Homeowner shares surprising triumph after butting heads with HOA over landscaping: 'They agreed that they have no jurisdiction'

One homeowner got a happy ending after an unfortunate run-in with their homeowners association over native plants.

They went to a lot of trouble to replace the struggling grass in their parking strip with mulch beds full of native flowers and saplings, which looked beautiful in the photo they shared on the r/NativePlantGardening subreddit.

This was a smart choice on their part — and not just because of the added curb appeal. Native plants need less upkeep than grass, and they thrive with only the natural rainfall in their native range, so they cost less money to grow. Plus, they attract pollinators.

Unfortunately, not everyone was on board with the change. Someone complained to the original poster's HOA management company, which at first informed the OP that they would have to remove all the native plants in the parking strip.

"I found out today I'm being forced to remove all of my native plants in the parking strip," the OP said. "I'm so sad that I'm losing all of this after all the work I put into it."

However, a few days later, they posted an update.

"I had a good conversation with the HOA management company today and they agreed that they have no jurisdiction over the parking strip and what I do with it, nor are they able to enforce a county ordinance," the OP said. "They talked to the county and the only issue the county had was there are some plants taller than 24" in the visibility triangle at the intersection. I've agreed to move the tall plants out of that visibility triangle and the rest get to stay. The management company said they were going to talk to the HOA board and neighbors that complained and put the issue to rest."

That means the vast majority of the OP's plants will get to stay as is; they just need to do a little work on one corner of the garden bed. "I plan to replace the tall plants with some low growing/groundcover natives," they said. "I already have Wild Strawberry growing, so I may move some of that into that area. … I'm so happy that I get to keep this patch of native plants!"

Commenters celebrated with them. "Yay!! So happy you found a good resolution instead of letting the nosy neighbors win," said one user.

Should homeowners associations be able to determine what you grow in your garden? Yes 💯 Only if it impacts your neighbors 🏘️ Depends on what you're growing 🌼 Heck no 🙅 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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