On 20 Jul, 16:20, "Mary Fisher" wrote:
"Bob Hobden" wrote in message

... Across and alongside the track from our allotment was a 2ft wide bit of
soil covered with weeds against a S. facing wall. Not being one waste such
a superb growing position I dug over the bit opposite out plot and planted
surplus plants from our garden there, a number of TB Iris some large Red
Hot Pokers, lots of hardy Geraniums and a small Paulownia.
Beginning to look nice until we went down there yesterday, some idiots
have obviously been employed to strim the weeds and they have gone along
the wall and strimmed everything to the ground!
I suppose if they had any intelligence they wouldn't do that job.
Rant over.

I planted all the surplus bulbs I and the hens had dug out of parts of our
garden in the street verge opposite our house. The council workmen cut the
leaves and flowering spikes down.
I know it's council land but really! There's another strip right outside all
our boundary walls. It used to be grassed and when I was a child until about
the 70s it was mown either by the residents or the council. Then new
residents didn't bother and nor did the council, when the council did come
it was on totally unsuitable ride-on mowers (for an 18" strip) which took
off the top layer of growth and soil and threw all the cuttings onto the
pavement.
Some of us planted flowers in the strip hoping that they'd notice and leave
them but they didn't so I and a few more planted small trees and bushes
which the mowers had to avoid. That seems to have done the trick. The mowers
come about twice a year and cut the grass (well, mostly weeds) outside about
three properties in the street.
The other local streets have/had grass verges at the other side of the
pavement next to the road. Most of them have been parked on so often that
they're just muddy ruts now*.
It brings out the worst in one!
My concern now is that we're going away in a week or so, for a fortnight,
and they're busy digging up the paving slabs on the footpath/car parking
spaces* and replacing them with tarmac, I can't find out if they're going to
spread it right up to the boundary walls or leave the planting.
If I can't find out and be able to move the expensive plants in time I'll be
distracted while we're away.
Mary
*all the houses have drives.

Folks, I feel for you, I really do. I'm now trying to ignore all this
because frankly it's not worse getting an ulcer. We've had all the
bottom of our street wall tarmarc, but they also tarmac all the ivy
that dangled down with it! An extraordinary sight - I was so numb with
surprise, because as you say, you've got to be totally idiotic to do
something like this. As far as the 'planting street' is concerned,
we've almost got the upper hand since two years now, when the
'neighbours day' was introduced. We can safely plant around the street
trees, with council money, which is our money, without having a
licence/tax/fine/whatever and more importantly they don't cut anything
we plant. However, we're still in a battle with the annual spraying of
weed killers along our walls and street and yes, you've guessed it,
they've sprayed around the trees - so now it's all dead.

I assure you, either we're the ones who are mad or the council have
such a mismanagement, they cannot comprehensively organise the
cleaning/maintainance of our streets without undoing what they are
doing, at our expenses. As I said, I'm not getting an ulcer. I'll
plant again next year and perhaps, only perhaps, they'll be a bright
spark in the council who's going to realise something is wrong ...!