Advice From Others

• Communicate with the officials as soon as possible.  Explain the garden and benefits of natural landscaping.  Be friendly and polite.  Make them feel guilty for citing you.
• Respond by both voice (phone or in-person) and writing as soon as possible.
  
• Break down their complaint and the rule piece by piece.  State how the garden does not violate each piece of the rule.
  
• Give the officials a tour of the garden and explain the benefits as above.  Have other gardening and native plant experts on-hand to answer questions.
• Ask for help from local organizations and governmental groups.  Get letters supporting natural landscaping from experts and officials.
• Be polite and compromise on issues you are willing to.  Don't give the officials no way out.
  
• Don't compromise on any of the important points.  Do not agree to anything you do not believe is correct.
• Get a lawyer as soon as possible.
• Only pursue legal action if all else fails.
• Add elements to make the garden seem more human or controlled.  Add hardscape such as a stone path, edging, a bird bath, a bench, rocks, etc.
• Keep a journal to show continuous work on the garden.
• Be diligent in removing any noxious weeds such as poison ivy and giant ragweed.
• Mow any exotic lawn areas or get rid of them.
• Have a professional botanist tour the garden and create a plant list.
• Show that the plants are perinnials and require a non-showy rosette phase like exotic perinnials.
• Add signage to identify plants to prove they are not weeds.
• Get the garden certified as a National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat and Texas Parks and Wildlife Wildscape.  Display provided signs.
• Show that the rule is not being enforced uniformly by comparing plant height, etc. to others covered by the rule who were not citied.
• Respect right of way ordinances about plant height.
• Add edging around areas to make them into "controlled" beds.
• Screen wilder looking places with a lattice or fence.
• Add ornamental, non-lawn grasses.
• Keep things neat: dead-head plants when possible.  Remove dead growth quickly.
• If you know when they will inspect, water to make the natives look as good as possible.
  
• Trim or prune plants to make them seem as tidy as possible.

Jason M. Spangler,
jasons@wumple.com