K, so I was apparently having a bad day Friday, that doesn't read well. People really can be gormless(love that word) when they say things about your garden. I have had the polar opposites, in comments. I once had a young landscaper wannabe, family friend, tell me in very early Spring that he could level the whole area and drop some nice sod to 'pretty it all up'. I had a hard time a/ not killing him; b/ not laughing in his face. The flip side was a visiting English lady who commented on what a lovely Cottage garden I had.

That's what I like about this forum - we are kindred spirits who see the potential in a bulb, twig or seed.

Nancy.

We've had many joggers tell us how beautiful the garden is, and that they go out of their way to be able to go past our house. Sometimes I'm dead tired and sweaty and nasty looking, but a nice comment like that makes me feel wonderful and rejuvenated. That makes it all worth while. Compliments are music to the ears of a tired gardener.

I may have passed this gem on before, and it's kind of related. I had just moved into my house 30yrs. ago,and the front yard was tall grass with Queen Anne's Lace blooming here and there. A neighbor told me one day that she and her 14yr.old son had driven past and Mom said, "John, why don't you volunteer to mow Christine's yard?"

Son: "But Mom, she might not want it mowed, you know how artists are!"

I took it as a great compliment, as I did alot of painting back then; and I'll never forget it. ha. (Oh, but I DID mow the yard.)

I guess a lot of people don't see all my gardens but I have had some nice comments. One neighbor said we are copying what you are doing by putting some flowers by the front ditch.
The most heart warming was a lady bicyclist stopped one day and asked if she could take pictures of the flowers. She posts online to some bicyclist forum and wanted permission.
She took lots of pictures of the flowers and butterflies. Later she brought me a wild flower from a ditch to identify.........of course, I couldn't! Isn't that always the way.

I really don't think of the public when I garden....just do what I like and want. No one will be including me in their garden tours....too messy, but I am comfortable with it.

No negatives that I can think of.

I mostly get compliments and I eat them up. I work like a madwoman for the joy of it, but it's still nice to hear someone else say nice things. The best compliment I think I got was when an older woman from the garden club said, "When I die and go to heaven I hope they have flowers like this." I will always think nice thoughts about her.

A few people have been not so nice. My cousin went through my garden when it was at it's peak, full of gorgeous flowers and although she made lots of comments, not one of them was really positive. I chalk it up to jealousy. A neighboring town's garden club came through once, and the lady who wrote a thank you note only said "Thanks for letting us see your gardens. It's always interesting to see other people's gardens". Not "nice garden, or pretty flowers", but "interesting", which we all know is a euphemism. And I had worked so hard to get it all cleaned up too. Normally it's cluttered with hoses everywhere, plastic pots on every corner, lots of weeds, and little piles of dead foliage which have to be taken to the compost heap. That club doesn't get to come back. Really, how hard is it to say something nice?

That's why I like this forum, friendly kindred spirits.

I'll take their suggestions when I finally decide I'm out of ideas. They can wait their turn.

I get the older ladies from the beauty shop across the street talking about my yard. They knew the house in the 70s when the lady that lived here grew everything you can think of. Lots of those plants are making their way back into the yard and gardens. These ladies have always had nice things to say. I bet they gossip about me all the time with their hair in curlers.

"Normally it's cluttered with hoses everywhere, plastic pots on every corner, lots of weeds, and little piles of dead foliage which have to be taken to the compost heap." Brenda, you've been looking over my fence LOL. The person who wrote you the thank you note, me thinks it smacks of just a wee bit of jealousy.

Annette

The only negative, that we know of, was when we were covering the grass. The lady behind did not see Diane and told her young son that some old people did crazy things.

I was telling my favorite doctor about getting yard of the month. He said another patient had told him what a beautiful yard I had. It impressed me that he would remember.
We get compliments almost every day by some one walking by.

I always give children a few flowers. I hope to create future gardeners.

k

Isn't it nice to have like-minded crazy folk about to share in the joys of gardening? I wouldn't trade all of you for a million sane gardeners!
CMK

Only once did anyone say a negative word about my garden. It was from a very bitter woman, and it made me laugh out loud. This is a woman who was prostituting her daughter (of young teenage years) selling drugs and gunrunning out of her home. She did not think anyone should have (insert cuss word) outside their home. It was far to much work and I should have better things to do! I about fell out laughing. We have quite some characters in and out of our street (she didn't last long!)
Many of the "regulars" up and down the street (regulars is a very polite word for customers of the neighbors) don't say a word except that I owe them some of my vegetables. To which once again, I fall out laughing.
Then of course we have wonderful neigbhors of all kinds in my neighborhood, many who are "regulars" and come to visit weekly. They love to see the blooms, snatch a cutting or a few seeds. There are even one or two women who come a distance to share because they can't afford to buy plants. We have a good time together. Mostly everyone is very positive even if they would not choose to have my garden (and the work) - they still come to enjoy it. I'm pleased to say we also now have two other lovely front yard gardens on our street!!

GGG

My tiny, narrow front yard is all most people see, and this time of year it is a total show-off w/all the bursting bloom stuff going on and I owe much of it to my Garden Elves who designed and installed it way back when. But..... I've kept it alive and even added some stuff, so am due some credit!

Turns out, it's pretty intimidating to many neighbors who view my yard as a mirrored head-slap of their own shortcomings. Initially, I was lauded for setting a (new neighborhood) standard ..... now, I'm the proverbial petunia in the cabbage patch. :o(

A few still seek my 'advice' but have never applied any shards of knowledge I've offered and still whine ....year after year. Like the lady across the street w/a full frontal Southern exposure who complains about how hot her house gets, and how she can't grow grass (in the baked clay substrate the builder gifted us all with - duh!). For years I have responded to her queries w/my suggestions (till up and amend the soil and then plant a tree or three for shade).

She has cited the visible to her trees/planting around my house and inquired about them - yes, they shade/cool the house .... yes, they're but six years old, but big .... yes, you've been here longer, so had you planted such, you'd be ahead of me, but it's never too late .... plant 'em now! Ummm, that didn't stick ....

At her request, I even referred my Garden Elves to her, but their plan was 'too expensive' . She has a 'yard maintenance' company who scalp her but good weekly mowing her scraggly so-called grass ...... and her house is still hot. And her front yard still looks awful. Go figure. I'm finding myself avoiding her - if she's outside, I'll busy myself inside or out back and avoid any confrontation.

Meanwhile, my back yard (courtyard is a better description given its' small size, and tightly fenced ) is my true trophy. I am so totally in love with it .... and while I'd like to share w/neigbors, I know it wouldn't wash. So I just keep it to myself ..... me and the beagle.

No direct insults here, but a few left handed compliments at best .....

GGG - it sounds like you live on an 'eclectic' lane- yeah, been there. Moved, and stripped my equity out. God love you that you stay.....I had the treasurer of the local Satan's Choice, as my neighbour, as my maintenance guy and my snow removal!!!!!
Moved further out, and now have ended up with local coke connection across the road.....can I pick them, or what???!!!!

I haven't had any negative comments yet, that I know about at least, but I haven't been gardening all that long. We moved here three years ago, and the first year I didn't do a ton...I just added some spring bulbs to the front, and a handful potted plants around the steps and probably more garden junk than actual garden. One neighbor did stop over to tell me, "I love what you're doing with the plants!" which made me feel so good. Although it's about quadrupled in size since then, and I wonder if they still feel the same way 'cause no one has said much since! I almost feel embarassed to be that neighbor who's out front digging again...but it makes me happy. :) Once in a while a neighbor brings her son over because he likes to look at the flowers, and I think she kinda wants to nose around and see what I'm doing too. LOL* I don't mind, I am a stay at home Momma so I kinda keep people longer than they want to be around anyhow 'cause I never get out! :)

Once a 5 year old little girl said that it looked like fairies lived in my garden.

I think I see a trend here........referring to gardening and cluttered flower beds and all the work....something little old ladies do! I love it. My favorite neighbors used to be little old ladies who lived next door to us when we were first married.

They gardened and had flowers and loved talking about them.

I have become one!

Despite the negative comments we each have heard, you just don't always know how many people DO enjoy your yard. Several years ago I found a beautiful, large cottage garden on my way to work. I would go out of my way each day to drive by. It made my day. I saw the little old lady out there at 6:30 in the morning working and again at 3:00 pm when I went by. I began to honk and wave. Then one day I finally stopped and complimented her work. We talked a little and she told me she worked in the morning in her garden, then had lunch and a nap and returned for a while in the afternoon. For 3 years I drove by, honked, and occasionally stopped. Then one spring I didn't see her. The gardens grew wild, someone else bought it and took out all the gardens for grass. I was very sad. But she was an inspiration to me. WHen I retire, I want to be that little old lady. What if I had never stopped and complemented her? She wouldn't have known the difference, but I would have.

gldno1 - Lol* I'll tell you what, little old ladies are my best company! Lol* My two loves are quilting and gardening!!! :)

Something funny that your comment reminds me of, is an email I recieved once from someone on freecycle. I had posted some quilting supplies and fabric, that it was on the front lawn in a bag for whoever'd like to grab it. The last person to pick something up from my home was very kind, but I don't generally answer the door for strangers, and so in the post I mentioned that I don't answer the door for safety reasons. Well someone answered my email, telling me that I'd basically given away that I am old (because I quilt), live alone (because I don't answer the door) and that I shouldn't post things from my home address for people to pick up because someone might try to come and take advantage of or hurt me. Well, what's funny to me is, I'm 28, married to a big old strong hunk of a'man and we have kids! LOL* I think the lady who emailed me was coming from a kind place, trying to be protective, but sheesh, just because I quilt and garden doesn't mean I'm 85! LOL*

I hope I'm still gardening when I'm 85!

We had a compliment from a neighbor down the street who cuts grass. He told my DH that he thought we had the best yard in the neighborhood. We've only lived here 3 years (the people we bought it from didn't do much). I loved the compliment, but felt as though we had barely touched the front yard(we started in the back & are just now working on the front). It was very nice.

I have one neighbor that isn't fond of gardening, and he asked me "if I had any marijuana growing in there?". I've learned to ignore the comments, I think he's trying to be funny.

My biggest compliment was when a professional photographer asked if he could use my gardens as a backdrop for a client.

Well, I used to think that gardening WAS for "old ladies" but then I realized that I'm either old (not), or I just found a "mature hobby."

I wish I had discovered it sooner, but my interests lay elsewhere until I was 'settled.'

We don't live near the road, so the only people who see my yard are visitors (few). I have one guy that comes up to visit DH...in a previous life he was the "lawn guru" at Home Depot. He'll start going on about my grass...I mow it. It's green. I happen to LIKE it when it gets about 6" tall, and is COVERED with dandelions in the spring.

But my only critics are me and DH, and we both agree when it's either "too" cottagey (is there such a thing? Well, yes, there actually is, and it involves too-many-too-tall-sunflowers-overtaking the rest of the garden spaces), or needs some attention.

The thing that bugs me is when people say "what a lot of work" My response is either "its not work to me" or "its not a love of labor, but a labor of love"

I get a lot of the same reaction that michelle zone 4 mentions. "This just looks like too much work", I would never have the time to take care of all that", blah blah blah. I would never say to someone "I could never sit in front of the TV for hours on end" (like you do).

I got many of these comments when I was working on the hill in front of my house. (Most of my gardens are hidden from public view). But one day an old man in a very loud beat-up car stopped in the middle of the road and yelled "Miss, Miss! You are doing a real good job. I've seen you working out here and it looks real good!" That was the best compliment ever! I almost cried.

I get a mixed bag of comments. Of course, you can't tell from the front yard that I've done much of anything other than get rid of most of the weeds in the lawn - but the neighbors have definitely seen me out working on the lawn weeds. The ones who have seen the back yard are a bit more impressed, especially by how well my lasagna gardens have turned out. I've had quite a few chats about lasagna gardens with my closest neighbors, esp since I snag grass clippings from them! I think my tendency to research stuff ahead of time and mail order my chosen plants sets me aside from people the most. My one neighbor has said that she's had bad luck with roses, so she's going to wait and see if I can get some to grow, and then she'll get the same ones as me, lol! (I haven't planted any yet, but have talked about the ones at the old house, and how if I get the easy kinds, it won't be a big project like hybrid teas!)

I am someone who sees a person working hard in the yard, weeding or planting annuals and I always try to get their attention and tell them they are "doing a great job/ everything looks so nice". As evidenced by the responses in the thread, everyone deeply appreciates their hard work being noticed, so pay it forward and make someone else's day !! It's alot of fun to compliment total strangers sometimes. It usually confuses them at first, but you will always get a grateful smile!
My biggest compliment came when my sister-in-law asked us to host her wedding in our backyard garden last September. She has also asked me to design the landscaping at their new house this year, so I consider that a compliment as well.
As far as insults, I usually only get the "that's too much work" comment.

I loved reading each post. We are kindred in spirit, I believe. All sharing the same passion ... the love of gardening.

DH is my worst critic until some one comes along and says to him, "what a beautiful garden", then he swells with pride.

The best compliments I've ever received were from children. One said she was going to buy my house when she gets older and she thinks I have fairies. Another little girl asked to placed a homemade Leprechaun trap in my garden. And another child stands at the entrance to my garden a yells my name to come out and show her the caterpillars in the garden.

I live in the country, so I don't get many visitors. However, I learned long ago that a compliment or an insult generally has more to do with the person giving it. For example, my mother can not say anything nice about anything. If she didn't insult everything, I would faint! On the other hand, my daughter always compliments and I would faint if she were to ever insult! So, take the compliments but learn to look past the insults at the unhappy people giving them.

Like Nell, I don't garden for the public. The biggest reward my garden has given back is being able to go pick a flower for my granddaughter to take home every time she visits me. When I was a child, I did the same from my grandmother's garden. That means more to me than all the compliments in the world. And makes it easy to overlook any insult.

I garden for me, too. Definitely not for the public.

I got a slap the other day. Like Gottagarden, my garden gets messy someimes, with hoses and pots, and plants taking a dip in a bucket of rain water. Someone was telling me that her DD had said to her "We are not going to have our yard look like Janie's".....

For the life of me, I can't remember who it was.

But I can't imagine saying something like that to a friend, so I doubt it was a friend.

Janie

Oh! I just found the cottage garden forum! I've been hanging out over in Potagers because my veggie garden is more of that style, but my front and side yards will *one day* be more cottagey.

When we first moved in 2 years ago to our first house, the worst part was mowing! All grass, 2 huge maple trees, and a few sickly daylilies and hostas. So we killed all of the grass on a particularly steep part of the side yard and planted wildflower seeds (we must have looked awfully silly stepping all over this dirt hill pressing the seeds into the soil). Well, 3 months later as the poppies were fading and the cosmos were nearly 6 feet tall, we had so many of our neighbors stopping to compliment us on it, one even knocked on the door to let us know how much she enjoys our flowers. But my favorite was a particularly honest neighbor who told me "we all thought you were crazy when you killed all that nice grass, but I'm so glad you did." I'm gonna plant some more annuals out there this year just for her!

Welcome kesflower! I am sure you will love the Cottage Garden Forum, we are a very friendly bunch! Hope you post pics of you potager here soon!
CMK

Kesflower, welcome! Make yourself at home here - CG Forum is a wonderful place to be.
I just finished covering all the grass with cardboard, top soil and Nature's Helper. Bermuda is very hard to get rid of, and very clever.
Look forward to having wildflowers around, like you.

~Natalie

wantonamara-I love that the little girl thought you had fairies living in your garden!

Schoolhouse, like you, I love boxwood - rounded, hedged, squared, whatever. I think they're fantastic.

Maureen, I like your comment about the tv watching. Made me laugh.

My gardening style isn't really what I would consider cottage, but I do like heirloom plants so I guess it's all semantics.

I do appreciate a beautiful cottage style garden regardless if I wouldn't do it myself. I wouldn't have a clue how to do it.

Besides, I think formal landscaping goes better with the style of my house, but I love the ease of the flow in cottage style gardens when done right.

Sometimes when I'm on the landscaping or other forums talking about formal landscaping, there's always someone who has to call formal 'boring' - I think the last comment I got was 'go for a little variety' and 'think outside the box' in an effort to get me to stray from formal landscaping. Irritating.

Formal landscaping is anything but boring, and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but if I tell you that my style is formal, don't tell me to go informal because that's what you like, right? It would be equivalent to me saying that all cottage gardens are messy. It's an ignorant generality.

Mostly, a lot of insults I've gotten are from a jealous neighbor, so I don't put too much stock in it.

On the flipside, our house was a dump when we purchased it. THE eye sore on the block. Often times when I'm gardening in the front, a passersby will tell me what a wonderful job we've done with our landscaping. Another neighbor told me he saw me outside in early spring, so he knew he had to get going on his gardening in order to 'keep up' with the competition. I thought that was a nice compliment considering their yard looks fantastic.

We were thinking of selling our house at one point and our realtor showed potential buyers an old picture of the house, they didn't seem too interested so he encouraged them to drive by. After they did a drive by he said they were quite eager.

And, my very critical blunt friend who RARELY offers compliments gave me the nicest compliment about my patio this past summer, so of course I was ecstatic because I put a lot of time into it.

I've had ladies pull over on the wrong side of the street to take a look at my Halloween decor in my container plantings last year, and then more compliments from other neighbors about my Halloween urns (much credit goes to the container gardening forum for their wonderful advice and suggestions).

And, it's always nice to hear compliments from long time neighbors who had to look at this armpit for so many years, and to have them come to ME for gardening ideas and advice. So, I must be doing something right, even with my FORMAL landscaping. LOL

Being fairly new to the gardening world, in no time at all I have become a gardening fanatic. In winter months I'm pouring over the internet for gardening ideas and advice. I'm moving plants around every year, tweaking this and changing that, but it's evolving and looks more beautiful with every passing year. I have gardened in the sun and the rain, in the day and in the night, and there just aren't enough hours in the day. I will eat my dinner at 9:00 pm if that means I can spend more time in my garden. LOL. Ummm...seriously.

kimcoco - you know what, I think you're totally right. I am a sensitive person and I always am struggling to figure out how to take rude comments and digs. But like you said, I think those comments come from jealousy.

I also think that like the style of clothes you wear, or the type of weather you prefer, there is no right or wrong style of gardening. In my opinion, it's just plain nice when someone goes out of their way to do ANY kind of gardening, ya know? I happen to really like formal gardens! LOL* Especially english rose gardens. There is plenty of room to be creative and out of the box in any style of garden, in my opinion. I choose to garden cottage style because it fits my budget, my property, and it's something I think I could manage. :)

BTW - there are some very formal cottage gardeners too! LOL*** And that's ok too! :)

Best compliment I ever got was about 10 years ago. It was the day before Mother's Day and I was working in one of my flower beds in the front yard. I had lost my Mom a few years before and it being Mother's Day weekend I was missing her so badly that it was almost hard to breathe. A car pulled over and this lady that I had never seen before said something to me that I'll never forget. She said "I just want to thank you. Thank you for planting these beautiful flowers. I live several streets over and I come this way everyday just to see your flowers." What a wonderful gift that lady gave me on a day that I felt so alone. I'll always consider her to be one of my angels on earth. We never know how much a kind word can mean to someone who is struggling.

Welcome, Kesflower. Do you have pictures of your potager garden? I'd love to see it.

Edna

Great stories here...

My biggest insult actually came out of the mouth of the previous owner. Actually I work with him. He told another co-worker that he drove by my house and now I just have crap all over the place.

Or the elderly gentleman that stopped his car one day and pointed to my David Austin rose bed and said, "You can't grow roses in that much shade". I looked at the roses, in full bloom and turned to look at him and said "Well, tell them that then. They seem to think they can"

I take the cars that stop or slow way down when they drive by as the compliments.

Mindy

CHRISTINMK - a garden is a refuge and haven, it should bring peace and contentment. Once it has been shattered by unkind words it will be hard to focus on any other part except the glaring "mistake(s)". This person has no business entering your garden again. Firmly state - via garden sign or outright - that you are not open to suggestions and please keep negative comments to your self. Make no bones about it, this person is probably attacking you personally through hurtful comments about your garden. Laugh her off and make her feel silly. (I could be wrong, but is this person a relative who thinks you were not good enough for her son?)

I formerly had a neighbour who swept her yard every morning. She kept things so trimmed back, cut down, cut short and swept that it made my "casual" yard look twice as bad. I will have to say, in other ways she was always there to lend a hand.

Several years ago the Brownwood Bulletin had a piece run by the "yard(you must have grass)police" with a pic of eyesore yards. The first few were actually eyesores, falling down porches, rat infested neglected ruins, but then came the real reason for the column's being started (in my opinion)a cottage garden type yard and actually my favorite yard in Brownwood, Texas. I think vast expanses of green lawn are beautiful but I have other things to do with my life. This yard was filled with daylily, iris, cosmos, and all sorts of old fashioned low-water type cottage plants. The whole front yard was a raised/terraced bed and was wonderful. Such mean-ness in the world and all because one person won't toe the line.

There are a few wet blankets here but you can count on your gardenweb friends to never be critical in a hurtful way. The only "dirt slung" in my garden will be by me! Cheers!

-cybersal, you are wonderful, and certainly made my day!
No, the relative is not my MIL. She is my mother's sister (I can barely bring myself to call her my aunt, lol). I am afraid she has said even worse, and more personal, things to me before. I would gladly never speak to her again, but unfortunatly that is not an option.
Thank you for the kind comments. ;-)
CMK

Some young man stopped by last night selling satellite TV service door to door, and he said: "Wow! Your garden is the coooolest I have seen in a whole day!"
I felt like a proud Mama :).

I moved into my current house three years ago. The previous owner had one Mock orange in the front. Three HUGE junipers, and the rest rock. Well, we worked on one half of the yard and made it all into a flower garden. My hubby liked it so much, he said I could do the same to the other side. When we started to pull out the huge junipers, we had several neighbors ask if we were going to put grass on that side. When I said no, that it would be all flowers, trees and shrubs, they looked at me like I was crazy. Some even said the silly nonsense, "too much work!!" and "won't that take too much water?" Three years later, these same neighbors come to me for advice, look through the gardens to see what's coming up at certain times, and then ask me for the names of the plants.

I received my best compliment earlier this week, actually. We have a home daycare that is caddy corner to our house across the street. The guy that drops off and picks up his child walked over to me when I was pulling weeds and said how gorgeous everything looked and how it was an inspiration to rip out some of the sod and plant flowers in his own yard. How he and is wife loved to drive by it everyday to see new things blooming. This absolutely made all of the hard work the past three years worth it. I'm hoping this year is the year that it leaps and I can get the satisfaction from looking at it myself. Ha!

I have really enjoyed reading everyones responses and long to see each and every garden personally. They all sound so refreshing and just a pleasant place to linger for a while. Like many of you I/we garden for the simple enjoyment of it - it is where I am the most content. I am fortunate to have a husband who is right by my side doing all the hefty work and also caring for his vegetable garden. We have gotten our share of compliments over the years incl the 'gee - that looks like alot of work' - we just smile knowing full well it is fun and pleasure NOT work.

The past year we have really focused out attention to the view from my Mom's bedroom window - she is bed ridden and under hospice care and can't get out to see the whole yard anymore. The most heart warming compliments we get are from the hopsice group - aides, nurses and case worker all have told Mom that she is the luckiest patient they have because of her view and that they love coming to care for her because they can look out her window - it doesn't get much better than that :)......

Lynne

When someone makes a comment about my garden being "a lot of work", I take it as a compliment. It is a lot of joy, and yes, lots of work which I so enjoy!
Just yesterday while it rained and I could not dig in a dirt outside, I looked at the photos of my garden from last year and the year before taken in May - and I felt pleasantly surprised and pleased how transformed it became, and how much work was put in it.
To me that is the best kind of work I look forward to and happily jump into!

~Natalie

Ok, got another compliment yesterday - my next door neighbor asked me for help arranging her new perennial purchases in her new front beds! That was fun, too, although none of her choices were things I've had much experience with.

I, too - have read all of these posts with interest!

gottagarden - I am sorry, but if there is anyone who does not compliment your gardens, I would say they need to get to the eye doctor quickly.... :0)

Everyone else - I sure can relate to many of the comments - but I have found that on the whole the comments have been favorable - as many neighbors have asked for a garden tour here in my yard - but generally I still get "oh, it's so much work".. and I answer quite simply - that it keeps me SLIM and it isn't work TO ME! That seems to work since many of those neighbors can use a little exercise themselves.... :0)

lynn - I love what you are doing for Mom...

I solved the "too cottagey" problem... Since we have three acres and have a lot of garden borders, I have made several different types of gardens - some formal, some cottage style, a daylily garden, a purple garden, etc. etc.... Then i explain each style to a visitor which gives them a bit of an education and shows that there are choices when designing a garden and it's just not thrown together with no thought. (Although some borders were just thrown together or just reseeded - I still love them since they are colorful) They are FLOWERS - what's NOT to like?

Carrie

I just got a nice compliment today, at least an in-direct one.
Once the weather cleared I was able to get outside and complete a over due project, taking out a long row of Iris (which, by the way, was not as difficult as I had imagined, lol). I have trees along the back of the yard, which by now are so filled in that no one can see in. However, there is a bare spot around my veggie garden. People passing thru the alley can see the whole yard from there.
Well, I was pulling the Iris up and two guys walked by. They couldn't see me (or I them), but I could hear them. One was near middle-aged, but the other was young, late teens early 20's. The younger one stopped just by the open spot and said- "Look at their yard!" The other said that "that's a lot of work" (said with admiration). They started on their way again, looking at the alley garden as they went. Before they went all the way past the young one said "Perennials for days!".
That was so nice. For the past few months I have been a little discouraged with the garden, and have only just started to become really interested again. No, I don't garden for others, but sometimes a nice comment like that can really perk you up and make you feel like you are doing a good job. That small, unexpected compliment really made my day!
Hope you all are have a great day too.
CMK

Great Big Gold Star on your forehead, CMK - that feels great, doesn't it!?

The comment/compliment was well deserved and I appreciate and applaud how it made your day. And it sounds like it was pretty well focused, not a left-handed compliment like so many are prone to toss out these days! Yea to CMK!

Not to turn this to me ..... but I got a 'kudo' that meant a lot a bit ago too. Long time friends put my home on their itinerary for a Southern spin thru and ..... well, I knocked their socks off w/my setting here. They were wowed by the gardens and the 'b&b' ambiance and even were excited by the houseplants!

I live alone and do things 'cuz I like to do them ... but it is nice to have that little outside 'seal of approval'.

One of the dog-walking neighbors spoke to me back in early spring as I was outside working. "Your garden looks better this year," she said. "Less--" she made wide swaying motions up into the air with her arms. "Less wild, or something. Looks like you've cut it back," she added, approvingly.
"Actually, I haven't cut anything back," I replied. "It just hasn't leafed out yet." (Angelic smile...)

-zigzag, thank you! It does feel nice to get a compliment like that; no prompting, no saying it because you 'have to' to be polite. They didn't even know I was standing there!

Oh no! Share your own insults and compliments by all means, thats what this thread is for. ;-)
That was a sweet comment you recieved. It is so nice to be able to have freinds that are so appreciative of your hard work and effort!

-remontant, Lol! Love that statement "It just hasn't leafed out yet." (Angelic smile...). I guess the lady didn't know that with a CG, things just keep on getting BIGGER! lol.
CMK

I think many people who are not "real" gardeners mostly see the "lawn, a few shrubs, and rock mulch" type of landscaping so can't quite wrap their heads around what cottage gardening is. Most of my family has that type of garden so they don't comment on my garden altho by their lack of comments I'm pretty sure they think it's just another of my eccentricities. They consider gardening a chore rather than a pleasure.

I've had non-relatives visit who were very intrigued by the "jungle" and complimentary. Mostly those were people who had lived in warmer climates and were pleased to see one can actually have lots of plants even in a cold climate. I think they'd be surprised to know I grow a lot fewer plants than many others with cottage gardens. I'm pretty lazy so won't grow anything that's too difficult.

I don't think I've ever had a real insult about my garden, not sure what I'd say to such rudeness. To each their own I guess. Not worth taking to heart for sure.