Border Planting

Or Border Control would have been more accurate. This is planting a border not for the plants but for the border. Demarcation I suppose it would be called too. Here's my rant:

We've got new neighbours that have moved in recently. They live below us and thankfully have children too so the thumping on their heads pitter patter of tiny feet does not bother them too much or at least they know what it is all about. Their kids are enjoying the garden but oh, I forget, it is not a garden but a "Drying Green", not made for ballgames or children for that matter. There are no signs on the grass or elsewhere but police has been called out once by another neighbour when a father and son had a bit of a toss-about with a ball and a tiny goal (with no washing on any line...). I can understand that you would not want a dirty ball on your clean washing and also nobody wants a hole in their window so I understand the "no ballgames" rule in these back greens. But why on earth should children not be allowed to roam freely in this space? It's there for everyone to enjoy and once the washing is away they cannot do much harm.

Not for these neighbours though. Any connecting strip of grass that used to exist between our drying green and theirs has been planted over (which incidentally makes it much more difficult for the grasscutters to cut the grass, but that's beside the point). And, more recently, a "trench" has been dug and the four planters planted on the concrete so that the border is well and clearly demarcated and there's no way anybody will trespass. Incredible! However, how will the grass be cut? I don't want to be the person hauling the mower over any of these borders. This is ridiculous. How about speaking to each other and saying something like, 'I'd rather you didn't run over into our drying green' or ' could you please be a bit more quiet'. And as a parent it is handy to be able to send the children out in the back green before tea or for a short while rather than going to the nearest playground.

I've always tried to be nice to my neighbours, I speak to them, I smile at them, I acknowledge their presence and luckily within our stair I get on with everybody and hope to keep it that way. I wish I knew why they did all this - maybe it's just me imagining things - and I will continue to be nice to them too (although they hardly ever acknowledge my presence, after all I live beyond their controlled border!)

Thank you blip for the opportunity to rant.