'It looks absolutely feral': Homeowner protests an uppity HOA by meticulously following a "native plants only" landscaping rule, transforming their yard into a wild, indigenous North Carolina ecosystem

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  • HOA demanded native plants only M I bought a house in Durham last year. The HOA has this rule about landscaping - you can only plant species "native to North Carolina" because they're "water-efficient and low-maintenance."
  • I'm a landscape architect so I actually liked this rule. Native plants are great. I planned out a nice pollinator garden with coneflowers, black-eyed susans, some native grasses. Planted everything in April. Looked good.
  • In June I got a violation notice. My yard looked "unkempt and weedy." The native grasses were too tall apparently. They wanted me to mow or replace them with "appropriate ground cover."
  • I went to the HOA meeting. Explained these are native grasses, they're supposed to be tall, that's how they grow. The board member said they meant native plants that "look maintained" not "wild plants."
  • I said native grasses ARE wild plants, that's the whole point. She said I needed to keep my yard looking "neat and consistent with neighborhood standards" or face fines.
  • Here's the thing. If they wanted native plants that look like traditional landscaping, they should've specified that. They just said native to North Carolina.
  • So I did research. Found out what was ACTUALLY native to the piedmont region before suburban development. Not just native plants you can buy at a garden center. Native as in indigenous ecosystem.
  • Removed all my nice cultivated plants. Replanted with the full native successional community. Eastern red cedar seedlings. Blackberry thickets. Pokeweed. Goldenrod. Native brambles. Trumpet vine. Let the whole thing go natural.
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  • Added a small brush pile in the back corner for wildlife habitat - also native to the ecosystem. Within three weeks my yard looked like actual woodland undergrowth. Which is what this area naturally wants to be.
  • Got another violation notice. "Yard must be maintained, debris must be removed, invasive species must be controlled."
  • I responded that everything planted is native to North Carolina per HOA rules, the "debris" is a wildlife brush pile which is part of native habitat management, and none of it is invasive.
  • Included a detailed species list with native plant database citations.
  • They said this isn't what they meant by native plants. I said then they should revise the rule to be specific about what they actually want instead of blanket "native species only."
  • My neighbors hate it. One guy asked if I was "letting my yard die on purpose." Another said it's bringing down property values.
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  • The HOA is trying to fine me but their own rule says native plants only. I'm following the rule exactly. Everything in my yard is documented native to this region.
  • They called an emergency landscaping standards meeting last week. Trying to add language about "maintained appearance" and "approved species lists."
  • Until they do, my yard is staying exactly like this. It's technically a better ecosystem than anyone else's lawn but it looks absolutely feral.
  • SimplyIrregardless Now you gotta go around and report the HOA members for having non native plants.
  • labdsknechtpiraten If they want to continue, your next step is to find native, ENDANGERED plant species. That way, when they come with the inevitable you can reply back, sorry, that would be utterly illegal under [relevant endangered species laws]
  • Spaceman2901. Might be worth checking if you can be held to standards imposed after the fact.
  • stberg40. Many times revisions to HOA rules must be approved not only by homeowners, but also by all lenders. Also, if they do not enforce one rule, they cannot enforce any rules.
  • Lonecoon⚫ Be sure to check to see if you can get clearance by the state/county for having native grasses. In parts of the Midwest, you can have native meadows for lawns which are exempt from HOA nonsense.
  • Jaydamic ⚫ "this isn't what they meant" Who gives a shit what you meant, if it isn't in your bullshit rules it isn't a rule and you can shove your violation where no plants can grow

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