m also excited to hear that you are interesting in lobbying for similar legislation. It’s so true that people often give up when they realize the system seems to be stacked against them. There is often a culture of fear that prevents even supportive neighbors from speaking up and from trying to garden this way themselves. Please keep us posted on your activities and progress! We’d love to hear and highlight the success stories. 🙂

  29. How about listsing bees and butterflies..(Polinators) under “Agricaulture farming protecting laws” just like farm aninals are for that issue… bees are sold in store raised for agricultureal use in farming, medical science and foods and food proceessing and for eating enjoyment and the other pollinators do also, but those are figired in as wild not cuaght that live on your land or your garden… how-ever if they are used for other sitations they would be listed also agricultural reasons or health practices or when authrised to do so, so really they are not wild unless quote free flying!
    “Home gardenning agricultural protection law” would protect your garden and your other parts of the land for the bees and pollinators and others listed pollinators helpers for that part linked as helping or use for agricutltural or part of your gardenning fun and regsireing it with a monarch or pollinator advocate gorup or pollintor authriesd group would make it even more legal and that is what they do proetct thier futrure for agriculture and human and animal, health and lives!

  30. I found her house on Google earth and looked at the street view. I can’t believe that is what her neighbour was losing his mind over! People have way too much time on their hands. My yard has as much as she does and I can’t believe $160,000 in legal fees and endless harassment was the result of some plants on another persons property. Smh. I added your book to my collection btw.

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