Comments on: Thank goodness the authorities have busted these hardened front-yard garden criminals

By: Louise

Louise — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 00:37:00 +0000

That garden looks beautiful. Why should anyone object? Madness!

By: Alex Perron

Alex Perron — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 23:41:00 +0000

I’m from the province of Quebec, and I was lawyer until my retirement last year. I do not have any involment in this case, nor I know these people, I just read about that in the newspapers. I would like to reply about comments saying things like this, putting the blame on the owners: «They just should move where this kind of garden is allowed». The truth is: it is not what it seems, and the story is much more complicated. These people (the owners of the garden) hasn’t made a mistake. The city where the house is located is indeed a rural village called St-Charles de Drummond. In 2002, a previous provincial government had forced many small cities to be annexed to the closer bigger city, illegally and without these villages or their population’s consent. Often, these annexions by force covered many miles square, and rural villages like St-Charles de Drummond , with their own town code allowing farms, etc. , being located as far as 30 miles from the next urban or industrial city, were included within this «next » city, here Drummondville. These annexions were more than often pure nonsense because the way of living of the involved communities were so different and so apart. When a new government was elected 2 or 3 years later, and offered to the forced villages to be independant again, too much public money and tax income had already been spendt for the annexion and the villages couldn’t afford the reverse process.When theses owners planned their garden last year, they had a positive legal advice about conformity to St-Charles de Drummond village, and it is still legal in this residential/rural area because the town code of St-Charles hasn’t been changed since 2002 (year of the annexion). But the new «big» Drummondville wants NOW to change this code, or at least wants to submit the new annexed rural areas to the same regulations than the urban downtown of the previous independant Drummondville, which is really unfair because many old rural institutions or enterprises, pre-existing well before the urban Drummondville itself within their respective villages, will become «illegal»!

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 23:15:00 +0000

Today begins the VEGETABLE REVOLUTION!!!

Already started in 1968.

By: Guest

Guest — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:08:00 +0000

More and more people will plant vegetables. It’s time to destroy those who would force us to depend on PURCHASED food. Today begins the VEGETABLE REVOLUTION!!!

By: APRobot

APRobot — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:44:00 +0000

The real crime here is the architecture of that house.

By: Jeremy Luke Lacko

Jeremy Luke Lacko — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:52:00 +0000

I hope they keep the garden and fight for their basic human rights….this is bullshit plain and simple people. Stop being slaves to idiots…..You are all smarter than they are, by the way………keep that in mind.

By: Chippsetter

Chippsetter — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 13:47:00 +0000

I like the look of that picture. I would be glad to be their neighbor and would probably do it also.. You do realize that they are putting in a lot of work all the time there correct? A garden requires a lot more work, mostly by hand, than a mow every 8 days lawn. Maybe that is the problem. everyone else sees them outside everyday instead of sitting in the recliner throwing back a six-pack.

Another thought, for those that say to just move it to the back like everyone else, most likely there is more garden in the back. Maybe they are ggrowing vegetables for other family members also.

By: CH

CH — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 10:10:00 +0000

Yeah… pimp bees. Have you seen the clothes they wear? Pimp clothes… nobody else would wear yellow and black stripes, unless they are pimps!

By: RMChandler

RMChandler — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 04:26:00 +0000

Lord Mansfield: “The rain may beat against the cabin of an Englishman, the snow may penetrate it, but the King dare not enter it without the consent of its owner.”

By: Dinah Miller

Dinah Miller — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 03:29:00 +0000

Appeal it until the harvest. Damn Quebecers.

By: Richard Dagenais

Richard Dagenais — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 03:21:00 +0000

That is the most obscure load of hogwash I’ve heard in a while. And I have no hog to wash with it.

By: Richard Dagenais

Richard Dagenais — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 03:21:00 +0000

oh snap!

By: Zoe ZenGarden

Zoe ZenGarden — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 02:49:00 +0000

I would be interested in seeing the *exact* wording of that law, in addition to a list of exactly what is planted in that yard… ‘vegetable garden’ vs ‘edible landscape full of healthy fruits & vegetables’ are not the same thing- fruits and herbs are not vegetables… semantics may be annoying, but they can definitely be used to make a point.

By: Elorah Thia Zen-Sun

Elorah Thia Zen-Sun — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 02:41:00 +0000

Gobsmacked. Speechless. What right does anyone have to tell anyone else how much frakking FOOD they can grow on their own property????????? I don’t even know what to say here. No words. Oh yes, here’s one…MORONS.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 02:05:00 +0000

“Curtain twitchers” is the phrase you want.

By: Daniel Colby

Daniel Colby — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 01:23:00 +0000

Leaning towards rights and freedoms? That’s not the Quebec I know and live in. This is the province where you can get fined for boosting your friend’s car on a public road if he has broken down.

By: Kelly Clarke

Kelly Clarke — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 00:20:00 +0000

Any fool can make a rule, any fool can mind it.

By: bcsizemo

bcsizemo — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 00:03:00 +0000

I’ve had at least 3 code violations in the last 4 years. But I’m not sure if I kept the original letter once they were resolved.

By: Mark R Côté

Mark R Côté — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 23:19:00 +0000

They can be fined $100-$300 per day. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/07/18/drummondville-vegetable-garden-fight.html

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:43:00 +0000

Streets are statutorily 60 feet wide where I live. But in practice, little residential streets in older neighborhoods are less than twenty feet wide. Much of what constitutes ‘front yard’ is really street easement. At my previous house, had the city widened the street to its limit, it would have been about five feet from my door and right through my neighbors’ septic tank. If cities aren’t going to use the whole easement, it doesn’t make much sense to leave it bare just in case.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:22:00 +0000

We have an asshole building inspector who drives around on his day off looking for violations. Which becomes even worse when you discover that no two building inspectors here can agree on what constitutes a violation, and this city is so dependent on permit revenue that virtually everything requires a permit. Turn on your already-installed alarm system – permit. Put in a sprinkler system – permit. Exterior painting – permit.

By: Finnagain

Finnagain — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:33:00 +0000

I like having a number of unkempt front yards in my neighborhood. It deters the busybody douchebag element from buying near me.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:29:00 +0000

Quebec, Colorado?

By: TheMadLibrarian

TheMadLibrarian — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:29:00 +0000

Obviously you’ve seen my front yard :D Eventually I want to move into xeriscaping, but right now it’s an expanse of weeds and unhappy struggling grass.

By: Finnagain

Finnagain — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:13:00 +0000

What is the city’s stance on topiary? Not vegetables! And easily shaped to resemble a middle finger salute.

By: midwstrner

midwstrner — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:06:00 +0000

I don’t know the exact rules of the city, but from what I can see, I’d estimate they are not using more than 30% of the front yard for actual gardening.

The majority of the front yard is taken up by the driveway and stone covered walkway, barely 30% of it is being used for gardening.

They should do the measurements and see, it might make their case and protect their garden from this idiot rule.

By: cdh1971

cdh1971 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:59:00 +0000

Zweii, I view the pic attached to your comment as more attractive than the pic attached to the parent post.

Maybe it’s a regional thing – and I understand this, so nothing against you. I do understand the property values concern – I don’t like it, but I don’t like many things over which I have little control ;)

But where I live, this sort of thing is trendy to the point of better-off home-owners paying grunts to achieve this look, even if they wouldn’t think of eating the produce. Depending on the neighbourhood, a garden space like this improves so-called curb-appeal, especially if the majority of the plants are mature perennials such as rosemary and other herbs.

The sensory effect, especially when walking through neigborhoods with many of these front gardens is really pleasant.

By: Suzanne Galjour

Suzanne Galjour — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:58:00 +0000

RULES ARE RULES? Are you kidding? Who made these rules, and did the citizen have any input? Is this Nazi Germany or Korea? I am ashamed to even think that an American would say what you said.

By: Matthew Irvin

Matthew Irvin — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:48:00 +0000

That is what we told all those “non-white” families when we passed the community ordinance back in 1954 – but they didn’t listen, and there went the neighborhood!

By: bugwok

bugwok — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:45:00 +0000

local TV news dint pick this up? … at least I dint see it on any local news… and they thrive for stuff like this