Managing the Neighbors

My house is the only one on our street with non-traditional landscaping (i.e., no front lawn).  As such, I've had friendly neighbors ask me about the plants, and I've had unfriendly neighbors file a complaint with the city.  The official complaint read, "Please remove the overgrown grass and weeds from your property," and the ordinance description reads, "D. Overgrown, dead, decayed, diseased, or hazardous trees, weeds, and other vegetation."  The letter ended with a threat to fine me for the cost of hiring a landscape crew to come in and remove the "weeds."  When I spoke with the inspectors from the city and informed them of the planting (and could name the "weeds"), they voided the citation.

In an attempt to ward off future complaints, I took a two-pronged approach.  First, I removed the plants that looked the wildest: unfortunately, that meant I removed all the sages from the front of the garden.  The sages were the most difficult for me to keep looking aesthetically pleasing during the dry months of summer, so I had to sacrifice them.  Second, I added some garden decorations to try to make the garden look more like a garden.  I have tried not to cross the line into "tacky," and since I put up these decorations, there have been no complaints.  Correlation does not equal causation, but still, something is working. . .

I made all these stepping stones myself.  This one is right in front, next to the sidewalk.

Here's a barn owl to scare off any disgruntled thoughts.

And here's a desert tortoise statue with a bird bath to greet anyone walking up to the front door.