Greetings, my sassy readers! It’s your main man Roger, dropping in with another spicy scoop fresh from the drama-laden fields of Reddit. Today, I bring you a tale that’s got the internet’s green thumbs and drama enthusiasts alike in a tizzy. This isn’t just any story – it’s a real Reddit saga from an actual human bean. Buckle up, because this ride’s going to have more twists than a corkscrew willow tree in a cyclone.
Picture this: a humble abode bought 9.5 years ago by our protagonist, nestled in the heart of a neighborhood where the houses whisper secrets of days gone by. This isn’t just any house, folks – it’s a fixer-upper with a capital ‘F’. The kind of place that’s been through the wringer since the Eisenhower Administration and has the battle scars to prove it. The previous tenants? A large immigrant family with a penchant for gardening that would make even Mother Nature blush. We’re talking invasive species galore, turning this little slice of suburbia into their own personal ‘Little Shop of Horrors’.
Fast forward to the twist: a year ago, our hero puts up a privacy fence, perhaps in a bid to keep out nosy neighbors or maybe just the invasive kudzu. Lo and behold, the former owners come knocking, not to reminisce about the good old days but to ask for cuttings from the beloved mulberry tree. A tree so fantastic, it might just be the only thing in the yard not plotting world domination.
Here’s where it gets juicier than a ripe mulberry. The previous owners, not content with just a snippet of their horticultural past, have been using the current address for all things medical and sending family emissaries to reclaim what they insist is their family legacy – a mysterious tree that our protagonist swears never existed on the property.
Cue the moral quandary: to grant access to these botanical pilgrims or to stand firm in the conviction that after nearly a decade, one’s garden is one’s own? Our homeowner is torn, caught between the will of a husband advocating for cultural sensitivity and a desire for privacy stronger than their ivy’s grip on the fence.
So, dear readers, as we stand at the edge of this metaphorical hedge maze, what’s Roger’s Hot Take? Let me lay it on you with all the finesse of a perfectly pruned bonsai: Boundaries, my friends, are as important in relationships as they are in gardening. While the past owners’ attachment to their plant heritage tugs at the heartstrings like a well-placed trellis, one cannot simply uproot another’s sense of security and privacy in the pursuit of nostalgia.
In the grand scheme of things, our homeowner is NTA (Not The A-hole) for wanting to keep their garden – and by extension, their life – free from unwanted intrusions. Like any good gardener knows, sometimes you have to prune back the old to make room for new growth. And in the context of our tale, setting healthy boundaries is the seed from which peace of mind will bloom.
At the end of the day, heritage or not, respect for others’ spaces and wishes should be as perennial as the grass. So, let’s remember to tread lightly in others’ gardens, both literal and metaphorical. Until next time, keep your drama thorny and your takes hot. Roger out.
Original story
On mobile, apologies for formatting/errors.
We bought our house 9.5 years ago. We were in a bad situation, and could only afford cheap, which we got. Basically nobody has taken care of this house since it was built in the 1950s. It’s an eyesore with a lot of issues, we’re slowly taking care of them. The last owner was an immigrant, and lived with 9-10 people in the house. The neighbors had a lot of rants about these people, which we dismissed as racist, but we learned that one of the reasons the home was an eyesore was because the previous owners tried to make our little lot a homestead with all kinds of crazy plants that are considered invasive in our area.
A year ago, we put up a privacy fence. The former owners approached us to ask for cuttings from the mulberry tree, we obliged, we love that tree. I started noticing around the same time that they were using our address for their medical stuff, and their family members had started turning up asking for stuff. I reported the mail, turned these people away.
This year, they showed up multiple times again, requesting cuttings from a type of tree that we’ve never had. They didn’t believe me but I didn’t let them look. They said this tree came from their home country. It’s possible a tree that got taken out after we moved in was this tree, but I refused to let them go back to look, I have dogs in the yard, and it’s been 9 years. Why the sudden interest in getting plants now? My husband said I should let them take what they want, it’s a legacy, and maybe it’s a cultural difference. I’m uncomfortable with people I don’t know showing up and asking for access to my yard. AITA?